End-of-Year Employee Recognition: getting it right for hybrid and remote workforces

End-of-Year Employee Recognition: Getting it right for hybrid and remote workforces in summary:

• Employee recognition at the end of the year is crucial for boosting morale, retaining top talent, increasing engagement, and encouraging high performance.
• However, businesses face challenges in recognising employees in a hybrid or remote environment, such as geographical dispersion, ensuring inclusivity, and making recognition visible.
• Effective strategies for recognising remote employees include public recognition, celebrating milestones, promoting a sense of belonging, and offering personalised rewards like monetary incentives, charitable donations, and wellness activities.

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The end-of-year finish line is fast approaching and the excitement of putting that out-of-office on for the festive period is nearly within reach.

December is often filled with festive fun: like Christmas parties, Christmas Jumper days, and of course, getting into the festive spirit. But, before we switch off for the year, it’s the ideal time to recognise and celebrate the workplace achievements of the last year.

Year end is a perfect opportunity to celebrate all the good that’s happened in the workplace over the previous year: recognising the people who make it happen, with the work they put in throughout the year to help a business thrive. But, sometimes offering recognition can be tricky…

With more people working in hybrid or remote environments, traditional employee recognition strategies may need some tweaking to ensure everyone feels valued and appreciated for their work in the last year wherever they’re based

Why is end-of-year employee recognition important?

The end of the year is a great time to reflect on what’s been achieved during the working year. It could be targets met, new products launched, or successful organisational changes implemented – to name a few of the achievements – which might have happened in the last year.

However, at the heart of these successes are the employees who make it happen. And recognising these employees and the work they’ve put in is really important to help continue these achievements over the next twelve months.

‘But why?’ You might be asking. ‘Surely it’s enough that employees are paid for their work… why do we need to go the extra mile with recognition?’

Great Places to Work suggests three reasons why employee recognition matters:

1. It helps retain the top talent,
2. it increases employee engagement, and
3. it encourages higher workplace performances.

When employees feel appreciated they’re more likely to be productive with a stronger sense of retention to the business. Therefore, employees will work harder and be more motivated to continue the hard work when signs of employee recognition are demonstrated.

Employee recognition is especially important at the end of the year to boost the morale of employees, setting a positive tone for the new year (which is much needed to beat the January blues!).

What are the challenges of employee recognition?

Whilst recognising achievement may seem simple, in practice it’s not always that easy… especially if a workforce is dispersed and scattered. Here are some challenges businesses may face with remote teams:

• Geography of the workforce – Many of us are part of teams spread across the country or further afield – it’s very unlikely a whole company is based in one town anymore! Because of this, there’ll be a lack of face-to-face contact between teams which can be challenging to replicate the traditional shared office experiences.
• Inclusivity – Obviously, everything needs to be fair! Colleagues talk, so if people are receiving recognition whilst others don’t, resentment can quickly build if it’s considered unfair. So, it’s important to make sure everyone understands what is being recognised and the criteria of recognition.
• Making employee recognition visible – It’s great to shout about employees internally and even externally and the great work they have done. However, this is not always the best way. A tailored approach for each individual is far more effective. Some people love being in the limelight… some not so much!

How to make employee recognition visible to a remote workforce

Just because you’re not working in the office you shouldn’t be forgotten about. In the UK 20% of workers feel less recognised in work since working remotely. Making it even more important to make recognition visible.

With that in mind, here’s how to make recognition visible for a remote or hybrid workforce:

• Public recognition – Like we said earlier this is not always the best approach; but if an employee is comfortable with a public recognition, it’s great to shout about achievement internally in the business. For colleagues to see what their peers are up to and create a sense of kudos (which funnily enough, is also the name of our own peer-to-peer recognition platform!).
• Celebrate employee milestones – Yup, you should shout about your employee’s career milestones! Been at the company 5 years or 25? Been promoted internally? A new qualification? Or done something great? Regardless, these are the perfect times to show some employee recognition and praise.
• Promote a sense of belonging – When working remotely, there’s a higher focus than ever on communication to be successful. Creating a community and strong relationships can help teams feel valued and appreciated.
• Personal touch – Tailoring your approach for each individual depending on what they prefer can make the acknowledgement feel that much more meaningful and personal. After all, someone who’s tea total may not appreciate a bottle of bubbly as a reward for their efforts!
• Activities – As a reward for an achievement teams can organise virtual events, team meet-ups and events that can bring teams together. Which may not be together as much anymore.  

What gifts or rewards can a business provide?

Need some inspiration for what to give your remote or hybrid employees at the end of the year? How about…

• Public praise – A simple “thank you” costs nothing, and a quick note saying “job well done” takes only moments – but these small gestures are the foundation of a strong recognition culture. In fact, research by McKinsey has found 67% of employees say praise and commendation from their line managers are highly motivating, while 63% believe recognition from senior leaders is a powerful way to acknowledge great work!
• Charitable giving – Donating to a charity of their choice is one thoughtful way to show gratitude. This type of recognition reward can also be tailored to what a recipient supports or feels is important.
• Wellness rewards – Supporting employees’ wellbeing is a great way to recognise hard work. This could be with additional leave or ‘duvet day, to wellness activities such as a spa visit.
• Team get-togethers – It can sometimes be the case that your remote workers may feel isolated from their colleagues. Organising a get-together or team day out is a great way to recognise hard work, and also build a sense of camaraderie.
• Monetary rewards – Yup, money is of course an obvious form of reward, and it could be in the form of pay rises, bonuses or gift vouchers. Financial rewards are always a popular option with employees given the option to spend as they like; but it’s worth remembering that non-financial rewards can often have a longer-lasting impact.

There are plenty of ways to recognise the hard work of your employees: but, the important thing to remember here is that recognition can take on many forms and tailoring your efforts to your own workforce will have the most impact.

How can HR tech help create and support a culture of recognition and measure its impact?

If you’re looking to build a culture of recognition in your business, modern hr technology can be a vital asset. This is because great HRIS platforms give people professionals the tools and insights needed to build more effective recognition strategies – ones driven by data, rather than just assumptions and guesses. You can discover how in this article.

Also, many newer HRIS platforms also include software to support cultures of recognition. For example, the Cezanne HRIS includes Kudos – a simple peer-to-peer recognition platform that makes it easy for employees to say ‘thank you’ to one another. It can also be used to celebrate their colleagues hard work and acknowledge their efforts throughout the year.

Lastly, an HRIS with integrated performance management software can further support cultures of recognition by enabling more effective performance reviews and one-to-one conversations. This can make the process of recognition much fairer for everyone, and also streamline the way achievements are documented and celebrated.

By providing a structured platform for feedback and goal tracking, an HRIS with integrated performance management ensures that recognition is consistent, unbiased, and aligned with individual and team contributions. This not only motivates employees, but also reinforces a culture where hard work and achievements are acknowledged equitably.

By having all of this in one place, you can support employees and display a culture of employee recognition and appreciation no matter where they may be in the world.

Of course, what a great way to end the year recognising all of the hard work everyone has put in and a great way to start the next!