Companies are usually extremely busy at this time of year. Not only do they face the pressure of hitting year-end financial targets, but they also have to manage all of the parties, games, and activities that are part of the holiday season.
In that year-end rush, it’s easy to forget that remote employees are out there, toiling away in their homes, missing out on the festivities that their office-working colleagues are enjoying. Indeed, it can be easy to forget to celebrate remote workers.
However, you can remember and include telecommuters in those activities, and ensure that they feel celebrated and recognized during the holiday season.
Here are some suggestions to help you celebrate remote workers:
Help them feel noteworthy.
Take the time to have everyone on the leadership team write a personal message on a thank-you note to each remote employee. When you send it, perhaps include a gift card that will let the worker enjoy a treat similar to those that are shared in the office this time of year. Such a personal expression of thanks will be appreciated more than you know.
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Plan activities that are video-friendly.
There are many ways to plan holiday parties that will allow for participation by remote workers. Make sure to hold those events at a time that is comfortable for people in different time zones, and encourage them to call in via video. Let them take part in your ugly sweater or desk decorating contests. Play games that translate well over video. It may take a bit of planning, but the inclusion your remote workers feel will make it worth the effort.
Invite them to the party—and make it possible for them to attend.
Flying all of your remote workers to corporate headquarters for the holiday party can be expensive, but it also can be a huge boost to the morale and engagement of your telecommuters.
Combine the festivities with a company meeting and some training, and you can get even more bang for your buck. You’ll also find that such trips help virtual team members build stronger ties with their in-office colleagues—a positive outcome for everyone.
Or, let them create a party of their own.
Some companies simply can’t afford to fly all of their remote workers to the home office, but most can at least foot the bill for an evening out at a nice restaurant. Find out which places are favorites of your virtual workers, and send them gift cards that will cover a meal for them and their families. They’ll appreciate your thoughtfulness, especially when you’re encouraging them to spend time with loved ones.
Create opportunities for peer recognition.
The holiday season is also the end of the year, and it’s a time that often includes recognition of individual and company accomplishments of the previous 12 months. Make sure your management team is recognizing remote workers along with those in the office, but consider taking this one step further. As noted in a previous post on this blog, recognition from colleagues means a lot to virtual team members. “Set up an online recognition platform that allows employees to publicly recognize one another for their accomplishments with words of encouragement,” the post suggests.
Give virtual gifts.
According to a blog post from Highfive, this is another way to avoid “out of sight, out of mind” problems. “Instead of white elephant or secret Santa gift exchanges, give gifts that can be easily shared with remote employees,” the post says. “Electronic gift cards, concert/event tickets, travel packages, charitable donations and time off are all easily given by email (and will probably be appreciated more than another paperweight or coffee mug).”
Then again, tangible gifts can be great, too.
Remote team members probably enjoy treats just as much as their co-workers who get to raid the kitchen at the corporate office. Consider sending them snack boxes around the holidays, or look at other, similar options. According to a blog post from the Society for Human Resource Management, company-branded gifts are also a nice option to make sure your virtual workers feel like they’re part of the team. And everyone appreciates a nice cash bonus around the holidays.
Finally, provide the gift of time.
The holiday season is busy for all of your workers, even if they don’t have to worry about a commute every day. Encourage them to clock out a couple of hours early, without losing any pay, on a Friday or two. Or let them have a day away from their home offices in order to volunteer for a charitable organization. These kinds of gestures show that you care about them, even if they aren’t sitting next to you.
In fact, the key to all of these suggestions is making sure your remote employees know they are appreciated and celebrated by their managers and co-workers. You should be taking steps to ensure that that’s the case all year long, but if you haven’t done as well as you should, the holiday season is a great time to start.
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