3 Easy Ways to Show Employee Appreciation During COVID-19
COVID-19 presents many challenges for nonprofit organizations and maintaining employee morale is just one of them. There isn’t a playbook for how to engage employees and motivate them during a global pandemic yet so here are three helpful tips.
Send a Care Package
Care packages are a great way to show your employees that you appreciate all their hard work. We are all well acquainted with the struggles of working from home while facilitating remote school with your child or while in the midst of intense isolation. A care package will hopefully put a smile on the face of your employees in the midst of unprecedented hardships.
The best part is that care packages come in all shapes and sizes so you should be able to find one that fits your budget. Have a large budget? Send a gift basket with a bottle of wine. Funds are tight? Put together a meaningful box of items that represent self-care practices. For example, a work from home bingo board and some chocolate.
2. Model Healthy Boundaries
Working from home during COVID-19 offers the unique advantage of setting your own schedule. Busy with the kids until bedtime? No problem, grab a cup of coffee and get work done in the evenings. However, as an employer, it is helpful for you to send the message that employees can still “shut-off” after normal work hours.
One way for employers to model healthy boundaries is to utilize “schedule send.” Most e-mail platforms now offer a way to schedule an email for a later date and if you are a boss who likes to work late then schedule send should be your new best friend. Receiving an email from your employer at 10 o’clock at night sends the message that you expect your employees to work that late. Instead, work at 10 pm if you want to but make sure to schedule send your emails to arrive at 8 am on the next business day.
3. Build-in Time for Employee Bonding
You have probably heard that a lot happens in offices around the water cooler, coffee machine, or lunch table. COVID-19 doesn’t allow employees to feel connected in the same ways therefore it is important to cultivate ways for that employee bonding to happen.
Schedule a weekly remote (un)meeting. Set up a recurring link and invite employees to attend but don’t make it mandatory. Make sure that you emphasize the fact that this isn’t intended to be a time to accomplish work and instead ask a simple question each week like “What is everyone watching on Netflix?” or “What was s bright moment of your week?” Also, don’t forget, shorter is better, keep the meetings light and short so that employees want to attend.
These are just a few ways that you can make working from home a social-distancing more enjoyable for your employees. Remember, happy employees, mean higher productivity and increased social impact! For more tips and tricks to maintain employee morale contact Spark Group today for an initial consultation.
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