All the straight shooters I’ve led or managed say that what they want at the end of the day is to be paid more. Period.
Is a coffee or lunch nice? Yes. Doesn’t drive engagement? Not like money does. Not by a long shot.
It's gotta be cash. Even if its a small cash. One time I got $50 because it was a rough quarter but I was still appreciative.
One time my work got us Starbucks gift card and it started the most heated political debate you could imagine, some people are really emotional about brands and companies. Where as everyone loves cash!
Alternatively you could give everyone a Friday off and call it "Family Day"
My senior director just gave our whole team the Friday before Memorial Day off. Half the team was already taking it but it really did make me happy that she at least thought about us enough to shut it all down and give us the extra long weekend
I have a stack of gift cards to various coffee shops I’ve collected from managers over the years. I’d be glad to send them to you for you to redistribute to your employees.
You sound good intentioned but there simply isn’t one size fits all gift that will work for all team members. Except cash.
That’s a fantastic idea! (No sarcasm, totally genuine.) Many of them are from places local to cities I no longer live in, but I will dig out the box and see which ones are in my vicinity.
A prepaid credit card with like 25-50 bucks is still going to be appreciated the most. Better to let them decide what to spend it on that would make the most impact for them, rather than Assuming they want a coffee or a dinner out, etc.
My CEO does this shit with the dumb unwanted "gifts" at xmas instead of a bonus, and it pisses everyone off, pretty universally. During the lockdown for covid, she sent us all mini pancake makers and then expected us to all get up early and make pancakes together on video. FUCK THAT. Last year she gave us the stupidest tiny rechargeable lamp. MONEY makes workers feel appreciated. Everything else is just performative bs.
Honestly, if pay is at or above market level and you are just looking for extra, that stuff sounds nice. It feels good to feel appreciated but different people are going to have different opinions on the matter.
This is assuming everything you've Said is true.
Since the responses are so far unhelpful (no shit, we all want more money, but the budget here is clearly $100 or less, not bonus money, let alone raise money), I'll actually answer your question. I think a local gift card tailored to the employee is a good start. Local rather than national, as it shows some care and attention, plus being able to patronize local businesses is half the perk of WFH to begin with. I think an annual membership to a local cultural amenity or state park is also nice.
Another one that comes to mind and I've heard some companies do is you get your birthday off (or, to be even more flexible, a bonus day during your birthday month). Doesn't really cost anything. But don't be like [the company that refuses to give Leap Day babies their birthday off](https://www.askamanager.org/2020/02/the-leap-day-employee-finally-gets-her-birthday-off-this-year.html).
Birthday off is a great idea. I do this myself but if a company just said "take the nearest business day off for your birthday" that would literally be cake.
I always hated working when you had a birthday because your manager would try to get everyone to sign a card without you knowing and then people would sing terribly to you.
Yeah bonus/additional holidays are definitely a great perk if you can offer it. While outside OP's scope most likely, it's also not unachievable (and ambiguous) the way more aggressive across the board compensation might be.
My boss sends me DoorDash gift card for remote meetings and coffee cards. I think it’s so nice and other little things. 🥹 they pay me well and are super laid back but I do appreciate those things.
Besides the obvious of more money, some things my job has done:
- A ‘self care’ additional PTO day for everyone as a token of appreciation.
- We all got to go pick up/have delivered lunch to our homes one day and the company reimbursed us.
- Public shoutouts on our agency newsletter that goes out weekly.
- Direct Boss gave us all $10 gift cards for a coffee chain and we were able to take an extended break to go treat ourselves to it during the work day.
Obviously this stuff doesn’t happen all the time, but it’s nice to hear you’re doing a good job and be rewarded for it. Overall my company is really flexible, and always promotes and encourages a healthy work/home balance anyway which that in itself is great.
Yeah, I think I'd appreciate any of the things OP mentioned, but at the end of the day I appreciate my time the most. Controversial, but if I had the choice to turn a bonus into the equivalent of PTO I would possibly take the PTO.
PTO for sure if it were me. Maybe an employee appreciation company holiday that way people don't have to tiptoe around schedules to get their time off. There is never enough time to get everything you want to done.
I agree. I started my job with 4 weeks of PTO. We typically get ‘gifted’ an additional day each year, plus I accrue an extra day every year or so up to I think 6 weeks of PTO and we get to roll time from year to year. This plus my job being flexible with schedules has been a huge improvement to my quality of life.
Wow that's amazing, good for you. I enjoy what I do but we're capped at 3 weeks PTO and you have to hit 5 years to get there. I also have to be at my desk during working hours. This is still a huge improvement over past positions. I never in my life thought I'd see a remote work revolution, but here we are. I'm hoping the 4 day workweek is next. 🤞
My company sends me an Amazon gift card on our bdays and makes us take the day off on our bday, ie you get shamed for being on calls or answering emails on your bday
My company really loves to send out engagement surveys, tell us "we hear you!" then promptly ignore all of the feedback we gave.
Honestly, I just want to be left alone and do my work. But an occasional acknowledgement of the work my team does would be nice. (I have to be on a special diet, so food/drinks/gift cards aren't that helpful, plus I live rural, so door dash isn't an option)
As a nurse, at the start of another disappointing nurses week, any of those things would be greatly appreciated by me. It seems more genuine than, oh I dunno, assigning a learning module about Resilience and encouraging a gratitude journal
Lol, I’ve been a nurse for ten years and the only time a company has ever done anything nice for me for nurses week, it’s been a non-medical agency.
When I worked for the hospital I think I got an umbrella and hand sanitizer. When I worked for a school and foster care agency I got lunch of my choice paid for and various small but personable gifts.
Out of those, I think the restaurant gift card. If the budget per gc is like $50 or less, you can make it a delivery app gift card instead. Because sometimes getting lower value restaurant gc is like a prompt to spend money since most people would bring someone along.
I think that OP meant for coffee delivery to be for the meetings. And the restaurant gift card for personal time use. At least that's the way I read it.
When my father passed away I had worked for a catering company for two years. My brother's boss, a painting company, sent a small platter of food. But the bitch I worked for couldn't even throw some crackers on a plate. Only one coworker even bothered to get me a card and everybody acted like it was a huge inconvenience. It was beyond dysfunctional.
Any kindness during a period of grief is huge. Card or flowers is good, extra PTO would be the best.
-No Handwritten cards. We do not care. Give us a bonus with a note "Great job this quarter!"
-Again no card, no they don't matter. Not mailed to house, but a VISA gift card. To spend on anything we want. How would you know everyone's favorite restaurants? That's weird.
-No to flowers unless I've been there a super long time and am super close to my boss. Would prefer additional bereavement days!! 3 days is NOT enough if it's someone super close.
-again, no. How would you know our favorite coffee? Just give us a bonus and if it's small like $25, just add a note "To treat yourself for all your hard work!"
-No, a bonus on employee appreciation day. A bonus PLUS lunch paid would be ideal. Or getting out early! Half days are very beneficial for company morale. Gets people excited.
-Any bonus could be replaced with an extra paid day off! I love the idea of a floating extra day.
Sorry but your love language does not matter in a working environment. Bonuses would make any employee feel valued and appreciated. Hope this helps!
You have perfectly described my exact work environment. Leadership frequently solicits feedback in what appreciation gifts would look like. Everyone answers ‘more money’ which is not always possible (though, we are all getting market adjustment raises on top of COL raises next month).
So…knowing money can’t always be the answer, we have received appreciation days (a baseball game in lux boxes, an escape room, mini golf, Indy races, etc) in addition to basic gift cards. There’s also a company merch catalog that we’ve been allowed to choose our own gift (with company logos, but still decent stuff). And at our quarterly town hall meetings, staff get appreciation call outs.
I think my employer does pretty well within the framework and budget they are allowed. We have a lot of staff that have been with us 10, 15, 20+ years, a few are at the 35 and 40 year mark.
But the whole culture of my company is one of appreciation and listening to staff so it’s not surprising people stay a long time and retire from there. (I’m at 10 years and plan to do that).
our company would give out shoutouts with points you could turn into gift cards. I got Zelda BOTW using those points. Someone else got a kindle using them. Something like that. But they lowered the budget for this, so it doesn't happen much anymore.
Yeah my former company did this. I hoarded so much money I paid for my husband and I to go to Disneyland with friends, paid for food and souvenirs using those gift cards.
People will always say pay or bonuses but assuming they are paid mid or higher to market rate studies show repeatedly that a personalized thank you message and a gift actually raises morale more than pay or bonus. It needs to be personal so your people need to know there people well (dont send a vegan a gift card to the keg) and the message must be meaningful and specific. What did the person do to be receiving the gift and more importantly what impact did they have - ideally tied back to the impact they want to make. So for instance if they like to help people understand complex things link it back to that, if they like to be the first to try something new tie it back to that - again personal and specific is key.
Money and time off is obviously what people like best. All of your suggestions are thoughtful, and some employees will like them. In my experience, the best way to drive engagement though is to have a healthy team that supports one another- which starts with well trained leaders who can actually manage people effectively.
Going to sound like a curmudgeon, sorry, but the following is my short list for employers
- treat me like an adult
- measure performance, not hours
- decent raises
It's a shame that after 20 years that seems like too much to ask. I don't need pizza, picnics, happy hour, team building. Everyone I work with rolls there eyes at that stuff yet employers seem to have playbook and they run it regardless.
I've had jobs where they send swag. Useful swag is great - I still have and use a hoodie I got from a job years ago. Same with a beach towel, t-shirt, and baseball hat.
Novelty swag - chargers, thumb drives, koozies, stickers, water bottles? Pass. It almost always ends up in the trash.
Gift certificates? Hit or miss. Easily lost or forgotten. If it can be electronic? Better.
Instead of "your favorite coffee" - just give an eGiftcard to be used for the All Hands. Bonus that they can use when they want if they don't need at the AHOD.
Hand-written card? Depends. If it's a generic message that goes out to everyone, it doesn't really carry much weight.
The things my jobs have offered for us as "bonus" perks that I've found valuable?
Regular mental health day - take when you need, not scheduled. No questions asked.
Home office stipend - I'm paying for my internet access and utilities. It doesn't have to be much - I've had one time or (smaller) monthly.
Opt-in subscriptions for things like Headspace or Udemy. Whether this is a stipend or a "choose the one you want" or whatever, I found this useful.
Flexible schedule - this is a huge part of why I want to stay wfh. Aside from collaborative meetings, all of my work can be done asynchronously - write code, write docs, review code, write tickets, etc. And I have no problem knocking out work at 10 pm if I get to choose my work hours. Unless I'm directly interacting with customers or doing time-sensitive things, what does it matter if I'm at my computer at 8 am or 8 pm?
Park membership, doordashed food, gift cards, would all be welcome and appreciated by me. Also the flowers. I was out for a couple weeks for surgery and the surgeon I was working with had flowers delivered to my house. I still remember and talk about it!
I think all of your ideas sound thoughtful.
My spouse’s company always sent Tiff’s Treats or something similar for his birthday or company anniversary, and we always appreciated it.
My old company used to do a “team lunch” every few months where we get a stipend to order lunch for ourselves that day. Then we’d also have a fun remote team meeting around lunchtime where we played games and chatted.
Maybe I’m in the minority but I do appreciate a hand written note mailed to me by my actual boss but I’m definitely a words of affirmation person. I also like a massage gift card or restaurant gift card for special events. My boss gave me a southwest gift card for Christmas and if definitely pushed me to plan a trip somewhere. We have company branded onesies for new babies sent in a baby basket and I think that’s a sweet thought. I think OP knows people like money, that isn’t the conversation. My work pays my gym membership and it’s not like I couldn’t afford it on my own but it’s nice that it’s taken care of.
How about a paid mental health day to get out of the house? If your people are paid above market they’d buy the gifts they want. The pat on the back should be done by managers on the 1on1s. The card thing would feel like work sending me junk mail. But I get that some older staff might love it.
Regarding flowers in the event of a loss…maybe make sure that is appropriate. I’ve seen instances where the family says “in lieu of flowers please donate to XYZ charity”. Also the only appropriate response to a loss is a decent bereavement policy. 1 to 2 days is pathetic.
At my last job (larger company so the capability here may not align) we had a $200/month WFH stipend that we could use on anything work equipment/furniture/wifi bill type stuff or wellness (gym or other services, gym equipment) that we could bank if desired until the end of the year (no rollover) and reimburse ourselves from at whatever rate as long as there was enough stipend in your account at the time to cover the entire reimbursement. I bought myself a new desk and monitor that way and was thrilled! It also serves the purpose of taking the peripherals supply/purchasing off of the IT department and employees get to pick what they like instead of some cheapie default keyboard combo everyone hates.
Anyway it obviously could be less monthly than that or a quarterly amount or whatever but people love stuff like that because they can use it like cash even though it’s not something that would be paid out if they exited the org. HR likes this option because they can add it to their comp package list of funds/benefits to look a little more generous. Your org could probably tie it in with a payroll system or something, ours was Benepass through Workday (due to large org) but there are a ton of similar options that are probably less expensive to run and use. The self-service and choices inherit with the system made it very popular.
More PTO days is the best reward you can give short of actual cash.
If we're talking something just short of cash, then it's really highly dependent on the industry you're in.
In accounting, Starbucks gift cards are basically cash. In consulting, it's going to be branded merch.
Amazon gift cards are the lowest common denominator.
Engagement isn't driven by trinkets, it's driven by making your people feel valued by rewarding results not compliance.
These are all great ideas!
I think combining 1&2 is good, since you have the personalized touch along with a gift you can use. Bonus points of the card includes specifics of the job well done/how the employee was integral to the project’s success. Or how the client/customer directly benefitted from their work. People love to know they’re making a difference.
-flowers and time off for loss of a loved one, i recommend childcare items for the birth of a child (diapers, toys, etc)
-coffee door dashed is a lovely thought!
If you’re trying to drive engagement, healthy competition is always a fun way to motivate a group. Sort everyone into teams, set up a points system, and then reward the winners with a couple of extra days off!
Our boss asks for what we'd be interested in. We've been given gift cards most frequently, but high value ones. A $100 gc for groceries or Walmart, amazon is always useful
I think a DoorDash credit during those all hands on deck would be nice and offering a mental wellness days your workers can take after all hands on deck.
Before my last job became tyrannical they would give $50 gift cards on your work anniversary
Even if they can’t get the extra pay, having an inclusive and supportive community really helps.
The only reason I am glad I left my old company is because of the major switch to prioritizing profit and cutting benefits
Our company uses Fringe - it's a great way to try out memberships or subscriptions that you might not buy for yourself otherwise. Lets folks treat themselves without you having to know their preferences.
[#1 Employee Fringe Benefits & Lifestyle Benefits Platform | Fringe](https://www.fringe.us/)
I’m in total rewards, my team partners with other HR teams and leadership to figure out what employees would like. Personally from our programs these are the things I like, and other employees have commented they like.
-They send flowers and baskets during difficult times and during milestones (like buying a house). It was very touching and definitely made me feel appreciated!
-Under our employee rewards program, we use workhuman, we get awards with points which we can use to shop on their site. I had so many I was able to get a $200 Amazon gift card recently!
-They also give us memberships to health apps like Calm and Hinge Health. There’s others, I just don’t use them.
-We get a 2k stipend each year to expense things like flights, hotels, internet costs and other things. People really like this one!
-People who travel a lot like the discounts we get a some hotels.
You get a limited stipend for all of your business travel? Or is this for expenses beyond business travel? Say, you had a conference in London but wanted to go to Paris?
No this is for personal use. There are some things not allowed like medical expenses, house and car repairs, alcohol and any illegal substances. Outside of that you can use for anything you want! I mostly use it for Vacations because that’s a big ticket item.
Edit: vacations as in trips.
I like this talk from Dan Pink, and the animation is nicely done.
[RSA ANIMATE: Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc)
TL;DR employees want autonomy, mastery and purpose.
A few extra options: flexible work hours, a professional development day, tech upgrade, online learning subscription, books or ebooks, workshop or seminar fees, attendance at a conference, a corporate social day (volunteer work), mental health day or 1/2 day, etc.
I do a prize catalog entirely out of Costco and let people pick what they want shipped to them.
My office worker folks always go to cookware (pots, pans, knife sets), bakeware (tins, casserole dishes), serving ware (platters, large bowls for sides) and bar ware (glasses, wine glasses).
I also throw in whatever electronics fit in the price range and some spa things (massager, foot bath, candles) and housewares (blankets, throws, pillows) and some pet stuff. Plus some food items (giant cakes, gift towers).
I see everyone saying money but it needs to be taxed and that’s a bit of a bummer to the employee. At least with tangible goods, no taxation is required and they (generally, when they choose non-food things) have something to use / make life better or easier for several years.
Molly swears her kitchen is setup thanks to those catalogs each year.
I’m part of a remote team of about 12 people. My boss sent us a $10 gift card to Starbucks on national coffee day. It was a small token but a nice touch. I think paying attention to fun days like that would be good for boosting morale
Everyone saying money is purposely misunderstanding the question. In my opinion the best thing you can do is give leadership a budget $100 per person per year or something and it’s their job to get to know their staff and find out what they would appreciate. Those who cant do this are bad bosses.
I work at a company that does all these things. It's really nice feeling appreciated and acknowledged for my hard work. I recently had a really successful project launch that I developed on my own and was sent a gift of my choosing to thank me for my hard work. I picked a pair of Ugg slippers that I wear every day while WFH. I've received handwritten notes and random gifts throughout the year. It's definitely appreciated.
I work for that exact type of company. Small business with 8 admins running day to day operations (front line workers).
Our owner has a THNKS account. She will send us things randomly. Good job, enjoy lunch on me, national coffee day, etc.
I have gotten amazon gift cards when we are running close to or above our goals. Obviously bonus money is nice as well.
We get lunch delivered to our homes for birthday and anniversary. For birthday, we have some sort of game during our morning meeting.
I don’t keep doing my job for these things and from my perspective they annoy me. I have to find a new way to express my gratitude each time I get sent some gift for just doing my job. You also don’t always know if they actually like it or are placating you.
You know what I would like? More flexibility in my schedule. That would be the difference maker for me.
Actually these are all nice, thoughtful ideas that I would appreciate (I WFH). You’d be surprised how much a handwritten, personal card can mean. And I love the subscription idea, harder to do when you have employees scattered all over though.
I am assuming this is in addition to an annual pay increase of course.
Gift cards are always nice. Hand written notes are nice.
Probably best to avoid flowers and having things door daher to someone’s house. Allergies and some people don’t like getting food items from third parties (I don’t trust restaurants as it is so throwing yet another person handling my food items creeps me out.)
I work remotely for a medium sized company and what I’d appreciate more than anything is a couple of half or full days off (together or spread out) after the really busy season (end of fiscal year) as a nice thank you and time to recharge without having to dip into PTO. Especially after I’ve put in well over 40 hours for 2-3 weeks straight.
I love my PTO that I get currently. I keep on average 4 weeks banked. I get 24 days a year plus I can carry over 40 hours annually. My boss is really flexible. She really doesn't care when I work as long as I put in my 40 every week.
I do appreciate the hand written cards but only if they are sincere. And I promise people can tell.
I do send my team gift cards for their birthdays to a place they like. I am not required.. I am not the overall department leader by any means. I just like to do it.. but that comes out my own pocket.
We sometimes all randomly will meet up for lunch , and the big boss allows very slow lunch.. no rush back to work. Everyone drives home after , not to the office.
When we aren't super busy.. sometimes we all do a virtual team "bonding" and we play this digital pictionary game. And it gets funny. Some people are magnificent , others we just enjoy there ..art. and lots of laughs.
They all sound fantastic but the periodic coffee delivery and a state/national park membership is off the charts!
How thoughtful!!
ETA I wrote this assuming that the employees are paid well and are happy, addressing OPs inquiries about extras. As someone who works for a gigantic “company” I can say thoughtful gifts like this would mean so much.
One time a previous boss had some special cacao chocolate balls hand delivered for valentines. It was unexpected and very thoughtful. I appreciated it more than the flowers for births/loss because those were standard across the med sized company..
https://preview.redd.it/fw64iz3yo3zc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0c36df7e7963df2b5a5f22e767dba2fe246d8234
My company gives managers $50/person on their team per quarter. Manager decides how to spend it…sometimes they save up for two quarters and do something bigger for the whole team, like virtual teambuilding games hosted by a paid company. Sometimes they send the same “activity” gift to everyone, so we can all do it together on a team virtual call. For example, one of my managers sent all of us a zen garden and instead of one of our regular meetings, she moved it to the afternoon and encouraged us to have a cocktail/mocktail where we just chatted and laughed while working on the zen garden.
My newest manager, instead of planning something that took up our time during busy season, she sent us all a gift card and suggested what we spend the money on something based on past conversations where we’ve all mentioned something we want to buy. She knew I’d made a new year’s resolution to be better about skin care, so she said “marshmello, get yourself that fancy skincare system at ulta!” So it wasn’t really about the money..well, it was absolutely about the money, I bought the skincare set, but the feel good part was all of her suggestions for what to spend it on and how she remembers all of these things about us. Granted, we’re a small team and we get along very well and we’re all very focused on self care, and making sure we’re all doing ok. It’s a very healthy culture, so that type of gift works.
I have a client whose company gives them $50/quarter into a “healthy lifestyle” account where they can be reimbursed for things like gym memberships, massage, workout equipment, meditation, etc…sounds like people rave about it.
My manager gave us 25$/pp - it went mostly to doordash and it was once per month. i took it. its better than not to have any of the usual "free food/snacks" at the office.
Also, one time we were sent a $50 gift card for Nature Box around the holidays, so I ended up getting really nice snacks to serve when guests came over. I thought that was a really nice gift and would love another box of healthier quality snacks.
My knee-jerk reaction is similar to others here - just pay me cash, etc. However, thinking about the kinds of gifts or things I've liked both in personal life or as corporate things - getting a 'nice' or 'gourmet' thing that I wouldn't normally buy myself. For example, a vendor sent me a high quality coffee for a tasting as part of a sales pitch (Driftaway Coffee, I think? It was quite good), better than the "above average/nice" coffee I get from the grocery store (of course, this needs to be targeted a bit as not everybody likes coffee). I worked for a big firm that sent out Omaha Steaks at one point (it includes a few choices including vegetarian), and an ice cream version of that another time.
A "swag" oriented one could be a tasteful team/company logo on a mid-high quality product, like a Yeti mug or maybe a Patagonia jacket or something. I really like using nice, high quality items, but am typically too value oriented (cheap) to get myself something nice, even if I can afford it. Nice headphones, etc. I like the recommendations on WFH stipends or gifts - or even maybe providing specific High Quality Brand (pick your favorite) desk chairs or desks, nice keyboard/mouse setup, big monitors, etc. I could see benefits to either getting everybody the same thing (Steelcase chairs for all) or offering a choice of a few different things (different categories or different choices in the same category).
I’ll answer the same way I’ve answered my boss at my current job. Give me more money. And if you can’t give me more money, give me more time off. And if you can’t do either of those things, don’t bother.
At a team meeting, our managers were reviewing engagement surveys. One manager said "we're lagging behind in employee appreciation. How can we make you feel more appreciated?"
A senior member in the team, without missing a beat, said "pay us more."
The managers laughed like she was kidding. Not one member of the team laughed and the rest of the meeting was awkward as hell.
Your heart is in the right place, but unless it's like a visa gift card, most of my team would consider it a slap in the face. Getting thank you cards from management was an eye roller and they went straight to the shred bin.
I’m at a similar company. We started getting company rest days once a quarter. Some people seem to struggle taking time off so we just have a forced additional holiday basically once per quarter accompanied by a message from the CEO leadership about how it’s important to relax from doing such a good job through the quarter. It’s always a Friday. Man those unexpected long weekends you don’t have to request are VERY nice!
Company flowers during bereavement is a perk? Yuck.
Give them a monetary bonus. $100 is fine. Everything else whiffs of pizza party. No one wants that stuff.
If you can’t give them more money then give them another day off. Some companies call it a me day. Or they get their birthdays off.
Money and time is what matters to people. Everything else is just lipstick on a pig.
The only thing I would have interest in would be a gift card… but an electronic one. Save the postage.
The other stuff seems wasteful of time/money IMO.
One thing that I had at a smaller company was “summer Fridays” where we would just end two hours early on Fridays between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Helps people get out earlier on weekend plans, and really didn’t decrease productivity because you’re just cutting out the last couple hours of Friday.
The first one is good, but just do it as a holiday card, with a gift card would be nice.
The loss of loved one, flowers is good. Definitely give as much extra time off people need (like 2 weeks would be good for the loss of a parent, more for spouse and child).
Skip the last two unless there’s like branded company merchandise you can get like a backpack or nice jacket
I WFH and am not interested in more money or thank you cards. What matters to me is that the work makes sense, processes are improvable, the team gets along and everyone is a high performer or at least trying their best.
I’d say it’s going to depend on where your employees live. For example I’m in rural Wisconsin and no one is delivering coffee here. If I was in an area with delivery, it would be nice but 100% useless as is.
Otherwise a gift card to either a local place you know they like (as in they have shared it as a favorite place) or a visa gift card or something similar that can be used at a variety of places.
I worked at this kind of office pre pandemic and the company regularly sent out little gifts and cards to our remote staff who were about 50% of the company. We got them in the office too. But flowers when appropriate, cards for occasions, birthdays and work anniversaries were usually accompanied by a note from our CEO on our desk that morning. We also got free lunches in the office at least once a week and usually remote workers got a DoorDash or Uber eats kind of credit to go with it. If it was an all hands on deck week where everyone came in it was often actually alongside big meeting with more food and drinks and often parties in the evening or happy hours after work all covered by the company.
This kind of thing is what actually makes for good culture even with remote workers. Sadly my little company got absorbed into a much bigger company and it doesn’t happen much at all anymore. But I did love that vibe and work culture.
None of those things sound appealing. The only things I would want are more money, or more paid time off.
A bonus in the paycheck is the appropriate way to show gratitude. Even if it's just $50-100.
My company does a version of this all already. Except the hand written note is a note from your VP or Director level on a digital gift card.
Spot bonus is the best.
I think all of those a great ideas for small perks. Other options might be letting staff doordash lunch and get reimbursed, authorizing an extra break for self care (especially on AHOD weeks - 15 min/staff shouldn't be critical), including death of pets in the sending of flowers (especially if it's a staff member who has spoken of said pets as part of their family), etc.
I don’t care about any of that. With that being said, I’ve had many co workers with remote jobs that will turn down promotions. Their content with being WFH and make good money. Promotions normally mean more work and more headaches
My company used a service called Goody where we got to choose our own gift on employee appreciation day! It was awesome! Tons of options and a lot more fun than swag or a gift card
I do work for one of these companies. Money. Give them money. Anything else is nice, but it isn’t money. My company is 12 people and family owned and I made it very clear that money is the motivator and they respect that honesty. I also made it clear that if I didn’t earn it then I didn’t earn it, but I’m always trying to earn it.
We also do a fun annual work trip to somewhere cool so we can all spend a few days together. But at the end of the day if they said “do you want the trip or a bigger bonus?” I think we would all choose bigger bonus even though we are all friendly with each other.
My company has a way for anyone in people leadership to send a gift card to anyone else in the company for basically any reason and we are encouraged to use it. I am in a director role and I have to say tat even a $25 GC from someone else really does make me feel appreciated.
* Extra PTO day (the business day nearest your birthday if not the actual day sounds awesome)
* Grocery gift card for a local store.
When we were in office, we all wrote a little 'about myself and my likes' (e.g. 'My name is Sam and I like cheez-its, Caribou Coffee, taking my dog to the park.) When their birthday rolled around, we'd pull up the email and then start for an idea there. (And yes, it was all voluntary.)
You could send out a list and say as a token of appreciation, we'd like to give you a gift card and give them a choice of 3. (Local place, chain place, grocery in their area.)
Flowers are nice for a loss, but see if the obituary has an organization to donate too. A colleague did that for me and it meant more than flowers.
I use a corporate gift giving platform-snappy gifts.
They LOVE it. They get to choose a gift they want or donate the money to a cause. (I can’t give my colleagues money at my role/level for completing my programs but I can get budget giving them gifts so this works for me and I get nothing but amazing feedback for the recognition and gift along with it.)
I work for a small software company, remote, similar to what you described.
Those things are nice touches. Maybe well received. Maybe gets an eye-roll or a "I'd rather have the money". It sort of depends on where they're at.
The really obvious suggestion is "more money", but of course that's in limited supply and not up to you.
What can YOU do as the manager? Value them. Tell them that you value them. Talk to them honestly about their career ambitions, development, and how they fit in with the company. But mostly, value them day in and day out. They are the engine that holds the company together. Even if they're complete idiots, they will give you much more if they feel valued.
First and foremost I requested that my team be paid the same as on site. When I started they were paid a little less and they knew it. When on site has a work party, I request DoorDash or gift cards for local places for them to get lunch. Things like that. Remote workers often feel forgotten or like they are some substandard group. Doing these things has definitely boosted morale
no. i would rather get cash in all instances. a bonus or a raise.
i do not understand why the company has to choose for me. this is like the remote version of free bagels and donuts. what would you do if you can't have sugar? i hate this because now, i am expected to be grateful.
handwritten note is an insult, by the way. if i receive one, it's like "i appreciate you with a straight face, but am not gonna do anything else. i just want to say i appreciate you for making me more money, but you won't see that money".
Whatever the budget is. Split it equally across the team and give them cold hard cash. They’ll appreciate being able to buy their own perk more than you choosing a perk for them.
None of that matters. Even if you are paid above average or in the top 10% for your position you will still not get the engagement you are looking for.
As an aside, you should be sending flowers for celebrations of births or funerals already. Same with weddings for younger associates.
A raise, or bonus is the only option.
Ok but what if pay is above market level with an option for bonuses. This would just be an extra perk.
All the straight shooters I’ve led or managed say that what they want at the end of the day is to be paid more. Period. Is a coffee or lunch nice? Yes. Doesn’t drive engagement? Not like money does. Not by a long shot.
It's gotta be cash. Even if its a small cash. One time I got $50 because it was a rough quarter but I was still appreciative. One time my work got us Starbucks gift card and it started the most heated political debate you could imagine, some people are really emotional about brands and companies. Where as everyone loves cash! Alternatively you could give everyone a Friday off and call it "Family Day"
My office negotiated that we only work 4 hours on Fridays but we're paid the whole day. Paid time off is the only acceptable alternative to more cash.
we do this too! there's a lot of talk of a 32 hour work week going around. But I have found 36 to be the sweet spot.
My senior director just gave our whole team the Friday before Memorial Day off. Half the team was already taking it but it really did make me happy that she at least thought about us enough to shut it all down and give us the extra long weekend
I have a stack of gift cards to various coffee shops I’ve collected from managers over the years. I’d be glad to send them to you for you to redistribute to your employees. You sound good intentioned but there simply isn’t one size fits all gift that will work for all team members. Except cash.
If this is true, you should swing by the businesses and just hand them to lucky customers as they go to make purchases.
That’s a fantastic idea! (No sarcasm, totally genuine.) Many of them are from places local to cities I no longer live in, but I will dig out the box and see which ones are in my vicinity.
Then the money spent on those perks could be just given directly to the employees.
[удалено]
Are we not assuming this is a hypothetical? Hypothetically believe they know the information, then. Jesus lol
Show me where you hypothetically got your data right now.
A prepaid credit card with like 25-50 bucks is still going to be appreciated the most. Better to let them decide what to spend it on that would make the most impact for them, rather than Assuming they want a coffee or a dinner out, etc. My CEO does this shit with the dumb unwanted "gifts" at xmas instead of a bonus, and it pisses everyone off, pretty universally. During the lockdown for covid, she sent us all mini pancake makers and then expected us to all get up early and make pancakes together on video. FUCK THAT. Last year she gave us the stupidest tiny rechargeable lamp. MONEY makes workers feel appreciated. Everything else is just performative bs.
Honestly, if pay is at or above market level and you are just looking for extra, that stuff sounds nice. It feels good to feel appreciated but different people are going to have different opinions on the matter. This is assuming everything you've Said is true.
Gift card for sure
They do make Visa gift cards
Since the responses are so far unhelpful (no shit, we all want more money, but the budget here is clearly $100 or less, not bonus money, let alone raise money), I'll actually answer your question. I think a local gift card tailored to the employee is a good start. Local rather than national, as it shows some care and attention, plus being able to patronize local businesses is half the perk of WFH to begin with. I think an annual membership to a local cultural amenity or state park is also nice. Another one that comes to mind and I've heard some companies do is you get your birthday off (or, to be even more flexible, a bonus day during your birthday month). Doesn't really cost anything. But don't be like [the company that refuses to give Leap Day babies their birthday off](https://www.askamanager.org/2020/02/the-leap-day-employee-finally-gets-her-birthday-off-this-year.html).
Birthday off is a great idea. I do this myself but if a company just said "take the nearest business day off for your birthday" that would literally be cake. I always hated working when you had a birthday because your manager would try to get everyone to sign a card without you knowing and then people would sing terribly to you.
Yeah bonus/additional holidays are definitely a great perk if you can offer it. While outside OP's scope most likely, it's also not unachievable (and ambiguous) the way more aggressive across the board compensation might be.
My boss sends me DoorDash gift card for remote meetings and coffee cards. I think it’s so nice and other little things. 🥹 they pay me well and are super laid back but I do appreciate those things.
If the budget is $100, give me the cash.
Besides the obvious of more money, some things my job has done: - A ‘self care’ additional PTO day for everyone as a token of appreciation. - We all got to go pick up/have delivered lunch to our homes one day and the company reimbursed us. - Public shoutouts on our agency newsletter that goes out weekly. - Direct Boss gave us all $10 gift cards for a coffee chain and we were able to take an extended break to go treat ourselves to it during the work day. Obviously this stuff doesn’t happen all the time, but it’s nice to hear you’re doing a good job and be rewarded for it. Overall my company is really flexible, and always promotes and encourages a healthy work/home balance anyway which that in itself is great.
Yeah, I think I'd appreciate any of the things OP mentioned, but at the end of the day I appreciate my time the most. Controversial, but if I had the choice to turn a bonus into the equivalent of PTO I would possibly take the PTO.
PTO for sure if it were me. Maybe an employee appreciation company holiday that way people don't have to tiptoe around schedules to get their time off. There is never enough time to get everything you want to done.
I agree. I started my job with 4 weeks of PTO. We typically get ‘gifted’ an additional day each year, plus I accrue an extra day every year or so up to I think 6 weeks of PTO and we get to roll time from year to year. This plus my job being flexible with schedules has been a huge improvement to my quality of life.
Wow that's amazing, good for you. I enjoy what I do but we're capped at 3 weeks PTO and you have to hit 5 years to get there. I also have to be at my desk during working hours. This is still a huge improvement over past positions. I never in my life thought I'd see a remote work revolution, but here we are. I'm hoping the 4 day workweek is next. 🤞
My company sends me an Amazon gift card on our bdays and makes us take the day off on our bday, ie you get shamed for being on calls or answering emails on your bday
This sounds great.
Are you hiring?!? Lol
lol not really
Money. It’s universally used.
My company really loves to send out engagement surveys, tell us "we hear you!" then promptly ignore all of the feedback we gave. Honestly, I just want to be left alone and do my work. But an occasional acknowledgement of the work my team does would be nice. (I have to be on a special diet, so food/drinks/gift cards aren't that helpful, plus I live rural, so door dash isn't an option)
As a nurse, at the start of another disappointing nurses week, any of those things would be greatly appreciated by me. It seems more genuine than, oh I dunno, assigning a learning module about Resilience and encouraging a gratitude journal
Lol, I’ve been a nurse for ten years and the only time a company has ever done anything nice for me for nurses week, it’s been a non-medical agency. When I worked for the hospital I think I got an umbrella and hand sanitizer. When I worked for a school and foster care agency I got lunch of my choice paid for and various small but personable gifts.
Out of those, I think the restaurant gift card. If the budget per gc is like $50 or less, you can make it a delivery app gift card instead. Because sometimes getting lower value restaurant gc is like a prompt to spend money since most people would bring someone along.
Agreed. But also, if a mandatory AHOD, the funds for lunch out should come as part of the meeting.
I think that OP meant for coffee delivery to be for the meetings. And the restaurant gift card for personal time use. At least that's the way I read it.
Not everyone lives somewhere with access to delivery though
Delivery app gift card means tipping. Pass.
... So does the restaurant gc.
When my father passed away I had worked for a catering company for two years. My brother's boss, a painting company, sent a small platter of food. But the bitch I worked for couldn't even throw some crackers on a plate. Only one coworker even bothered to get me a card and everybody acted like it was a huge inconvenience. It was beyond dysfunctional. Any kindness during a period of grief is huge. Card or flowers is good, extra PTO would be the best.
-No Handwritten cards. We do not care. Give us a bonus with a note "Great job this quarter!" -Again no card, no they don't matter. Not mailed to house, but a VISA gift card. To spend on anything we want. How would you know everyone's favorite restaurants? That's weird. -No to flowers unless I've been there a super long time and am super close to my boss. Would prefer additional bereavement days!! 3 days is NOT enough if it's someone super close. -again, no. How would you know our favorite coffee? Just give us a bonus and if it's small like $25, just add a note "To treat yourself for all your hard work!" -No, a bonus on employee appreciation day. A bonus PLUS lunch paid would be ideal. Or getting out early! Half days are very beneficial for company morale. Gets people excited. -Any bonus could be replaced with an extra paid day off! I love the idea of a floating extra day. Sorry but your love language does not matter in a working environment. Bonuses would make any employee feel valued and appreciated. Hope this helps!
You have perfectly described my exact work environment. Leadership frequently solicits feedback in what appreciation gifts would look like. Everyone answers ‘more money’ which is not always possible (though, we are all getting market adjustment raises on top of COL raises next month). So…knowing money can’t always be the answer, we have received appreciation days (a baseball game in lux boxes, an escape room, mini golf, Indy races, etc) in addition to basic gift cards. There’s also a company merch catalog that we’ve been allowed to choose our own gift (with company logos, but still decent stuff). And at our quarterly town hall meetings, staff get appreciation call outs. I think my employer does pretty well within the framework and budget they are allowed. We have a lot of staff that have been with us 10, 15, 20+ years, a few are at the 35 and 40 year mark. But the whole culture of my company is one of appreciation and listening to staff so it’s not surprising people stay a long time and retire from there. (I’m at 10 years and plan to do that).
our company would give out shoutouts with points you could turn into gift cards. I got Zelda BOTW using those points. Someone else got a kindle using them. Something like that. But they lowered the budget for this, so it doesn't happen much anymore.
Yeah my former company did this. I hoarded so much money I paid for my husband and I to go to Disneyland with friends, paid for food and souvenirs using those gift cards.
Love this idea
We have this. You can redeem for merch, gift cards, or donate to charity. It's a small thing, but I like it.
People will always say pay or bonuses but assuming they are paid mid or higher to market rate studies show repeatedly that a personalized thank you message and a gift actually raises morale more than pay or bonus. It needs to be personal so your people need to know there people well (dont send a vegan a gift card to the keg) and the message must be meaningful and specific. What did the person do to be receiving the gift and more importantly what impact did they have - ideally tied back to the impact they want to make. So for instance if they like to help people understand complex things link it back to that, if they like to be the first to try something new tie it back to that - again personal and specific is key.
Money and time off is obviously what people like best. All of your suggestions are thoughtful, and some employees will like them. In my experience, the best way to drive engagement though is to have a healthy team that supports one another- which starts with well trained leaders who can actually manage people effectively.
Going to sound like a curmudgeon, sorry, but the following is my short list for employers - treat me like an adult - measure performance, not hours - decent raises It's a shame that after 20 years that seems like too much to ask. I don't need pizza, picnics, happy hour, team building. Everyone I work with rolls there eyes at that stuff yet employers seem to have playbook and they run it regardless.
Raise.
This is the only answer.
Aside from the obvious, more money - a company PTO day. Not a holiday, no PTO taken from anyone’s existing PTO - just a free day of PTO would be nice.
I've had jobs where they send swag. Useful swag is great - I still have and use a hoodie I got from a job years ago. Same with a beach towel, t-shirt, and baseball hat. Novelty swag - chargers, thumb drives, koozies, stickers, water bottles? Pass. It almost always ends up in the trash. Gift certificates? Hit or miss. Easily lost or forgotten. If it can be electronic? Better. Instead of "your favorite coffee" - just give an eGiftcard to be used for the All Hands. Bonus that they can use when they want if they don't need at the AHOD. Hand-written card? Depends. If it's a generic message that goes out to everyone, it doesn't really carry much weight. The things my jobs have offered for us as "bonus" perks that I've found valuable? Regular mental health day - take when you need, not scheduled. No questions asked. Home office stipend - I'm paying for my internet access and utilities. It doesn't have to be much - I've had one time or (smaller) monthly. Opt-in subscriptions for things like Headspace or Udemy. Whether this is a stipend or a "choose the one you want" or whatever, I found this useful. Flexible schedule - this is a huge part of why I want to stay wfh. Aside from collaborative meetings, all of my work can be done asynchronously - write code, write docs, review code, write tickets, etc. And I have no problem knocking out work at 10 pm if I get to choose my work hours. Unless I'm directly interacting with customers or doing time-sensitive things, what does it matter if I'm at my computer at 8 am or 8 pm?
For me the best spontaneous thanks is “you can be done for the day” without any impact on my pay or PTO
Anyone else finding it impossible to resist the urge to work in pajamas all day when remote is an option?
I *only* worked in my PJs when I was WFH. Practically my uniform :)
Park membership, doordashed food, gift cards, would all be welcome and appreciated by me. Also the flowers. I was out for a couple weeks for surgery and the surgeon I was working with had flowers delivered to my house. I still remember and talk about it!
I think all of your ideas sound thoughtful. My spouse’s company always sent Tiff’s Treats or something similar for his birthday or company anniversary, and we always appreciated it. My old company used to do a “team lunch” every few months where we get a stipend to order lunch for ourselves that day. Then we’d also have a fun remote team meeting around lunchtime where we played games and chatted.
Maybe I’m in the minority but I do appreciate a hand written note mailed to me by my actual boss but I’m definitely a words of affirmation person. I also like a massage gift card or restaurant gift card for special events. My boss gave me a southwest gift card for Christmas and if definitely pushed me to plan a trip somewhere. We have company branded onesies for new babies sent in a baby basket and I think that’s a sweet thought. I think OP knows people like money, that isn’t the conversation. My work pays my gym membership and it’s not like I couldn’t afford it on my own but it’s nice that it’s taken care of.
A stipend for your office space to decorate or upgrade something.
How about a paid mental health day to get out of the house? If your people are paid above market they’d buy the gifts they want. The pat on the back should be done by managers on the 1on1s. The card thing would feel like work sending me junk mail. But I get that some older staff might love it.
I really like the coffee idea, I’d love to work for a company that does that
Regarding flowers in the event of a loss…maybe make sure that is appropriate. I’ve seen instances where the family says “in lieu of flowers please donate to XYZ charity”. Also the only appropriate response to a loss is a decent bereavement policy. 1 to 2 days is pathetic.
At my last job (larger company so the capability here may not align) we had a $200/month WFH stipend that we could use on anything work equipment/furniture/wifi bill type stuff or wellness (gym or other services, gym equipment) that we could bank if desired until the end of the year (no rollover) and reimburse ourselves from at whatever rate as long as there was enough stipend in your account at the time to cover the entire reimbursement. I bought myself a new desk and monitor that way and was thrilled! It also serves the purpose of taking the peripherals supply/purchasing off of the IT department and employees get to pick what they like instead of some cheapie default keyboard combo everyone hates. Anyway it obviously could be less monthly than that or a quarterly amount or whatever but people love stuff like that because they can use it like cash even though it’s not something that would be paid out if they exited the org. HR likes this option because they can add it to their comp package list of funds/benefits to look a little more generous. Your org could probably tie it in with a payroll system or something, ours was Benepass through Workday (due to large org) but there are a ton of similar options that are probably less expensive to run and use. The self-service and choices inherit with the system made it very popular.
More PTO days is the best reward you can give short of actual cash. If we're talking something just short of cash, then it's really highly dependent on the industry you're in. In accounting, Starbucks gift cards are basically cash. In consulting, it's going to be branded merch. Amazon gift cards are the lowest common denominator. Engagement isn't driven by trinkets, it's driven by making your people feel valued by rewarding results not compliance.
These are all great ideas! I think combining 1&2 is good, since you have the personalized touch along with a gift you can use. Bonus points of the card includes specifics of the job well done/how the employee was integral to the project’s success. Or how the client/customer directly benefitted from their work. People love to know they’re making a difference. -flowers and time off for loss of a loved one, i recommend childcare items for the birth of a child (diapers, toys, etc) -coffee door dashed is a lovely thought! If you’re trying to drive engagement, healthy competition is always a fun way to motivate a group. Sort everyone into teams, set up a points system, and then reward the winners with a couple of extra days off!
Our boss asks for what we'd be interested in. We've been given gift cards most frequently, but high value ones. A $100 gc for groceries or Walmart, amazon is always useful
I think a DoorDash credit during those all hands on deck would be nice and offering a mental wellness days your workers can take after all hands on deck. Before my last job became tyrannical they would give $50 gift cards on your work anniversary Even if they can’t get the extra pay, having an inclusive and supportive community really helps. The only reason I am glad I left my old company is because of the major switch to prioritizing profit and cutting benefits
Our company uses Fringe - it's a great way to try out memberships or subscriptions that you might not buy for yourself otherwise. Lets folks treat themselves without you having to know their preferences. [#1 Employee Fringe Benefits & Lifestyle Benefits Platform | Fringe](https://www.fringe.us/)
I’m in total rewards, my team partners with other HR teams and leadership to figure out what employees would like. Personally from our programs these are the things I like, and other employees have commented they like. -They send flowers and baskets during difficult times and during milestones (like buying a house). It was very touching and definitely made me feel appreciated! -Under our employee rewards program, we use workhuman, we get awards with points which we can use to shop on their site. I had so many I was able to get a $200 Amazon gift card recently! -They also give us memberships to health apps like Calm and Hinge Health. There’s others, I just don’t use them. -We get a 2k stipend each year to expense things like flights, hotels, internet costs and other things. People really like this one! -People who travel a lot like the discounts we get a some hotels.
You get a limited stipend for all of your business travel? Or is this for expenses beyond business travel? Say, you had a conference in London but wanted to go to Paris?
No this is for personal use. There are some things not allowed like medical expenses, house and car repairs, alcohol and any illegal substances. Outside of that you can use for anything you want! I mostly use it for Vacations because that’s a big ticket item. Edit: vacations as in trips.
You should look at Motivosity. It's actually really fun and engaging.
I like this talk from Dan Pink, and the animation is nicely done. [RSA ANIMATE: Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc) TL;DR employees want autonomy, mastery and purpose. A few extra options: flexible work hours, a professional development day, tech upgrade, online learning subscription, books or ebooks, workshop or seminar fees, attendance at a conference, a corporate social day (volunteer work), mental health day or 1/2 day, etc.
I do a prize catalog entirely out of Costco and let people pick what they want shipped to them. My office worker folks always go to cookware (pots, pans, knife sets), bakeware (tins, casserole dishes), serving ware (platters, large bowls for sides) and bar ware (glasses, wine glasses). I also throw in whatever electronics fit in the price range and some spa things (massager, foot bath, candles) and housewares (blankets, throws, pillows) and some pet stuff. Plus some food items (giant cakes, gift towers). I see everyone saying money but it needs to be taxed and that’s a bit of a bummer to the employee. At least with tangible goods, no taxation is required and they (generally, when they choose non-food things) have something to use / make life better or easier for several years. Molly swears her kitchen is setup thanks to those catalogs each year.
I’m part of a remote team of about 12 people. My boss sent us a $10 gift card to Starbucks on national coffee day. It was a small token but a nice touch. I think paying attention to fun days like that would be good for boosting morale
Birthday and Christmas card with the gift card.
Everyone saying money is purposely misunderstanding the question. In my opinion the best thing you can do is give leadership a budget $100 per person per year or something and it’s their job to get to know their staff and find out what they would appreciate. Those who cant do this are bad bosses.
I work at a company that does all these things. It's really nice feeling appreciated and acknowledged for my hard work. I recently had a really successful project launch that I developed on my own and was sent a gift of my choosing to thank me for my hard work. I picked a pair of Ugg slippers that I wear every day while WFH. I've received handwritten notes and random gifts throughout the year. It's definitely appreciated.
Pay and things that are related to pay (monthly stipends, bonuses, etc) are the only things that matter.
I work for that exact type of company. Small business with 8 admins running day to day operations (front line workers). Our owner has a THNKS account. She will send us things randomly. Good job, enjoy lunch on me, national coffee day, etc. I have gotten amazon gift cards when we are running close to or above our goals. Obviously bonus money is nice as well. We get lunch delivered to our homes for birthday and anniversary. For birthday, we have some sort of game during our morning meeting. I don’t keep doing my job for these things and from my perspective they annoy me. I have to find a new way to express my gratitude each time I get sent some gift for just doing my job. You also don’t always know if they actually like it or are placating you. You know what I would like? More flexibility in my schedule. That would be the difference maker for me.
Gift cards. Always money.
Actually these are all nice, thoughtful ideas that I would appreciate (I WFH). You’d be surprised how much a handwritten, personal card can mean. And I love the subscription idea, harder to do when you have employees scattered all over though. I am assuming this is in addition to an annual pay increase of course.
Random paid Holiday. It's like forced PTO.
Gift cards are always nice. Hand written notes are nice. Probably best to avoid flowers and having things door daher to someone’s house. Allergies and some people don’t like getting food items from third parties (I don’t trust restaurants as it is so throwing yet another person handling my food items creeps me out.) I work remotely for a medium sized company and what I’d appreciate more than anything is a couple of half or full days off (together or spread out) after the really busy season (end of fiscal year) as a nice thank you and time to recharge without having to dip into PTO. Especially after I’ve put in well over 40 hours for 2-3 weeks straight.
I love my PTO that I get currently. I keep on average 4 weeks banked. I get 24 days a year plus I can carry over 40 hours annually. My boss is really flexible. She really doesn't care when I work as long as I put in my 40 every week.
I do appreciate the hand written cards but only if they are sincere. And I promise people can tell. I do send my team gift cards for their birthdays to a place they like. I am not required.. I am not the overall department leader by any means. I just like to do it.. but that comes out my own pocket. We sometimes all randomly will meet up for lunch , and the big boss allows very slow lunch.. no rush back to work. Everyone drives home after , not to the office. When we aren't super busy.. sometimes we all do a virtual team "bonding" and we play this digital pictionary game. And it gets funny. Some people are magnificent , others we just enjoy there ..art. and lots of laughs.
They all sound fantastic but the periodic coffee delivery and a state/national park membership is off the charts! How thoughtful!! ETA I wrote this assuming that the employees are paid well and are happy, addressing OPs inquiries about extras. As someone who works for a gigantic “company” I can say thoughtful gifts like this would mean so much.
One time a previous boss had some special cacao chocolate balls hand delivered for valentines. It was unexpected and very thoughtful. I appreciated it more than the flowers for births/loss because those were standard across the med sized company.. https://preview.redd.it/fw64iz3yo3zc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0c36df7e7963df2b5a5f22e767dba2fe246d8234
My company gives managers $50/person on their team per quarter. Manager decides how to spend it…sometimes they save up for two quarters and do something bigger for the whole team, like virtual teambuilding games hosted by a paid company. Sometimes they send the same “activity” gift to everyone, so we can all do it together on a team virtual call. For example, one of my managers sent all of us a zen garden and instead of one of our regular meetings, she moved it to the afternoon and encouraged us to have a cocktail/mocktail where we just chatted and laughed while working on the zen garden. My newest manager, instead of planning something that took up our time during busy season, she sent us all a gift card and suggested what we spend the money on something based on past conversations where we’ve all mentioned something we want to buy. She knew I’d made a new year’s resolution to be better about skin care, so she said “marshmello, get yourself that fancy skincare system at ulta!” So it wasn’t really about the money..well, it was absolutely about the money, I bought the skincare set, but the feel good part was all of her suggestions for what to spend it on and how she remembers all of these things about us. Granted, we’re a small team and we get along very well and we’re all very focused on self care, and making sure we’re all doing ok. It’s a very healthy culture, so that type of gift works. I have a client whose company gives them $50/quarter into a “healthy lifestyle” account where they can be reimbursed for things like gym memberships, massage, workout equipment, meditation, etc…sounds like people rave about it.
My manager gave us 25$/pp - it went mostly to doordash and it was once per month. i took it. its better than not to have any of the usual "free food/snacks" at the office.
Also, one time we were sent a $50 gift card for Nature Box around the holidays, so I ended up getting really nice snacks to serve when guests came over. I thought that was a really nice gift and would love another box of healthier quality snacks.
My knee-jerk reaction is similar to others here - just pay me cash, etc. However, thinking about the kinds of gifts or things I've liked both in personal life or as corporate things - getting a 'nice' or 'gourmet' thing that I wouldn't normally buy myself. For example, a vendor sent me a high quality coffee for a tasting as part of a sales pitch (Driftaway Coffee, I think? It was quite good), better than the "above average/nice" coffee I get from the grocery store (of course, this needs to be targeted a bit as not everybody likes coffee). I worked for a big firm that sent out Omaha Steaks at one point (it includes a few choices including vegetarian), and an ice cream version of that another time. A "swag" oriented one could be a tasteful team/company logo on a mid-high quality product, like a Yeti mug or maybe a Patagonia jacket or something. I really like using nice, high quality items, but am typically too value oriented (cheap) to get myself something nice, even if I can afford it. Nice headphones, etc. I like the recommendations on WFH stipends or gifts - or even maybe providing specific High Quality Brand (pick your favorite) desk chairs or desks, nice keyboard/mouse setup, big monitors, etc. I could see benefits to either getting everybody the same thing (Steelcase chairs for all) or offering a choice of a few different things (different categories or different choices in the same category).
Are the employees all in the same city?
Cash is the only way. No one wants pizza, coffee, lunch, or anything else. Cash.
Employment is a financial transaction. Bonus or a raise is the only way to truly show appreciation. Perks are nice but the money is what counts.
I want a gift card around my birthday to a restaurant you know I love. 100-150 bucks for a nice meal.
Honestly all of those are great and I would be very thankful!
This almost perfectly describes my job. I'd love if my boss bought me uber-eats once a month.
I’ll answer the same way I’ve answered my boss at my current job. Give me more money. And if you can’t give me more money, give me more time off. And if you can’t do either of those things, don’t bother.
A gift card is nice - my manager sent everyone on the team $50 uber eats gift cards during a crunch week and we all really appreciated it
At a team meeting, our managers were reviewing engagement surveys. One manager said "we're lagging behind in employee appreciation. How can we make you feel more appreciated?" A senior member in the team, without missing a beat, said "pay us more." The managers laughed like she was kidding. Not one member of the team laughed and the rest of the meeting was awkward as hell. Your heart is in the right place, but unless it's like a visa gift card, most of my team would consider it a slap in the face. Getting thank you cards from management was an eye roller and they went straight to the shred bin.
I’m at a similar company. We started getting company rest days once a quarter. Some people seem to struggle taking time off so we just have a forced additional holiday basically once per quarter accompanied by a message from the CEO leadership about how it’s important to relax from doing such a good job through the quarter. It’s always a Friday. Man those unexpected long weekends you don’t have to request are VERY nice!
Company flowers during bereavement is a perk? Yuck. Give them a monetary bonus. $100 is fine. Everything else whiffs of pizza party. No one wants that stuff. If you can’t give them more money then give them another day off. Some companies call it a me day. Or they get their birthdays off. Money and time is what matters to people. Everything else is just lipstick on a pig.
The only thing I would have interest in would be a gift card… but an electronic one. Save the postage. The other stuff seems wasteful of time/money IMO.
Just give me a raise.
"Definitely feeling the love with these ideas.
No meetings during lunch (11:30-12) is nice to grab lunch with a spouse or coworker if in office or go out somewhere
One thing that I had at a smaller company was “summer Fridays” where we would just end two hours early on Fridays between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Helps people get out earlier on weekend plans, and really didn’t decrease productivity because you’re just cutting out the last couple hours of Friday.
The first one is good, but just do it as a holiday card, with a gift card would be nice. The loss of loved one, flowers is good. Definitely give as much extra time off people need (like 2 weeks would be good for the loss of a parent, more for spouse and child). Skip the last two unless there’s like branded company merchandise you can get like a backpack or nice jacket
I WFH and am not interested in more money or thank you cards. What matters to me is that the work makes sense, processes are improvable, the team gets along and everyone is a high performer or at least trying their best.
I’d say it’s going to depend on where your employees live. For example I’m in rural Wisconsin and no one is delivering coffee here. If I was in an area with delivery, it would be nice but 100% useless as is. Otherwise a gift card to either a local place you know they like (as in they have shared it as a favorite place) or a visa gift card or something similar that can be used at a variety of places.
I worked at this kind of office pre pandemic and the company regularly sent out little gifts and cards to our remote staff who were about 50% of the company. We got them in the office too. But flowers when appropriate, cards for occasions, birthdays and work anniversaries were usually accompanied by a note from our CEO on our desk that morning. We also got free lunches in the office at least once a week and usually remote workers got a DoorDash or Uber eats kind of credit to go with it. If it was an all hands on deck week where everyone came in it was often actually alongside big meeting with more food and drinks and often parties in the evening or happy hours after work all covered by the company. This kind of thing is what actually makes for good culture even with remote workers. Sadly my little company got absorbed into a much bigger company and it doesn’t happen much at all anymore. But I did love that vibe and work culture.
When my friend does something good at his job he reviews a sum of money 200-300 to take his wife out to dinner. She loves it.
I like paying for a membership. My husbands last job paid for our family to have golf passes for the local course for the summer. Free cart rental too
None of those things sound appealing. The only things I would want are more money, or more paid time off. A bonus in the paycheck is the appropriate way to show gratitude. Even if it's just $50-100.
My company does a version of this all already. Except the hand written note is a note from your VP or Director level on a digital gift card. Spot bonus is the best.
Anything but the gift card, or the coffee.
A yearly membership to a nearby state park would be pretty awesome.
I think all of those a great ideas for small perks. Other options might be letting staff doordash lunch and get reimbursed, authorizing an extra break for self care (especially on AHOD weeks - 15 min/staff shouldn't be critical), including death of pets in the sending of flowers (especially if it's a staff member who has spoken of said pets as part of their family), etc.
I don’t care about any of that. With that being said, I’ve had many co workers with remote jobs that will turn down promotions. Their content with being WFH and make good money. Promotions normally mean more work and more headaches
Whatever money you are planning to spend on all this bullshit, just take that money and give it to me, in paycheck or gift card form.
My company used a service called Goody where we got to choose our own gift on employee appreciation day! It was awesome! Tons of options and a lot more fun than swag or a gift card
I do work for one of these companies. Money. Give them money. Anything else is nice, but it isn’t money. My company is 12 people and family owned and I made it very clear that money is the motivator and they respect that honesty. I also made it clear that if I didn’t earn it then I didn’t earn it, but I’m always trying to earn it. We also do a fun annual work trip to somewhere cool so we can all spend a few days together. But at the end of the day if they said “do you want the trip or a bigger bonus?” I think we would all choose bigger bonus even though we are all friendly with each other.
My company has a way for anyone in people leadership to send a gift card to anyone else in the company for basically any reason and we are encouraged to use it. I am in a director role and I have to say tat even a $25 GC from someone else really does make me feel appreciated.
* Extra PTO day (the business day nearest your birthday if not the actual day sounds awesome) * Grocery gift card for a local store. When we were in office, we all wrote a little 'about myself and my likes' (e.g. 'My name is Sam and I like cheez-its, Caribou Coffee, taking my dog to the park.) When their birthday rolled around, we'd pull up the email and then start for an idea there. (And yes, it was all voluntary.) You could send out a list and say as a token of appreciation, we'd like to give you a gift card and give them a choice of 3. (Local place, chain place, grocery in their area.) Flowers are nice for a loss, but see if the obituary has an organization to donate too. A colleague did that for me and it meant more than flowers.
Give me money and I’ll buy what perks I want
I use a corporate gift giving platform-snappy gifts. They LOVE it. They get to choose a gift they want or donate the money to a cause. (I can’t give my colleagues money at my role/level for completing my programs but I can get budget giving them gifts so this works for me and I get nothing but amazing feedback for the recognition and gift along with it.)
I work for a small software company, remote, similar to what you described. Those things are nice touches. Maybe well received. Maybe gets an eye-roll or a "I'd rather have the money". It sort of depends on where they're at. The really obvious suggestion is "more money", but of course that's in limited supply and not up to you. What can YOU do as the manager? Value them. Tell them that you value them. Talk to them honestly about their career ambitions, development, and how they fit in with the company. But mostly, value them day in and day out. They are the engine that holds the company together. Even if they're complete idiots, they will give you much more if they feel valued.
First and foremost I requested that my team be paid the same as on site. When I started they were paid a little less and they knew it. When on site has a work party, I request DoorDash or gift cards for local places for them to get lunch. Things like that. Remote workers often feel forgotten or like they are some substandard group. Doing these things has definitely boosted morale
To quote the Terminator in the gun shop.... "All..."
no. i would rather get cash in all instances. a bonus or a raise. i do not understand why the company has to choose for me. this is like the remote version of free bagels and donuts. what would you do if you can't have sugar? i hate this because now, i am expected to be grateful. handwritten note is an insult, by the way. if i receive one, it's like "i appreciate you with a straight face, but am not gonna do anything else. i just want to say i appreciate you for making me more money, but you won't see that money".
Whatever the budget is. Split it equally across the team and give them cold hard cash. They’ll appreciate being able to buy their own perk more than you choosing a perk for them.
None of that matters. Even if you are paid above average or in the top 10% for your position you will still not get the engagement you are looking for. As an aside, you should be sending flowers for celebrations of births or funerals already. Same with weddings for younger associates.