16 Top Online Employee Appreciation Ideas for Work in 2023

Team Building Resources
Team Building Resources October 25, 2023 16 Top Online Employee Appreciation Ideas for Work in 2023

Here is our list of the best online employee appreciation ideas.

Online employee appreciation ideas are different activities and events to recognize team members who go above and beyond in their jobs. For example, digital gift cards, extra paid time off, or bonuses. These ideas show your team how much you appreciate and value employees through rewards and perks.

These ideas are similar to examples of boosting employee happiness, leading a remote team, and tips for building stronger teams.

This list includes:

  • remote employee appreciation ideas
  • online employee appreciation event ideas
  • online employee appreciation activities
  • online employee recognition ideas

Let’s get to it!

List of online employee appreciation ideas

Online employee appreciation ideas are a great way to recognize and honor team members’ hard work. Here are a few ideas for rewarding remote employees to show your staff that you care.

1. Company newsletter

One of the best online employee recognition ideas is to share an employee shout-out on a company-wide channel, such as the organizational newsletter. Company newsletters typically share news, updates, and important dates. These internal communications can also shout out employees who are worthy of recognition.

For example, if you have an employee who led an essential project to success, your note could say: “This week, I want to recognize Katie for leading the agency transition project from start to finish. She has exhibited strong leadership skills and truly made this project a success. Great job, Katie!”

Writing about employee achievements in the company newsletter is also a great way to motivate and inspire other team members.

2. WFH care package

One of the best remote employee appreciation ideas is to send work-from-home care packages to your team members. Care packages can acknowledge career milestones and specific accomplishments or serve as a way to show your appreciation.

Here are a few items to include in your care package:

  • Snacks
  • Coffee mugs
  • Candles
  • Company merch
  • Notepads
  • Pens
  • Gift cards
  • Thank you cards

Your WFH care package should include a combination of feel-good gifts and useful items for work. In addition, care packages are a great way to show your appreciation for employees.

3. Digital gift card

In an in-person office setting, you might be able to drop a bag of chocolates or a handwritten card directly onto your coworker’s desk. In a remote work environment, however, you cannot easily give employees gifts on the spot.

As a token of appreciation, we recommend sending your teammates a digital gift card. Digital gift cards are convenient since these gifts are easily sendable via email. You can choose to give your employee a gift card to a coffee shop like Starbucks or a retail store like Target. If unsure about your employee’s interests, you can send a Visa gift card usable anywhere.

Digital gift cards are meaningful gifts that provide flexibility by allowing recipients to choose their own gifts.

4. Extra PTO

If you want to show your team that you care about them outside of work, then you should grant employees an extra day of paid time off (PTO). During an extra day off, employees can focus on hobbies and activities they enjoy. Extra PTO can also allow employees to spend more time with their families and friends rather than focus on work.

Gifting employees with PTO is a great way to show the importance of work-life balance. By providing an extra day off, you are also sending a positive message to your team about the importance of recharging and taking time for yourself.

5. Bonus

One of the best ways to show appreciation for employees is with a monetary bonus. While employees are sure to value gift cards and shout-outs, you might find that team members will especially appreciate extra cash in their pockets.

Bonuses typically range between 5% to 10% of an employee’s salary. If you would like to gift each team member equally, then you can decide on a predetermined amount, such as $500 for each teammate. The holiday season is an ideal time to show appreciation to your employees in the form of a monetary bonus.

6. Online award show

Sending out awards is a great way to get your team excited. We recommend going all out and hosting an online award show to recognize the highest achievers on your team. To begin this online event, you should first come up with a list of award categories.

For example:

  • Most years with the company
  • Department MVP
  • Employee of the year
  • Team cheerleader
  • Most charitable
  • Rising star
  • Most improved
  • Outstanding service

After you have chosen the award categories, pick a winner in each category. Once you have chosen winners, you should mail the physical awards to your employees’ addresses. If you would like to surprise the winners on your team, then you should instruct members not to open their packages until the award show.

Although the award show will take place online, you can make the event fun by encouraging employees to get dressed up and choose a festive virtual background. Awarding employees for their hard work during an online award show can motivate and inspire your team.

7. Leadership message

If you would like to make your employees feel extra special, then you should enlist the help of your company’s top executives to send a message of appreciation. For this initiative, get in touch with senior leaders at your company, such as Directors, Vice Presidents, or even the C-suite executives. Once an executive is willing to participate, you can have them write an inspirational letter.

You should include a general note of thanks and a specific message of praise. Your team members will surely be surprised when they receive a letter from one of your company’s top executives.

8. Charitable donation

Making a charitable donation honoring an employee is a thoughtful way to show appreciation. You can make this initiative even more thoughtful by donating to a charity that works with a cause your employee supports.

For example, if your team member is passionate about animals, then donate to an organization supporting wildlife conservation, such as the World Wildlife Fund. In addition, you can gift your employee a keepsake from the organization, such as a certificate or souvenir, to serve as a reminder of the donation made in this employee’s name.

9. Social media post

If an employee goes above and beyond their responsibilities, then consider giving this teammate a public shout-out on social media. Whether you share a post on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, write a few words about what makes this teammate special. For visuals, include a picture, video, or GIF.

Giving an employee a shout-out on a public forum is a great way to showcase your teammate’s hard work. Your post can also inspire other team members to work just as hard.

10. Virtual happy hour

One of the most enjoyable online employee appreciation event ideas is to host a virtual happy hour. During a virtual happy hour, your team can come together to chat, laugh, and drink. When organizing your event, we recommend choosing a convenient time for all team members. For example, host your event on Zoom right after the work day has concluded. During a traditional happy hour, you would meet your team at a local bar for drinks and appetizers. At a virtual happy hour, on the other hand, you will meet your team on Zoom for drinks and fun activities like trivia and charades.

A great way to get employees excited about this event is by mailing each team member a virtual happy hour kit filled with drinks, snacks, and souvenir glasses. Allowing your employees to unwind and forget about work is a great way to show that you appreciate your team. In addition, we recommend making a toast in the middle of your event to thank all of your outstanding employees and their vital contributions to the team.

Check out more online happy hour ideas.

11. Celebratory team lunch

A celebratory team lunch is one of the best online employee appreciation event ideas. Before beginning your team lunch via video conference, we recommend sending each team member an e-gift card for a meal delivery service or allowing teammates to reimburse up to a certain amount for the meal. One of the benefits of sending gift cards is that each team member can order their favorite food without worrying about other teammates’ preferences.

Once all participants have ordered their lunch, you can begin with a few drinks and small talk. Then, you can ask your team to share any of their recent accomplishments. In addition, you can recognize your highest achievers with a toast.

You cannot take your team to a restaurant for lunch in a remote work setting. Hosting a celebratory team lunch is the next best option to show your team that you value them as coworkers and friends.

Here are more online team lunch ideas.

12. Cameo message

If you are looking for a fun and creative way to show appreciation for your team, then we recommend purchasing a Cameo video. Cameo is an online service where you can request personalized videos from celebrities and public figures. Videos can range from $1 to thousands of dollars, depending on your chosen celebrity.

You can use the Cameo app to get your team’s favorite celebrity to record a message of appreciation. A personalized Cameo video message is a thoughtful and unique way to show appreciation for your employees.

13. LinkedIn recommendation

In today’s digital age, a great option for employee appreciation is to write a professional review on your coworker’s LinkedIn profile. LinkedIn is a social media platform where users can share career updates and achievements. This social media network allows folks to leave endorsements on other users’ profiles.

If you are considering writing a recommendation for your teammate’s LinkedIn profile, then we suggest taking some time to write a thoughtful note sharing why this employee brings value to your team. Again, you should be specific, sharing details on how this employee drives business results and achieves success.

Writing a LinkedIn recommendation for a teammate is a great way to show your appreciation by investing in their career development and growth.

14. Virtual escape room party

A virtual escape room party is one of the most exciting online employee appreciation activities. These parties perfectly combine a team building activity and an employee appreciation event. Virtual escape rooms are online games where teams use a series of clues to escape from a virtual room.

This activity requires some planning and organization. For instance, organizers should develop different puzzles, challenges, and clues that players need to solve to move on to the next step. Luckily, templates and guides are available online to make the planning process much easier, or you can book a facilitated event. When planning your virtual escape room for employee appreciation, we recommend choosing a fun theme like a haunted house or zombie apocalypse.

15. Half-day Friday

One of the best remote employee appreciation ideas to excite employees is hosting a half-day Friday. As part of this idea, you should encourage employees to wrap up their work week early, around noon on a Friday. If you would like this activity to run smoothly, then you should also remember not to schedule any Friday afternoon meetings for your entire team.

When organizing this event, a best practice is to let your team know ahead of time that they can expect a half-day on the upcoming Friday. By making this announcement earlier in the week, you build up your team’s excitement and allow them to tie up any loose ends before the week concludes.

Giving your team extra time off on a Friday shows employees that you are genuinely interested in helping them maintain a healthy work-life balance. Time is valuable, so your team will feel appreciated if you give them a head start on the weekend.

Here are more online Fun Friday ideas.

16. Peer-to-peer shout-outs

If you are looking for easy online employee recognition ideas, then we recommend implementing peer-to-peer shout-outs on your team. To initiate peer-to-peer shout-outs, first choose a channel where these shout-outs can take place. For example, if your team uses Slack for instant messaging, then we suggest using this platform for your activity.

To begin the campaign, you should consider creating a Slack channel or group for recognition. In the group’s description, you should specify that this channel is where employees can recognize their peers.

Next, encourage team members to populate the channel with messages and compliments to specific teammates. Messages should revolve around recognition and thanking peers for a job well done. Showing gratitude through peer-to-peer recognition is a great way to boost your team’s morale and promote your company’s core values.

Conclusion

Online employee appreciation ideas are different activities and events to recognize employees for their contributions on the job. Employee appreciation is a great way to boost engagement and morale on your team. In addition, employees who receive recognition from managers tend to be happier and more productive.

In addition, regularly showing appreciation for your team can help employees feel connected to the company. Creating a workplace culture that values recognition is key to keeping team members satisfied at work.

Next, read about online team celebration ideas.

FAQ: Online employee appreciation ideas

Here are answers to questions about online employee appreciation ideas.

What is online employee appreciation?

Online employee appreciation is essential when leading by example and showing your team that you care. For example, if an employee has demonstrated their hard work ethic by consistently being the top seller on your team, then you may reward this team member with a monetary bonus on their next paycheck.

Online employee appreciation is essential in creating a positive workplace culture focused on recognition. Therefore, we recommend showing appreciation for your employees often so your team can see that your motives are authentic.

How do you show appreciation for employees online?

There are many ways to show appreciation for employees online. For example, you can send team members a gift, such as a care package or gift card. You can organize events to recognize your team’s accomplishments, such as a team lunch or virtual happy hour. You can share employee accomplishments on social media or in a company-wide newsletter. In addition, you can also provide high-achieving employees with exclusive perks, such as an extra day off or a monetary bonus.

What are the best online employee appreciation ideas?

The best online employee appreciation ideas are activities and perks that can positively impact employees’ lives outside work. These are a few of the best online employee appreciation ideas:

  • Extra paid time off (PTO)
  • Bonus
  • Digital gift card
  • Half-day Friday
  • Celebratory team lunch
  • Virtual happy hour

Employee appreciation is a key to retaining happy employees at your company. Plus, happy employees will increase your company’s productivity and success.

written with 💖 by Tasia Duske

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