How to Celebrate from A Distance

With most companies embracing remote work, why not discuss a few ways in which we can celebrate the team from a distance.

As many of us know, more and more jobs and teams have been making the switch over to remote work. Utilizing today’s technology, it’s easy to do so. With devices that help us reach anyone in the world in the matter of a click, shouldn’t we all know how to have a remote celebration?

How do you keep the company culture? In a world that is so much about celebrating each other’s successes, how does one do that when your team is remote and not sitting together throughout the workday? The answer isn’t as easy as you would think, but here, we can dive into a few different options for you and your remote team.  

So whether you’re trying to celebrate a job well done or the end of a deal, we’ll talk through some different options that can not only motivate your team from wherever in the world they are, it will help them feel they have each done a “job well done!” 

A Handwritten Note 

We’ll start off simple here: a handwritten note. When was the last time you picked up a pen and paper to jotted down words? Let’s take it further: when was the last time you did that and then put a stamp on it and mailed it out? And bills certainly do not count!  

Receiving a handwritten note, whether by mail or dropped off in person can mean the world to some people. Due to the fact that it is so rare today, it shows that you stepped out of your comfort zone and took the extra mile to show your appreciation for said client or employee.  

It can be as easy as printing out a nice template to jot down on. Here are a few good templates that could work. Even better, using the company letterhead, if you have it. Since thank you cards have a small surface area to write on, you’ll want to also keep in concise. The following details should be included in your thank you card, but make sure you don’t go overboard.  

Details to include in your thank you cards:  

• Name. Yes, this might sound silly but personally addressing them is a great start. And make you spell their name correctly! 

• Layout exactly what you’re thanking them for.  This could mean anything from what deal and how much time you spent on it. 

• If you have enough room, describe how it affected the team. Let them know why this deal stood out to you. 

• Say “thank you” one more time and sign off. 

An important note to keep in mind with thank you cards is they can truly come from anyone! Not only can you send this out to the deal team and clients, but your boss too! 

Keep Your Company Culture Top of Mind  

By having a set of values in your company culture, your team will know what to strive towards throughout their day to day from working remotely. Meaning, you’ll want to celebrate the small stuff! Even if you and the team didn’t get to your goal by end of the day, celebrate the fact that you almost did. Although your MD won’t like that very much, it’s always great for your ease of mind to sit back and think that you did all that you could from home. This is a remote celebration in and of itself. 

You then also know what to look out for when you’d like to celebrate the team’s success. For example, if Tony worked on a personal development task, such as attending a public speaking conference, you’ll want to highlight that and celebrate Tony. Not only will you be celebrating Tony, maybe you’ll even feel inspired to do the same.  

You can spotlight them weekly or quarterly letting the entire company know that they are exceeding. By having your values laid out, you not only know what to celebrate, but the team members will know what to work towards.  There are platforms that can help you acknowledge your team members and have a remote celebration for them. See how this could be incorporated into your remote work. 

Host a “Closing Dinner”  

You must be reading this and thinking, “wait… but we’re remote.” It can still be done! If you’ve worked hard to close a deal, you’ll still want to do everything you can to celebrate. So why not pitch an at home closing dinner? Of course, it wouldn’t be the same as all gathering at your favorite restaurant or bar, but at least you’ll have a virtual space for a remote celebration.  

Here are a few ways to create your virtual closing dinner:  

1. Send the team a gift card to order takeout or shop their favorite ingredients to make a nice dinner.  
2. Ask everyone to dial in and host your dinner that way. Check out some popular apps to help your team meet virtually.  
3. Still send out those deal toys. At Altrum, we provide the option to send each piece out to wherever you’d like. If your team is working remotely, feel free to let us know! We’ll make sure to package each piece and safely deliver it to their doorstep.  

Virtual Happy Hour 

It’s 5 o’clock somewhere, right? This is a good option if you have a smaller team. Have everyone log on a few minutes before the end of the workday and pour a glass of whatever you would like. It doesn’t have to be wine, it can be anything you prefer. Set up some time where the team does not have to talk numbers and KPI’s. You’d be surprised how much your team members would appreciate this.  

When you’re not in an office setting, it can be a little tough to talk about the highs and lows of your day. Don’t let that happen to your team; this is an intricate part of work-life balance. You want your team to either let off steam or talk about their feats of the day or week. A virtual happy hour is a perfect place to just catch up and talk about your wins.  

Send A Care Package 

Whether you’re celebrating a week where the entire team hit their numbers, or you’re celebrating the closing of a deal or project, a care package is always appreciated. Celebrating team accomplishments can be tough from afar, but this is an easy way to do so.  

• You can send the same card/gift to everyone. This is a great option if you’re still planning to send out your deal toys. We can even help you include the note within the packaging.  
• You can send out individual notes to each member of the deal team with a small personalized gift.  
• What about desk accessories that make your home desk feel more like an office? Of course, you’ll want to see this on your desk, but will your client want to see it on his desk? See below for some cool ideas we’ve done in the past. 

It could also be a great idea to open said gifts virtually, so everyone can see the reactions of the team members.  

Remote Celebration Can Be Tough  

We know this! But from all the technology in the world, it should be something we’re getting used to, or already are. The world we live in today has a vast population of remote workers. According to JobFlex, “in the span of one year, from 2016 to 2017, remote work grew 7.9%. Over the last five years, it grew 44% and over the previous 10 years it grew 91%.” This is something that does not seem to be slowing down. So, finding a way to make it work in your company is very important.  

More importantly, finding a way to keep up the morale and celebratory events that usually happen in an office setting can really determine team ambition. And for those of you on the remote teams, it’ll help you have something to look forward to and maybe break up your week in an exciting fashion. Feel free to check out this article on some fun other ways to host a remote celebration.

Again, it doesn’t matter how you’re celebrating, as long as you figure out a way to celebrate. As you very well may know, deal toys help immortalize the deal or project you’ve been working on. This still holds true when working from home. Give us a call and we can help you put together some awesome deal gifts to send them directly to a front door. No matter where they are, they should not be left out.