{"id":1612,"date":"2020-11-06T19:58:12","date_gmt":"2020-11-07T00:58:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog2wrkdev.wpenginepowered.com\/virtual-recognition-ideas\/"},"modified":"2026-09-18T14:23:27","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T18:23:27","slug":"virtual-recognition-ideas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog2workato.wpengine.com\/virtual-recognition-ideas\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Automations that Can Help You Recognize Employees Virtually"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Wondering whether recognition improves employee engagement and satisfaction?  You\u2019ll find a variety of data points that validate the relationship by just performing a simple search on Google.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In case you need more convincing, according to a study by the Harvard Business Review<\/a>, 72% of respondents believe that recognizing high performers\u2019 work improves their level of engagement; while BambooHR found that 76% of employees who receive regular recognition enjoy their work more<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The question then isn\u2019t if employee recognition is important, but how you can provide recognition\u2014especially for colleagues who work remotely. To give you some inspiration, we\u2019ll walk you through 3 virtual recognition ideas that leverage HR automation<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can learn more about the first two automations by signing up for our on-demand webinar, \u201c<\/em>Boost Employee Engagement Across Remote Teams<\/em><\/a>.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Celebrate Work Anniversaries on Time and in Ways that are Impactful <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Work anniversaries can serve as the perfect opportunity to recognize employees for their commitment to your organization and for their contributions thus far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can automatically determine when an employee reaches their work anniversary and send them an award early in their work day by using the following automation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"An<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

1. A human resources information system (e.g. Namely<\/a>) checks for work anniversaries on a daily basis, and once it finds one, the workflow gets triggered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. A balance checker in Tango Card determines whether there are enough funds available to distribute the reward.*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

* If the available funds in Tango Card fall below a certain preset threshold, the employee(s) who manages the workflow automation will receive an email that notifies them of the low balance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Assuming there are, the reward gets delivered to the employee via email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By using this automation, you can ensure that every employee gets recognized for their work anniversary. All the while, you free up time for those who play a role in managing the process, as they no longer have to manually check which employees have reached their work anniversary or administer the reward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related: How automation can help you perform virtual onboarding<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Provide Visible, Peer-to-Peer Recognition Seamlessly<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Another invaluable way to show appreciation is by providing the colleague with positive feedback through a public means\u2014such as a message in a Slack<\/a> channel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s an automation that can help you do just that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"An<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

1. An employee enters the colleague\u2019s name in Slack and provides a reason why they want to recognize them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Namely checks the relationship between the employee who makes the submission and the colleague they\u2019re recognizing. If one employee directly reports to the other, the workflow ends (as this doesn\u2019t meet peer-to-peer recognition standards). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Assuming there isn’t a direct-report relationship, the employee receives a reward via Tango Card (also assuming there are sufficient funds in Tango Card\u2019s balance checker).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Slack adds a message in a specific channel that shows who\u2019s receiving the reward, who\u2019s sending it, and why the recipient is being recognized.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Since most employees work on a platform like Slack throughout the day, this type of peer recognition is likely to draw a lot of responses (which should make the employee who\u2019s receiving recognition feel all the more appreciated).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related: How you can use payroll automation to delight your employees<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Help New Hires Feel Welcomed on Their First Day<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Here at Workato, we\u2019ve implemented \u201cfirst-day automations,\u201d or automated tasks we perform on the new hire\u2019s first day. This includes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n