How to Celebrate a Work Anniversary in a Hybrid Workplace

In recent years, we have seen corporations embrace remote and hybrid work. As companies adapt to this new style of work, there becomes a need to find new ways of doing things.

In a traditional workplace, employees could gather more naturally to build connections and celebrate. However, with some employees at home and some in the office, it becomes difficult for employees to build relationships with one another. It also provides added difficulties in developing a unified company culture. 

One significant way to improve company culture and build connections is through celebrating your employees. Improving the hybrid workplace experience can be done in various ways, but one of those ways is to celebrate an employee’s work anniversary. 

While traditional methods of celebrating together in an office cannot be applied to a hybrid workplace, there are still many meaningful ways to celebrate. We have compiled a list of how to celebrate a work anniversary in a hybrid workplace to help you find new ways to recognize your employees. 

How to Celebrate a Work Anniversary in a Hybrid Workplace

When selecting a way to celebrate, remember that the primary goal of a work anniversary is to show gratitude for the employee’s contributions over the last year. So select a celebration idea that is something you will be able to implement in a genuine and sincere way. No matter how you celebrate, if you do it with sincerity, you will find greater employee retention, improved connections, and a healthier company culture despite the challenges of hybrid work.

Below is a list of 22 ways to celebrate a work anniversary in a hybrid workplace:

Give a group work anniversary card

An anniversary card can be a great way to gather messages of appreciation for the employee’s hard work from both virtual and in-office colleagues. A virtual group anniversary card, like Kudoboard, allows contributors to add a message at their convenience, regardless of location. Because a hybrid workspace requires versatility, a Kudoboard is housed entirely online for remote workers while also providing print options for in-person employees.

Read More: 4 Ways Your Remote Team Can Use Kudoboard

Give a small bonus

Everyone appreciates a little extra cash, so this is a sure way to help employees to feel loved. Plus, a small bonus is an easy way to celebrate a work anniversary remotely because it requires no shipping or coordination.

Additionally, the nice thing about receiving a small bonus is that they can use the money in a way that they feel is best. Doing this will provide those employees who are struggling with a hidden financial need to use the money to help alleviate a burden. Simply put, it gives the employee a choice on how to celebrate their employee anniversary. 

Gift a class related to their hobbies

What better way to show them you see them than finding a class unique to their interests? A great way to reward how hard they’ve worked over the last year is to provide a way for them to pursue their hobbies. Especially if the previous year required more time from them than usual, this can be an excellent way to demonstrate that you care about the employee as a whole. 

Classes you could gift are:

• Online painting class
• Virtual writing class
• Virtual music lessons
• Online language class
• Virtual cooking class

Host an online anniversary party

Even though your team is hybrid, it doesn’t mean they can’t celebrate together. Invite the team to celebrate by using the video platform you typically use for meetings. However, make sure to have a plan for what will be done during the celebration to ensure it feels like a celebration and not just another meeting. Here are some ideas for activities or themes to include in a virtual anniversary party:

• A virtual treasure hunt using items in their homes
• A virtual escape room
• Murder mystery
• Virtual bingo

Give them the day off

What better way to celebrate a work anniversary than having the day off? An added PTO day is a great way to show you appreciate them. It also can play a beneficial role in promoting employee wellness. This unique gesture will allow them to begin the next year of employment fresher. 

Send a dessert

Who doesn’t love dessert? A package of their favorite desserts can be a warm welcome. All it requires is finding their favorite dessert and locating a local place that can deliver it. Plus, as an additional bonus, they will be able to enjoy it without feeling the need to share.  To make a dessert even more meaningful, include some happy work anniversary messages to go with it. 

Send a gift card to one of their favorite places

Gift cards can be a convenient way to honor a work anniversary in a hybrid workplace. While some may feel a gift card can feel impersonal, if you pick a gift card that is special to them, they are sure to enjoy it. Also, a great thing about gift cards is you can easily add one to an online work anniversary card. 

An easy way to find out what gift card is best is by having them provide a list of their favorite places to go or things to do to have on file. That way, as celebrations come around, you will already have a list of ideas ready to use.  

Upgrade their technology

Working on old technology can be extremely frustrating for someone who works remotely. As all the remote employee’s work is completed using technology, upgrading it can be a great way to make their work life easier and more efficient in the years to come.

An upgrade can look like a replacement for a new model or adding a helpful piece of technology they do not have currently. Either way, ensuring your hybrid employees have the best technology for their job is an excellent way to celebrate a work anniversary.

Give a spotlight

Because in a hybrid workplace, there is a mix of people in and out of the office, many team members likely know little about each other. A spotlight can be an excellent way for others in the organization to get to know each other, especially those who work remotely. These spotlights can highlight the following:

• Things they enjoy about the company
• Interests and hobbies
• Personal details like where they grew up, family, etc.
• Their bucket list 

Another great addition to a spotlight would be highlighting comments from other team members, vendors, or customers highlighting the employee. Once you create the spotlight, simply add it to a newsletter, email, social media, Microsoft Teams, or other company messaging service. 

Create a slideshow 

Ask coworkers, vendors, and customers who work with the individual to video themselves. Then, compile the videos and make them into a slideshow you can send to the employee. A slideshow can be a great visual representation of how someone is making an impact within your organization. Here are some question ideas on what to ask people when you interview them: 

• What is your favorite memory while working with [name]? 
• How has [name] impacted you this last year?
• What things do you appreciate about [name]?

Send flowers or a plant

Flowers are a sure way to brighten up anyone’s day. Especially as more working environments require someone to be indoors for hours at a time, bringing a bit of the outdoors into their home can improve someone’s mood. If they enjoy taking care of plants, skip the bouquet of flowers and go straight for a low-maintenance house plant. 

Gift an online gratitude journal

Give them an opportunity for reflection by gifting a subscription to the online gratitude journal, Soul. Each day, Soul prompts them with a question via text and records their response in a secure, online diary. It rewards steaks and gives gentle nudges to make gratitude a part of their daily routine.

Whether they are in the office or working remote, Soul creates a habit of gratitude by making the experience accessible and fun. It’s a great way to encourage the person celebrating the anniversary to think about what matters, both in their personal lives and the workplace.

Upgrade their workspace

Someone’s workspace plays an integral part in their experience at work. If their space is unique and personal to them, they will feel more at home. For this reason, finding a way to upgrade their space can enhance their day-to-day remote work. Additionally, upgrading a work space is a type of celebration for any employee, no matter their office location.

Whether gifting a nicer chair, upgrading a device, or adding a custom painting to their space, this can be a great way to honor the work they will put in during the upcoming year. 

Host a virtual talent show

Getting to know your colleagues is one of the challenges of a hybrid workplace. A virtual talent show is a fantastic way for employees to show off their unique skills. Mainly because they will be doing it from their home, they can display or present their talents more easily. This way, the harpist, who would have had to struggle to bring their instrument to work, can play for the group.

This will be a fun event to celebrate a work anniversary while also improving connection and understanding among your employees. 

Pay for them to learn an industry skill 

Workdays can be busy, and there might be few opportunities to develop a new skill that will help them with their jobs.  While gifting another training may not seem like a positive way to honor a work anniversary, chances are there is some skill they may want to improve on but haven’t had the opportunity to learn this skill. Additionally, enhancing industry skills is something both parties can benefit from. So why not gift it to them and make work a little bit easier for them?

You can do this using sites like: 

• Skillshare
• Masterclass
• Udemy
• Coursera

Celebrate with food

Something employees may miss about working in the office is the availability of breakroom snacks. Whether providing lunch, dinner, or a snack box, supplying food for their workday is guaranteed to be a people pleaser. Ways to gift food for a work anniversary:

• Pay for a meal subscription service
• Gift a food delivery gift card
• Order food from their favorite restaurant to be delivered
• Send a snack box

Take something off their plate 

No matter where their work location is, anyone will appreciate a lighter workload. Whether temporary or long-term, taking something off their plate is an act of service that is bound to help your employees feel a little more refreshed. Especially with an employee who has a demanding position, outsourcing one of their responsibilities can be a meaningful way to demonstrate an understanding of their workload. It will also provide a better work life balance which will increase productivity and employee wellness.

Gift them decor

Whether it is an office building or at home, new decor for their office space can be a great way to make their work environment more comfortable.

It could be a new painting, desk decorations, or a shelf to display their knick-knacks and awards, but try to find a functional piece of decor they would like. If you are unsure what their style is, give them some options to choose from. This way, you will surely gift an item they will enjoy and appreciate. 

Host a fun, virtual award ceremony

A mini award ceremony is a great way to celebrate work anniversaries in a bunch. The great thing about an award ceremony is that the awards can be motivational or fun. In fact, the more they are in good fun, the better.

A mini award ceremony should be a light-hearted way to celebrate the little nuances your team experiences as they work together. Some awards you could include are:

• The Traveling Medic: always has a first aid kit just in case.
• The Email Vigilante: Immediately responds to emails.
• The Foodie: Always knows the best places to eat and is happy to recommend something new.

Create a memory book

A memory book is a collection of memories, mementos, and messages. A memory book can be a meaningful representation of your colleague’s time with the organization. While it might seem difficult to gather things to include in a memory book when many work virtually, there are still meaningful exchanges and memories you will be able to include.

A memory book for a hybrid workplace could include:

• Funny memories of things that happened during a virtual meeting
• Positive customer reviews
• Momentos from projects they completed
• Awards they earned
• Snippets of messages they sent or received over the last year.
• Messages from their colleagues

Host a virtual class

Since the pandemic changed how many companies operate, more companies have begun hosting classes virtually, which makes it an accessible work anniversary activity for hybrid work.

A virtual class will help facilitate connection by gathering a team to do something creative. Not only will it serve as a nice break from the work day, but it will also be a way for team members to build skills while strengthening teams. Creative classes you could host:

• Painting
• Craft
• Drawing
• Photography
• Writing
• Exercise
• Meditation

Host a virtual trivia night

Another great and inexpensive idea to celebrate a work anniversary is by hosting a trivia night. The questions can be about anything and everything; it is up to you to decide. However, if you want to help colleagues get to know each other better, you could have some or all of the questions about the team member whose anniversary it is. 

To do this, survey the employees by asking questions about themselves. Then, gather team members into teams and have them compete against each other. You could even sweeten the deal by including a small reward for the winning team.

Simply reach out and say thank you

As mentioned earlier, a work anniversary celebration doesn’t need to be expensive. Simply taking the time to meet virtually and start a conversation can be a meaningful way to honor the employee. Especially in a hybrid workplace, opportunities to casually talk one-on-one are limited. Meeting with them to say “Happy work anniversary” and chat can be a way to open doors to better communication. 

As you meet with them, be sure to discuss things you appreciate about them, praise them for something they accomplished, and express gratitude for their dedication. This informal meeting can also be a great time to discuss future goals in their career development and concerns for the future. 

Celebrating a Hybrid Work Anniversary is Easy with Kudoboard

Whichever of the 26 celebration ideas you decide to use, a Kudoboard can be the perfect compliment to your celebration. A Kudoboard is an online group anniversary card that eliminates the need to pass a physical greeting card around the office. Instead, it streamlines the process by providing an online board where coworkers can easily add a multimedia happy anniversary message at their convenience, no matter their location. 

A dedicated employee is a valuable asset to your company, especially in an adapting corporate climate. Those employees who find value in the company goals and work through inevitable struggles deserve to be celebrated and to know they are appreciated. As a hybrid workplace presents added challenges to interpersonal connection and workplace engagement, celebrating a work anniversary becomes crucial to successfully building a positive work culture.