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BLUF: I want to reward my team for a job well done - what's worked well for you in the past?
I'm the PM of a team that recently finished up a grueling project - the culmination of more than four years work on a large-scale IT platform migration. While some have been on the team for the entire time and some only the last six months, all have performed admirably even though it took a toll on all of us as far as morale, personal capital, and personal lives. I'd like to do something nice for them to show my (and by extension, the company's) appreciation for their work. The majority of the team (including myself) is remote so getting together for a celebratory dinner, while a nice idea, means pulling them away from their families/pets/houseplants/etc. so it's probably not the idea of a reward that most people have.
So, to you, M-Ters...how have you rewarded your teams in the past or how have you been rewarded?
We have used a variety of
We have used a variety of methods to reward team members after a job well done.
It sounds like your accomplishment was huge so these ideas may seem to trivial given your accomplishment.
However, I am going to spill them anyway.
1. We get gift cards to one of the fancier movie theaters. These movie theaters have the lazy boy lounge chairs with blankets and pillows and the movie theater serves yummy food and adult beverages.
2. Gift packages to a local spa. You want to reward them with something relaxing so why not a spa day?
3. Tickets to a local sporting event. We have a minor league baseball team that we get tickets for including parking.
Peace out.
Depending on the size of
Depending on the size of the company, you might consider the following:
1) Recognition of project/team effort in internal company newsletter
2) Seeing as there were significant personal sacrifices made, and depending on your company, giving the project members a bonus day off may be appreciated and well deserved.
3) At the culmination of a previous project, we received very nice fountain pens. A thoughtful "corporate" gift is always nice.
I'm not clear on the specifics of the geographical spread of your team members, but differing cities and states or even countries can make other things difficult, including gift cards, if the stores are too specific.
Nothing beats...
A hand-written note, mailed to their home that they can share with their family how much their work/contributions helped make the project a success. It will be a fair bit of work on your end, but I would guarantee they've never received one before.
I've done this on several occasions and my team has been blown away by the gesture. If you wanted to include gift cards or the like in them, that'd be ok too.
Consider the family
Since you say there was obvious personal sacrifice, it would be thoughtful to include their family in the acknowledgment.
I worked long hours on a project once and my boss asked me to take my wife to dinner on him wherever we wanted to go.
Since your team is remote, this may be an option if you can't think of a way to celebrate together.
Congrats on your success,
Phil