Remote work means the end of the office cake tradition. While Seinfeld’s Elaine Benes would be delighted, many company leaders are stumped on how to continue employee celebrations in this new digital setting.
The good news is, your company can maintain the fun in celebrating employee birthdays and anniversaries no matter where everyone’s based. All it takes is the right tools and a little creativity. Say goodbye to the days of endless cakes and try these virtual options that’ll make employees smile.
1. Automate Employee Gifts for Birthdays and Anniversaries
When you have more than one employee, it’s safe to say that one standard gift won’t dazzle everyone! Instead, make your gifts personal with Giftogram. Giftogram’s digital gift cards are the go-to choice for employee gifts because:
- Employees can pick their gifts from over 200 popular retailers.
- Your company can choose a festive birthday/anniversary design for your digital gift card, or you can upload your own design for free.
- You can include a personal message that’s emailed along with the gift card.
- Digital gift cards can be scheduled to automatically send on an employee’s special day - set it and forget it using a smart campaign. Learn more about our favorite feature below.
Automate Employee Birthday and Anniversary Gifts
Staying on top of employees’ special days is no easy task, especially with the added challenge of rotating staff brought on by the Great Resignation. Giftogram makes these gifts a breeze by allowing you to create smart campaigns that automatically send employees a gift card on their birthdays and anniversary dates.
Best of all, only “active” recipients can receive gifts, so you don't need to worry about editing the campaign every time someone is onboarded or leaves the company.
Creating an automated smart campaign:
2. Team-Authored Tributes They’ll Always Keep
Call it “kudos,” a “living eulogy,” or what it really is: a digital birthday or anniversary card they’ll treasure well beyond your celebration. With an online Kudoboard, your team members can create their own posts to let employees know how much they mean to them.
With the ability to upload videos, photos, and gifs alongside custom messages, everyone in your company has the opportunity to colorfully share their heartfelt wishes for treasured team members on their special day. There’s even an option to print the kudos board as a hard-bound book.
3. A Virtual Team Lunch with the Whole Gang
If your crew used to swap cake for lunches out, keep the tradition going! Set a date and time for an afternoon Zoom call and send team members a digital gift card, so they order from their favorite lunch spot.
Don’t stress about how to juggle the lunch preferences of a large group of people. Instead, send a Giftogram that enables recipients to pay for their order from delivery services like DoorDash and UberEats. That way, they’re set for lunch on the company without even having to leave the house.
4. A Comedy Show with a Shout-Out or Gentle “Roast”
For employees who love a good laugh, hire a local comedian to host a show over Zoom. You can opt for their usual show or fill them in on the honored guest so they can give them a shout out or throw in a few zingers that your team will especially enjoy.
To sweeten the celebration, consider sending a digital gift card so team members can order food in or purchase a bottle of bubbly for an honorary toast. Giftograms can be redeemed for meals and drinks from their choice of dozens of retailers.
5. An Expert-Led Workshop on Their Favorite Activity
Chances are, your employees engage in all kinds of interests and hobbies, many of which you’d never guess. Ask the folks who know them best. Then, source an expert to host a virtual workshop for their special day that lets them do what they love along with all of the team members who care about them. Activities can include:
- Mixology
- Drawing or painting
- Cooking
- Candle making
- Wine tasting
- Crafting
- Creative writing
- Terrarium making
- Yoga
- Meditation
After consulting with their closest work friends, you may even think of something even more clever. No matter what you choose, there’s no need to stress about getting workshop supplies to participating team members. Send a Giftogram, and they can scoop up what’s needed on their own, right from home. From Michael’s crafts to Instacart, check out our complete list of retailers here.
6. A Signature Gif or Meme of That Epic Meeting Eyeroll
Virtual meetings brought us so many moments over the past couple of years. From the viral “I’m not a cat” court debacle to the daily dose of funny facial expressions we see across our screens at just about every meeting, some team members tend to stand out in the virtual conference room.
In honor of a birthday or anniversary, elect some creative folks to whip up a gif or meme compilations of your employee’s most memorable on-screen moments as the cherry on top of their gift. You can upload an image onto a Giftogram digital gift card for no extra charge. How’s that for a gift that’s truly personal?
Win at Virtual Employee Birthdays and Anniversaries with Giftogram
When you lean on Giftogram, you can get creative with employee celebrations - even when you’re remote! Keep your culture thriving in the remote world with the easiest way to gift employees, equip them for virtual events, and treat them to lunch over zoom. To get started, Create a Free Account online or give us a call at (973) 887-1600, and we’ll set it up for you!