Celebrating anniversaries are important. Every relationship reaches yearly milestones that we often celebrate within our personal lives. And if companies are doing it right, interactions between them and their employees ARE relationships as well. Celebrating their dedication and commitment to achieve company goals deserves a little recognition!
Your dedicated employees are like gold. With the job market booming with competitive benefits and pay, we often see employees job hopping until they find the perfect fit for them because they can.
With the average cost of turnover for an entry-level position at 50% of salary (Forbes), it’s financially important to retain good employees.
Fostering a culture of recognition focused on engagement helps keep retention high for your company. A service award program that honors the years of service each employee puts in should be part of your recognition strategy.
Honoring Years of Service with Service Awards
There are a few ways to celebrate the years of service your employees put in at your company. Here are our favorite ways.
Certificate of Praise
Certificates are a cost-effective way to show recognition and a great solution for celebrating the years in between big milestones. Present the certificates in a personalized folder to add a finishing touch and treat them to an anniversary lunch to make their workiversary extra special!
Years of Service Trophies
Trophies are a wonderful way to highlight milestone years of service. Trophies designed specifically for honoring years of service are even better! Plus they’ll stand out among the rest!
Numeral Awards
Letting the number of years an employee has dedicated to your organization take the spotlight will let them feel proud enough to brag about.
Perpetual Trophies
As employees’ numbers of years stack, so will their perpetual trophy! You’ll be able to physically see the growth they have in the organization, something anyone would be proud of!
Present Awards at a Team Lunch or Happy Hour
Having a smaller celebration means more one on one time between awardee and their manager, as well as some good bonding time with the team! Make their recognition even more personal by letting the awardee choose where they’d like to have the celebration!
Encourage the Whole Company to Celebrate
Include upcoming work anniversaries in company email updates or post them on communal boards throughout the office or your internal dashboard. By doing so, it gives everyone a chance to be informed about the anniversaries and a chance to celebrate their fellow co-workers!
Be sure to provide the tools and resources for peer to peer shout outs for other co-workers years of service. Encourage staff to decorate team member’s desks and spaces for their anniversary as one form of recognition. Because it truly is a party and a celebration for another year down! Cue the confetti.
No matter how it’s celebrated, in the end it’s important that it is celebrated. Keep staff engaged and feeling valued by adding service milestone awards into your recognition program.
For more ideas and inspiration on recognition follow our blog!
