Celebrating your employees is an important part of being an employer. When your employees feel like they matter to you and the company, they’re more engaged in their work, keeping them productive even through the most stressful deadlines.
Not celebrating your employees on their work anniversary can reduce employee morale, especially if they have been at the company for more than a few years. Failure to mention and celebrate these huge milestones can make your employees feel as though they’re not important to the business or its strategic goals, which can be demoralizing.
So, read this post to learn how to avoid that. 🙌
How to Show Appreciation on Employee Work Anniversary ✨
Employers are expected to remember big milestones, such as employee anniversaries. However, remembering someone’s work anniversary is only one small piece of the puzzle. You can track employees’ hire dates using actiPLANS, but it’s up to you to find a way to demonstrate your appreciation for their hard work.
Employees want to know they matter to the company, and anniversaries allow employers to impact the morale of the entire organization. Showing appreciation for employees can improve company culture and make your employees feel valued, reducing employee turnover. Here are ways to show your employees appreciation on their work anniversary.
1. Reward points 🤩
If you’ve already started investing in employee engagement tools, you might already be familiar with employee recognition programs that allow employees to accumulate points they can redeem for rewards. While your company should reward employees throughout their employment, they can get a boost in points on major milestones, such as work anniversaries, to start redeeming points for better rewards.
A rewards point system allows you to reward employees for all of their accomplishments and assign points depending on the size of the accomplishment.
2. Public announcements and recognition 📢
Many companies no longer do employee of the month awards, but there are still ways you can publicly show appreciation for employees on their work anniversaries. For example, instead of simply congratulating an employee on their anniversary in the morning meeting, you can post about them on the company’s social media channels or internal company newsletters to boost their self-esteem and make them feel valued.
Providing public recognition will also let your coworkers know it’s their anniversary, making them more likely to congratulate them. Also, if you work remotely and use a communication platform like g-chat or slack, you can make a public announcement so they can feel even more valued.
3. Growth opportunities 🌱
When employees reach milestones, you should reward them by offering them something that keeps them engaged. Of course, you should appreciate all the work they’ve already done, but you may want to get them started on new tasks once they’ve been in the company for a few years.
For example, on an employee’s five-year anniversary, you can invest in their future to show gratitude while helping them learn new skills they need to climb up the ladder at work. Whether it’s paying for professional certification or allowing them to pursue a degree that can benefit their career, employees will be thankful for an investment in their professional development since it shows commitment to helping them grow within the company.
4. Food 🍕🍰🍹
Many office workers don’t like having to make their lunch and bring it to work every day, so rewarding your employees on their anniversary with free food is always going to be a popular option. Food is a relatively inexpensive way to show employee appreciation, so you can order employees’ lunch on their yearly anniversaries.
5. Time off 🏄♀️
More employers need to recognize how hard many of their employees work for them. Some employees go above and beyond, working after hours or at home to complete their work. Giving your employees time off or more vacation time can help them recover from stressful deadlines, but it’s a great way to tell them you care about their mental health as much as they do.
It’s understandable why many employers don’t provide more time off than the minimum required by law. Of course, they need people in the office to get work done. However, once an employee proves themselves, an employer shouldn’t have any problem giving them a couple more days off each year to allow them to reset.
6. Handwritten letters 💌
How often do you get personal letters? Many people still take notes by hand, but getting a written letter means someone took the time to write down the message and make it more personal.
By writing your employees a letter on their work anniversaries, you can find the perfect way to tell them how much you appreciate all of their hard work. This type of validation can help invigorate employees who have had the same jobs for years while helping them understand how important they are to the business.
7. Bonuses or raise 💸
At the end of the day, your employees work for you because they need money to live, so it’s a no-brainer to give employees extra money on their work anniversary. Compensating your employees for being dedicated to the business is a great way to show recognition while putting extra money in their pockets to spend on entertainment.
8. New equipment 📱💻
Whether your employees work from home or in the office, they work at least eight hours a day Monday through Friday. Having better equipment can help your employees get more work done while giving them a fun new experience with technology of the latest and greatest features. Something as simple as buying your employee a new home office computer can get them excited about flexible work opportunities while showing them you want to provide them with a great working experience.
Celebrating Your Employees 🎉🎊
Employee recognition makes work more bearable, especially during periods of prolonged stress and tight deadlines. By showing the people who work for you that you appreciate the time and effort they’ve put into your business, you can reinvigorate them every year while giving them something to look forward to. In addition, employee recognition goes a long way to ensuring your employees are happy and healthy while remaining productive to help your business succeed.
This post is contributed to actiPLANS by Ashley Nielsen, a contributing writer at 365businesstips.com where she shares knowledge about general business, marketing, lifestyle, or financial tips.
