The average time that workers stay with a company is 3.2 years for those 25 to 34 years old, and 10.3 years for people aged 65 and over, according to a recent Economic News Release. A study by O.C. Tanner Company found that almost 80% of workers who decide to quit their jobs said they did so because they didn’t feel appreciated. Letting your workers know that you appreciate them improves business. Recognizing employee anniversaries is a great way to keep your employees happy and boost morale, which leads to less turnover along with better employee engagement.
The benefits to celebrating employee anniversaries extend well beyond your employees receiving a gift. Keeping good employees long-term is extremely important to the success and growth of any business. If your company has high employee turnover, it can cause quite a bit of uneasiness among workers, which can lead to low morale. This can cause more of your employees to leave the company, and can affect your ability to hire new employees due to potential negative feedback on review sites like Glassdoor.
Employee Recognition
First of all, who doesn’t want to be recognized for their hard work and years of service? It can be hard for people sometimes to work at a job they may not love, especially if they are offered other opportunities. Receiving recognition for their work and the milestones they reach by staying at their job can make things better and create a positive company culture. Recognizing employee anniversaries can show that you value your employees and their commitment to their jobs over the years. This and time off are often the most popular incentives for employees behind pay.
Motivation in the Office
When employees feel like they are valued by the company, they are far more likely to work harder, knowing that their hard work won’t go unnoticed in the office. Other employees may also be encouraged to stay at their jobs longer if they see their coworkers reaching milestones and being recognized for it. This can increase employee retention over a longer time period, as well as recharge focus and energy in the workplace.
Employee recognition programs based around events and work anniversaries or milestone anniversaries are a simple way to make your employees happier at work. If you want to keep your workers motivated, especially those you want to keep for many years to come, it’s best to make the effort of recognizing and rewarding work anniversaries along with positive feedback on good work in general. Keeping your employees motivated to work hard and stay with your company longer will prevent you from having to constantly spend time hiring new employees, time that can be spent growing your business instead.
Morale & Employee Appreciation
A boost in the morale of your employees is the easiest benefit to see from recognizing employee anniversaries. Employees tend to feel more important when their time and meaningful work at the company is recognized. Feeling appreciated helps all workers have a better attitude at the workplace. When employee morale is high, workers are more productive, which improves the bottom line of your business. Overall, recognizing employee anniversaries is a win-win situation for both your employees and your business.
Gift Ideas for Recognizing Employee Anniversaries
One of the simplest, easiest and yet fun ways to recognize employee anniversaries is to give them some swag to show that they’re appreciated at the company and to bolster their team spirit.
Try looking beyond the typical company swag items, and get recognition awards your employees are sure to love. Swag.com offers some awesome products that make perfect work anniversary gifts. Here are some ideas to get you started, and some ways to sweeten up your swag even more…
Keep Your Rainmakers Dry With a Slick Umbrella
When thinking about company swag, the first things that probably come to mind are t-shirts, coffee mugs, pens, or water bottles. But something that’s often overlooked (because who wants to buy one for themselves?) is a high quality umbrella that’ll keep your rainmakers dry. Perhaps consider something like the Blunt Umbrella from Swag.com. After all, everyone needs a good, sturdy umbrella they can leave at their desk for the occasional stormy day that catches them off-guard.
Make Sure Your Team Doesn’t Go Thirsty. Give Them a Swag Bottle
Everyone loves a quality water bottle, so if you choose to go the water bottle route with your gift for recognizing employee anniversaries, make sure it’s a nice one that the employee will want to hang onto. This Swag.com 17 Oz. Water Bottle is a great gift that’s also eco-friendly. Anyone who wants to keep a drink cold for up to 24 hours or hot for 12 will love this… unless they’re one of those oddballs who likes their water lukewarm, in which case, we’d recommend a mug.
Let The Good Times Roll With a Bluetooth Speaker
Who doesn’t love listening to music? Just about any employee would love getting a new Bluetooth speaker or any other nice audio tech to toss into their bag for a weekend trip to the park or the beach or to use while traveling. Want to make this employee anniversary gift extra special? Pair it with a gift card to iTunes or Amazon so that your team member can have plenty of music to listen to.
Give Them Something They’ll Use Every Day
If you want to give your employees something you know they’ll get tons of use out of try Swag.com’s Swivel USB might be just the thing to give them for recognizing their work anniversary. Everyone can use something to store important files safely, where they’re less likely to get accidentally deleted. Want to make it an awesome gift? Pre-load the USB with something awesome like a printable airline gift card, a spa voucher, or a gift card to Amazon. Just make sure you let your employees know to check the contents of the thumb drive!
Another popular item that your employees will love (and use!) is a Custom Tile Mate Tracker, or any of Swag’s custom wireless chargers. Give them something they probably want, but haven’t bought for themselves. Or, even if they already have one, another is always useful and by giving them something they will use frequently it will be a regular reminder of your appreciation of their work.
Find these and more creative ideas on rewarding your team members on Swag.com
