The Best Ways to Recognise Long-Serving Employees

Employees are a company's most valuable asset. The most significant ones are those who have been with us for a long time. People are more mobile nowadays, and they are perhaps more prone to switch jobs regularly. Keeping them is a difficult task.

Employees with a long tenure have valuable business expertise, job experience, and problem-solving skills that are difficult to replace. When employees leave, organisations lose all of the tacit knowledge they brought with them.

As a result, recognising and honouring employees through lengthy service awards is critical.

Awarding tenured employees

1. Commemorate early employee milestones.

A five-year starting point is no longer relevant. According to a recent survey, 1/3 of new hires leave their employment within six months of starting. It's no longer the norm to work numerous years at your first job after graduating. In the gig economy, an increasing number of people choose to be self-employed or freelancing.

Rethink your timing for employee long service awards instead of waiting for a five, 10, or 20-year work anniversary.

What is your employees' lifecycle? How long do they stay with the company on average? Rethink the timelines for your employees' long service awards.

Consider giving smaller annual rewards to demonstrate your appreciation on a regular basis. Annual rewards merged with long service awards can dramatically improve employee retention.

2. Communicate your long service awards programme to your employees

The majority of companies have a long service awards programme for their employees. However, better communication can help them achieve more efficient results. Employees who have worked for your company for a long time are recognised through the long service awards programme.

If you wish to make your recognition program more effective and inspiring, then give your staff personalised awards.

While recognising an employee's long service, supervisors should consider the values that the employee exemplifies. They should discuss the additional accomplishments the employee has made since the previous service awards.

3. Make it a social event

Long service anniversaries are significant occasions, mainly when people nowadays appear to be rapidly bouncing from one job to the next. Educate your staff on what a long service award is and what you have to offer in terms of long service awards.

Give a shout-out to employees who have been with the company for a long time. It's something you could do at an employee meeting or on special occasions. You are demonstrating that you are a compassionate employer by doing so.

According to research, employees who are highly engaged are happier and more productive. They don't look for work elsewhere either. What does this prove? It appears that this results in a lower turnover rate. It would also assist the company in saving a significant amount of money each year.

4. Provide employees with opportunities to learn from their experiences.

Experiential rewards are an excellent way to motivate your employees. What if your company provided you with a skydiving experience? Wouldn't it be wonderful to be able to look back on these experiences for the rest of your life?

These experiences lead to the best moments, and the best ones lead to happiness. We spend most of our waking hours at work; thus, happiness is essential, contributing to the development of positive workplace culture.

Experiential travel rewards leave a lasting impression on recipients and foster good associations with the organisation that offered the reward.

5. A proactive approach to long-service recognition

Every organisation should implement a long-service awards programme. However, each organisation's situation may differ because each has its own vision, principles, and objectives.

It has a beneficial impact on retention when you invest in long service rewards for an employee, and it affects employee happiness, engagement, and culture as well.

6. It's time to personalise and provide choice

HR and management should prioritise personalisation when determining rewards for employees. Consider what that unique employee would most desire. This is especially true for prizes for extended service.

When it comes to long-service awards, the options are endless—a hotel stay, a concert, a sporting event, and so on. It would be difficult to determine the appropriate experience for each employee unless your HR team has a thorough understanding of all employees.

As a result, allowing customers to choose their own experiences is the best practice.

Unique deas for long-service rewards

1. Gift certificates or gift cards

Many people like to be rewarded with gift cards or vouchers, and a long service award is no exception.

Employees can choose their own incentives with the help of gift cards. Furthermore, personalising your gift card with the company's logo and the employee's name adds to its effect.

Gift cards and vouchers serve two purposes: 

1. They have a monetary value, a clear method to demonstrate how much you value your employees.

2. It allows the employee to choose their own gifts. This keeps you from giving your employees inappropriate gifts and reduces the possibility of the present being disliked by the employee.

2. Electronic appliances

The world has experienced several technological developments in recent years. Electronic appliances such as iPads, 3D televisions, smartphones, and smartwatches are desired by all.

When employers give their workers a choice of rewards, electronic items will likely be at the top of their wish lists.

3. Vacation or travel vouchers

Employers prefer to reward employees with additional paid vacation days or travel vouchers. They give such incentives after a certain number of years of service, such as 10, 20, or 30.

Employees can use the travel voucher for various things such as a weekend getaway, an overnight stay, or even a family vacation package. Your employees will be able to share their awards with their loved ones as well.

4. Wellness kit

Empower your employees to maintain their health. A wellness kit can make your employees more health-conscious, and it will pamper your employees as well. They will realise that they are essential to your company, invigorate and renew their spirits, thus allowing them to perform better.

Finding, engaging, and retaining employees in today's workforce is a huge challenge. Do not wait for far-off milestones to recognise and honour your staff; do it throughout their tenure with your organisation.

Source: Empuls