How to Make Work Anniversaries Special for Your Employees

If you have employees who have remained loyal to you for a number of years, celebrating their hiring anniversaries can be a great way to strengthen your bond with them and make them feel appreciated. By acknowledging the loyalty and contributions of employees, you also motivate employees to continue working for you.

Like all anniversaries, planning employee anniversary celebrations can be difficult. If you have never formally acknowledged an employee’s hiring anniversary before, the chances are that you have no idea where to start. This post has you covered, though. Read on to find out more.

Give Employees Gifts

The best way to celebrate an employee’s hiring anniversary is to give them a gift. A gift shows you are aware of their anniversary and cherish them as an employee. Finding employee anniversary gifts can be difficult because it’s not always easy to know what somebody’s interests are. However, there are specialist companies and agencies you can work with to help select the perfect presents for your employees.

Handwritten Thank-You Note

Handwritten thank-you notes are the perfect complement to employee gifts. Each and every gift you give to your employees should be accompanied by one. The best thing about thank-you notes is that they show employees that you didn’t automate the gift-giving process–you made the decision to select a gift and write a card yourself. This will make employees feel a lot more appreciated than just a gift or a printed card with your digital signature on it.

Announcing Anniversaries

Announcing employee anniversaries in your company’s email newsletter can be another way to make them feel appreciated. A lot of companies like to do this, because it reinforces the benefits of loyalty. Not only will the employees whose anniversaries are being announced feel a sense of pride, but the employees reading anniversary announcements will feel motivated to stay loyal so that they can get their achievements acknowledged on their hiring anniversary.

Giving Time Off

Sometimes the best way to acknowledge an employee’s loyalty is to give them time off. While people do value their jobs, they also value time alone or time with their loved ones. Giving an employee a day off as a thank you for their loyalty to you is an effective way to motivate them to continue working hard and to remain loyal, and make their work-life balance a little more manageable. Make sure you pick a convenient day, like a Friday. This is so that they can have a long weekend, rather than a day off in the middle of the week.

Consider Gift Cards

Gift cards are the perfect gift to give to employees on their anniversaries. The thing that makes gift cards such a great gift idea is that they put gifts in the hands of employees. With gift cards, employees can select their own gifts. Gift cards are a great compliment to a gift and a thank-you note. You don’t need to put much on a gift card if you are giving your employee another gift and a letter of acknowledgment. An alternative to a gift card is a cash bonus.

Lunch or Dinner

Lunch or dinner with your employees can be another way to show them you are proud of them and you care about them and their loyalty to you. Taking time out of your day as your business’s CEO to sit and eat with employees can be very inspirational, not to mention massively increase their loyalty to you. It even gives them a chance to bond with you on a personal basis, which is ideal for people who want to advance up the career ladder.

Decorating the Office

Decorating the office to celebrate an employee’s hiring anniversary can be another effective way to show them that you care about them and are happy to have them as a member of your team. Getting personally involved in the decorating process also shows your other employees that you value them, since you are making an active effort to get involved and celebrate somebody else’s achievements. Employees will see your involvement as a sign you actually care for employees and their welfare.

Social Media Mentions

Make sure to tell your social media marketing team to mention your employee’s hiring anniversary on all of your channels. Doing this can be a good way to compel other people to apply for jobs at your company. Job candidates like to feel appreciated, so they tend to seek out businesses that make an active effort to celebrate their employees. Mentioning an employee’s hiring anniversary on social media can also be a great way to make them feel appreciated and wanted by your business.

Professional Development

Many businesses send long-time employees on courses to celebrate their loyalty. This is a sign that they are considering offering them a promotion. Of course, you should only think about professional development if you are confident the employee whose anniversary you are celebrating is productive enough to justify a promotion. Talk to them on a personal basis about their hopes, dreams, and aspirations in your business, so you can get an idea of where their head is at. Then, offer them a roadmap to career advancement.

Make a Donation

A donation in an employee’s name to a charity of their choosing is another good way to celebrate them. If you plan on making a donation in their name, make sure you send them the thank-you note from the charity. To effectively make a donation, sit down with your employee and ask them to explain their passions to you. This is so you can get a good idea of charities they might be interested in. Alternatively, you can outright ask them if there are any charities that mean something to them.

Team Gathering

Finally, no matter what celebrations you throw for your employee’s hiring anniversary, take them out for a team meal. A team meal is a great bonding experience for your whole team, not just the person whose anniversary is being celebrated. It will motivate the rest of that person’s team to remain loyal to your business, so that they can be celebrated on their anniversary.

Making work anniversaries special can increase employee loyalty and productivity.

If you are interested in throwing an anniversary celebration for a particular employee, think about the points made here. Considering each of them will help you to make a decision about what to do.