A company is only as good as its employees. Once you find the right employees that stick with your organization for a year or more, it’s crucial they feel recognized and appreciative of their work. And there isn’t a better way to appreciate your employees than setting up an employee anniversary award program. Such programs are vital for employee loyalty. Here are some reasons why you should institute the program.

It boosts retention rates
This is probably the main reason many companies globally celebrate employee work anniversaries. High employee retention rates in any organization are indicative of employee satisfaction on various levels. Most importantly, it makes employees feel that their work is valued by their company and what they’re doing most of their waking hours is more than just about making money. And when your employees genuinely feel this, they’re far more likely to continue working for you. Besides, retaining your workforce is also important if you want to create a stable work environment and advance your business.

It attracts the best talents
Establishing a tradition of celebrating employee anniversaries isn’t just about retaining your current workforce. When people from other businesses discover that you value your employees, they would want to become a part of your company too. This will give you the opportunity to hire top talents in the industry and take your business to new heights. An excellent way to ensure that prospective candidates learn about your company’s culture is to share moments and stories from anniversary award programs on social networking sites, especially LinkedIn.

It increases employee loyalty
Did you know that more than one-third of newly hired employees quit their job within the first year? You can change that statistic in your company by instituting a high-quality employee anniversary award program. Companies in which employees receive genuine recognition consistently tend to have a strong, reliable workforce that is totally dedicated to contributing to the company’s success. It’s important to note that employee loyalty is different from retention in that loyalty denotes a sense of attachment to a company, regardless of its ups and downs. This also means employees are less likely to think about leaving their present company only to join a rival company for a better salary.

It creates a positive, motivated work culture
This is one of the most significant advantages of celebrating service milestones of employees. When employees are appreciated for the work they’re doing, they’re truly happy, which helps create a positive, motivated culture across departments. In business terms, there’s a significant improvement in employee engagement. In 2017, management consulting company Gallup conducted a study to understand the impact engaged and recognized employees make in workplaces in the country. The results clearly showed substantial improvement across various factors in the form of reduced turnover, less absenteeism, more sales, fewer quality defects, higher productivity, and even decreased safety incidents.

It is what employees expect
A workplace is a significant part of an employee’s life. And if they’re spending eight hours a day, or more, five days a week in an office, they expect something beyond salary in return. An employee anniversary award program is designed to fulfill exactly that expectation! However, when recognizing and rewarding employees, don’t just mention the number of years they spent at the company. Instead, consider highlighting their various accomplishments and key contributions over the past twelve months, such as their close sales rate, new certification, or exceptional customer service. You might also want to research innovative ideas to celebrate work anniversaries, such as offering reward points, handwritten notes, public shoutouts, time off, and bonuses.