Acknowledging employees' milestones is a must.
You know that you couldn't run your business without your employees. Whether you run a small family business or an international corporate conglomerate, workers are the ones on the frontlines and keeping the trains running on time - sometimes, quite literally!
Unfortunately, many companies seem to be failing at demonstrating their appreciation to their employees. In fact, according to one study, nearly 80 per cent of those who quit their jobs, do so as a result of a lack of appreciation at work. Worker tenure is dropping quickly, as workers opt to jump from job to job. This means your employee turnover rate is likely higher than you'd like it to be, and it's probably costing your company. Replacing employees is expensive and time-consuming, and so you should be extremely motivated to keep the workers you have, and make sure they're happy to stay.
How can you make sure you don't lose your best employees because they don't feel acknowledged for their hard work? Sure, you can do your best to glad-hand the workers, personally thanking them once in a while, but without a structured employee engagement plan, it's unlikely you'll continue doing it as consistently as you should.
Celebrating milestones
Keep your employees happier in their roles and as a member of your company longer by always acknowledging and celebrating their accomplishments and milestones. Remind them that they are an essential part of your team and that their hard work has not gone unnoticed. It's a great boost for morale even for those who aren't actively being rewarded, ask the other employees are reminded that their company recognises the contributions of their peers.
If you are going to implement a programme to recognise and celebrate employee milestones, here are a few best practices:
1. Implement a system
With a small staff, you may be able to create and stick to an employee reward system. However, with a staff of a dozen or more, it's much more difficult to give regular praise to everyone who deserves it.
Power2Motivate UK has an employee loyalty programme that has been created for how businesses work today. We'll help you recognise your workers' positive results and behaviors as well as help celebrate their years of service. Not only will these recognitions come from the top down, but peer to peer as well. Bring positive acknowledgement to your company on a regular basis with our Years of Service Awards Programme.
2. Avoid uniform celebrations
While it might be easier to give each employee the same handshake and gift card to a local coffee shop, it won't be very meaningful. Instead, talk to team managers who know the employees best to establish a gift that would be appropriate and appreciated.
Whether you provide managers with a budget and allow them to use their best judgement or give them a few options to choose from for each individual employee's celebration, a more personalized gift or experience will be appreciated by your staff.
3. Share the news
In addition to the gift or celebration you choose to mark your employees' milestone work anniversaries, be sure to make sure the rest of the team or even company is brought into the celebration. A company email, a notice in the break room, or an announcement during a meeting can go a long way to not only make the individual feel important and acknowledged, but it will also give their team a chance to voice their own appreciation.
Celebrating your employees' milestones is a great way to acknowledge accomplishments and, as a benefit, improve morale and reduce turnover.