As an employer, your main objective is to hire the best employees and get the best out of them for the highest return on your investment, which honoring them with a milestone reward for their years of hard work and dedication can help you do.
These types of rewards are also known as service awards, and for their cost, they more than pay for themselves over time in the following ways:
Increases Employee Production and Output
One study by Oxford University shows that happy employees are more willing to go above and beyond in their job tasks, resulting in increased production and output for their salary’s worth.
Their increased enthusiasm in the workplace can also help motivate other employees to be more energetic and productive in their duties for greater value.
Helps Retain and Attract New Customers for Increased Revenue
Satisfied employees are also more likely to care about the company’s vision and do what they can to support it, which leads to happy customers and repeat business.
It also increases the chance of your current customers sharing their good experiences with your company with other customers, which helps attract new customers and also helps bolster your sales.
It also helps increase brand loyalty because customers like to support businesses where they feel their employees are treated fairly and can trust that they recognize a good company to work with as supporters themselves.
Helps You Reduce Hiring and Training Costs
Taking the extra step to make your staff feel appreciated also makes them less likely to want to leave, which means a lower employee turnover rate that helps save on costly hiring and training costs associated with taking on new workers.
Makes Top Talent More Attracted to Your Company
Top talent seeking a company to call home are attracted to those who show their support for their employees, enabling them to envision themselves in a place where they can showcase their skills to the fullest and grow.
It also helps you attract top talent from your own pool of in-house employees whose skills and abilities have developed over time and who want to remain with the company because they believe in it and know what to expect, which also helps save time, costs, and sign-on bonuses enlisting aid elsewhere.
Helps Save Money on Raises
Presenting your workers with awards periodically for their service may also help buy you some time on paying salary increases because it goes a long way towards making them feel just as acknowledged.
The more elaborate the award, the more special it makes your employees feel. So consider presenting them rewards beyond the typical plaques and instead opt for the classier ones, such as those made of crystal or glass, for added meaning and appeal.
This is especially true for your long-term employees of 10 years or more who really deserve for you to go all out.
However, a service reward should never replace a raise because just like your employees know when they deserve recognition via an honorable mention, they also know when they are due a pay increase for their services.
So neglecting to give your workers one when they deserve it and instead trying to pass it off with a service award will only counteract your efforts and make them resentful, which can result in low employee morale and thus productivity, thus negatively impacting your ROI.
Makes You Feel Good
No matter what else may be going on at the job or in your life, seeing your employees happy and knowing that you are partially responsible for it is an instant mood booster that gives you pride in being a good boss, which, in turn, can only help you improve in your management duties as well so that everyone continues to benefit.
So a service award provides the opportunity for many returns on your investment. For the most impact, it is recommended that you reward your employees after their first five years of remarkable service and then again every five years after that to keep the job interesting and give them something to look forward to for working many years at your company.
