5 Ways To Reward Your Long Serving Employees

Is your business staff-centric?

Today all businesses must put their staff before profit. To do otherwise is risky. Workers have more employment options, and fed-up employees have taken action. The Great Resignation and ‘quiet quitting‘ are evidence of people’s confidence in their value to businesses.

Rewarding staff regularly is a sure way to boost morale, increase productivity, and foster engagement. Plus, it creates a positive work environment where people will feel seen and heard, which encourages loyalty toward the company.

Companies must not just talk about how much they value their staff; they need to prove it. It is the action that speaks louder than words. Without it, solving the most pressing issues of today’s work environment will continue to elude businesses and threaten their existence.

If you want your top talent to be with you in the long run, you must create a positive work environment.

Show your recognition for their loyalty and dedication by creating a seniority program or a reward system that increases one’s benefits every few years spent with the company.

Rewarding Long-Serving Employees

How do long-serving employees want to be rewarded?

Bonus

To say money doesn’t matter is short-sighted. Of course, money matters, and while many long-serving employees are too discrete to say it’s what they want, giving them a bonus won’t be turned down! The question to ask yourself is, why wouldn’t you give your long-serving employees a bonus when they reach a milestone of tenure? There are many ways to reward employees, so your business may choose not to add a bonus to the reward system and instead shout them a short vacation.

Short-Stay Vacation

A weekend away is another memorable and rewarding way to show you value your long-serving employees. You may also throw in an extra day vacation, so the weekend away is three days, not two.

Give Out Physical Awards

Many businesses offer employee recognition for years of service awards because this is a clear and visual way to recognize the merits of someone who’s been with you for a long time. This type of award can be proudly displayed on the employee’s desk or office and speaks loudly about their role within your organization.

A Lunch Date

Take the long-serving employee out to lunch and ideally choose a premium eatery or restaurant.

Team Celebration

Remote working makes it more challenging to bring employees together to celebrate milestones, but it’s not impossible. Use Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or another video conferencing system to get everyone online simultaneously. Give a ‘thank you speech and let everyone know how you have rewarded the long-serving employee.

If you still have a workplace, have a morning or afternoon tea celebration with snacks, so all workers can join in and congratulate the long-serving employee.

Why Reward Employees?

Increasing productivity improves production and profit. During the COVID pandemic, productivity dropped. Employee morale was low, especially if they got COVID, and it’s taken time for businesses to get production levels up. It’s one of the reasons for high inflation – for some time, there has been more demand for and less supply of goods and services.

Businesses that understand the correlation between employees’ mental health and productivity can avoid losing their elite employees.

Employees leave the business to show they’re unhappy with their job and the company. Another way is ‘quiet quitting’, where they do the bare minimum of work while keeping their job.

Spark Inspiration by Encouraging Engagement

You want your employees to be engaged with their work and contribute with ideas, opinions, and even tips. Each person’s contribution is valuable (whether you use it or not) because it sparks interest and inspiration.

Still, engagement is quite tricky to encourage when no reward exists. Sure, you can (and should) recognize the ones who contribute verbally, but the satisfaction that comes from that wears off if it’s not supported through other strategies.

Plan a Career Growth Path

One way to make your employees heard and seen is to help them build a career path. In all fairness, this works best in larger companies or companies that are in the process of expansion, but small businesses can find solutions as well.

The best way to support an employee’s career aspirations is to provide them with options for growth. These often include training, on-the-job education, chances to prove their worth, etc. Of course, you must also support this process through promotions, benefits, financial rewards, etc.

Employee training is a win-win situation, as it benefits businesses!

Better Understanding of Company Values

Company values are the core of the culture you want to create because they inspire existing employees and attract new talent. However, if you want to make sure employees follow these values, you have to make them as visible as possible and show your appreciation when they are enforced correctly.

Build a Recognition Program for Your Values

If full transparency and camaraderie are part of your company values, show appreciation when one of your employees displays them. Don’t just recognize their efforts to create a cohesive team; specify that the reward is for these exact values.

Employees like to be praised for something important for the company, so they will feel appreciated and proud of their achievements.

Wrap Up

The best way to keep your top talent is to build a well-designed recognition program. However, it’s essential to leave room for improvement since not everyone responds to the same stimuli. As time goes by and the company grows and changes, so should your rewards.