The service award is one of the most valuable components for the overall employee recognition effort of an organization. All you really need to understand is value and utilize the service award appropriately in your formal employee recognition mix.
The years of service awards are an opportunity for an organization to fully recognize an employee for his/her tenure or longevity with the organization. A service award can be presented to an employee in many variations depending upon the approach the particular organization uses in order to recognize an employee worthy of this award.
Here’s why you should present your employees with a long service award:-
- Recognize Longevity
The service award or years of service plaque will act as the only bonus or compensation component that will recognize the length of time that an employee has worked for the organization. The length of service is also generally only recognized in public sector jobs, and in the public and private sector in union-represented jobs. However, other employers may choose to only informally recognize their longer-term employees because of their higher salaries due to an annual increase over a period of time. All employees like to get recognized for their loyalty. It motivates them to be more regular and give more to the organization.
- Take Note of Milestones
A service award is a way to recognize that an employee has served an appreciated period of time in the particular organization. It is a tool which allows the employer to thank the employee for his or her service. Consequently, you can even see employers recognizing a year of service with an award presented to their employee. Service awards are also used to recognize three years, five years, ten years, fifteen years and so forth of service, depending on the organization. Some organizations may choose to let the employees select a gift of their choice from a catalog while others may provide a written recognition letter or an additional paid time off.
- Honor Traditions
A service award, as a form of recognition, originated during a time period when the organizations and society venerated the older people into their culture, perhaps more than is done today. Therefore, a service award loves out an older tradition from a slower time when wisdom, knowledge, and experience may have been honored and esteemed in a more public manner. The same does not seem like a such a bad tradition, even today: to honor and esteem the experienced employees for their knowledge and continuous contribution.
Organizations take proper advantage of the positive feelings instilled in the employees after presenting them with a service award. All rewards and recognition are publicly extended in order to enhance the value of the recognition for the employees who are receiving it.
Author’s Bio: The author is an avid blogger. This article is about service awards.