KEEP YOUR EMPLOYEES HAPPY!
Retention of employees is critical in this candidate driven marketplace! There are a few simple ways to make your employees feel important. It is also crucial that you attempt to keep them happy! A happy employee is an employee who will remain loyal to you even when another opportunity presents itself. One way to keep a strong solid relationship with your employees is to celebrate anniversaries! The following are companies who have implemented programs to let their employees know that they are valued!
At the Leo Burnett Company in Chicago, Illinois every employee receives a gift on Anniversary Day. Some of the gifts given were jams and jellies, a model train, statues and customized bottles of wine. In addition, they give one dollar for every year of the agency’s life!
At Nissan in Smyrna, Tennessee, any employee with 12 months of service qualifies to lease a Nissan car for $160 per month. This also includes maintenance, tax, license and insurance!
Every Westin Hotel has an Annual Banquet honoring employees with more than 5 years’ service.
Mary Kay Cosmetics, on their employees 5th Anniversary, they receive 20 shares of stock; on their 10th they receive 80 shares and on their 15th they receive 120 shares!
The Walt Disney Company plans service recognition awards, peer recognition programs, attendance awards and milestone banquets for 10, 15 and 20 years of service!
At Hallmark Cards in Kansas City, Missouri, employees can invite any and all of their friends throughout the company to share their 25th anniversary cake. Typically, 200 to 1,000 people show up for each celebration!
Pitney Bowes, headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, has an anniversary vacation policy that gives an employee with 25 years of service an extra month’s vacation. The same benefit is then offered to the employee every 5th year!
The J.C. Penney store in Laurel, Montana, had a 25th anniversary SALE to honor Pat Mullaney, who had managed the store for 25 years!
Ryder System’s 50th anniversary celebration was celebrated with a cake that was shaped like a truck and covered with yellow icing.
When Raychem Corporation, based in Menlo Park, California, was 25 years old, it held a gigantic community party to which it invited all its employees and their families, as well as special guests. The maker of high-tech industrial products held a daylong celebration at its 140-acre plant site. Everyone was served a steak dinner. There was continuous entertainment for seven hours, featuring headline acts and 15 carnival rides, including a Ferris wheel and a Merry-go-round!
These examples are of Companies who have gone above and beyond to ensure that their employees remain loyal to them! Of course there are other ways to recognize your employees. One idea is to simply have a plaque engraved with your employee’s name on it when they reach 5, 10, 15, etc. years of employment with your Company! Everyone likes to be recognized and appreciated for the work they do! Implement a program that is right for your Company Culture!
Nancy J. Phillips, CPC
