Sitting down to write a congratulatory letter of recognition to your employees can be a daunting task. Understandably, it might be hard to come up with the right words to say without sounding overly formal or insincere. We also know that you may feel tempted to draft a single script to use for all employee anniversaries that fly by, but trust us when we say that a personalized message will mean the world to your employees.
The key is to keep in mind that you don't need to write a lengthy message to have a significant impact on your employees. Short and sweet with a personal touch will always win over long, lengthy and generic. To help you get started, we've listed four easy steps for you to follow when writing a congratulatory letter to your employees on their anniversary.
Four Steps to Writing an Employee Anniversary Letter
1) Start with a friendly greeting and address your employee by her full name.
- "Congratulations Jane Smith,"
- "Hello Jane Smith,"
- "Dear Jane Smith,"
- "Today marks a very important milestone at Awards Network that we are honored to celebrate. Congratulations and thank you for achieving 5 dedicated years of service with our company."
- "Awards Network is so proud to be celebrating 5 successful years with you today."
- "Awards Network wants to express our appreciation for your astounding 5 years of dedicated service."
- "Awards Network believes that there is no way to build a great business without great people, and the work you do every day is truly what fuels our success. Since you joined the company, we’ve hired many new employees and have encouraged them to follow the example you’ve set. Thank you for your leadership, loyalty and hard work."
- "Thank you for the role you play in our company’s success and supporting our goal to (description of your company's goal). It’s the passion, enthusiasm and innovative spirit you display that make our important work possible."
- "The continued growth and success of our company is dependent upon having hard-working and devoted employees like you. We appreciate your service and commitment. You are truly a valued member of our Awards Network family."
- "We would like to wish you continued success and are looking forward to working together with you in the many years to come."
- "Thank you again for your invaluable contribution to our success!"
- "We truly appreciate your contributions to Awards Network and your role in helping us achieve our strategic goals."
Below we've put together a full message using the examples from above.
Hello Jane Smith,
Today marks a very important milestone at Awards Network that we are honored to celebrate. Congratulations and thank you for achieving 5 dedicated years of service with our company. I am so proud to be celebrating this day with you.
Awards Network believes that there is no way to build a great business without great people, and the work you do every day is truly what fuels our success. Since you joined the company, we’ve hired many new employees and have encouraged them to follow the example you’ve set. Thank you for your leadership, loyalty and hard work.
I would like to personally wish you continued success and truly look forward to working together with you in the many years to come.
Sincerely,
Mary Thompson
Once you've written your message, don't forget to sign it! If your message will be delivered as a letter, rather than in an email or another form of online communication, be sure to hand sign your name beneath your complimentary close.This will add a final personalized touch that will prove to be more meaningful to your employee than an e-signature placed at the bottom of the letter, which you worked so hard to write!
Do you have any tips for writing personalized and professional letters to your employees? Share them with us in the comments below.
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