Giving the Best Gift - Examples of Popular Employee Service Awards

As I mentioned in a previous post on planning what awards to use in your service award program, there is literally no end to what companies might use to award their employees but rather than subject you to an entire book on the topic, I’m just going to focus on just a few of most popular award types that I’ve encountered.

 

Lapel Pins, Crystal Awards, Logoed Items
For way too long (IMO), the standard length of service award that companies would give their employees was all about the company itself, rather than the individual employee. Whether it was a pin, a plaque or some sort of jewelry or apparel, the company logo was an absolute requirement. Every employee received the same award once they met a milestone and they knew exactly what to expect. While these awards may be seen as badges of honor to many long term employees, they are losing traction and becoming less popular with the younger generations as the focus turns away from lauding the company in general and focusing on appreciating the individual employees and what each of them brings to the organization. As individuality and specific contributions become of more importance in the workplace, service awards are gradually evolving in that way as well.

Gift Cards
If you’re not giving out cash, I can guarantee you that most people will tell you that gift cards are second best but there’s nothing that screams “I didn’t even try” to me more than giving a gift card. Now I’m not saying that I don’t appreciate the ones that are given to me and yes, sooner or later, when I find them at the back of my wallet in a year or so, I will certainly use them, but gift cards lack benefits of any other service award options and are rarely used to purchase any sort of memorable or long lasting item. In addition, the value of the gift card is always front and center. I’ve worked here for 10 years and all that’s worth is a $50 gift card? That’s not what the focus should be when you’re trying to thank an employee for their dedication and celebrate their time with the company.

Personalized Gifts Picked Out By Coworkers & Managers
When I graduated from 8^th grade the PTA organized an award ceremony where they purchased a special gift for each graduating student that was based on specific interests or a special nickname. Because I wanted to be a writer I ended up receiving a chalk stick that allowed you to fill it with sidewalk chalk and write on the sidewalk standing up. While I enjoyed the gift and the sentiment of trying to give a gift suited to my individual interests was appreciated, I have to admit that I didn’t spend much time writing the great American novel on the sidewalk out front of my house.

The idea of selecting an individual gift for each employee at your company is a wonderful thought and is probably the most personal and meaningful approach I have encountered but it does require that you know a significant amount about each and every employee, have the time to spend shopping for just the right gift and can find something that will be meaningful to them within the budget you have available.

Joke gifts or gifts that are symbolic of something they actually care about (ie. sidewalk chalk for a writer) certainly add a humorous element to the event and are memorable in their own right but from my own experience I’d suggest you shoot for something they’d actually use. Personalized, handpicked gifts might be the perfect option for a tightly knit organization of 20 employees or fewer but unfortunately it’s probably not be the most feasible option for most.

Gift Of Choice
Working for a company that specializes in letting employees select a brand name gift of their choice, I’m obviously biased, but taking into consideration the shortcomings of the other most popular options I’ve encountered, I actually do believe that this option is the best fit for the majority of the organizations out there. 

An employee reaching a service milestone should be an exciting and memorable event celebrating the continuation of a successful relationship between an organization and employee. The type of award will say a lot about the organization’s values so it’s important to find the service award option that will be the best fit for your company. Focusing too much on the company (logoed gifts) takes the focus away from the importance each employee as an individual plays and solely focusing on the employee (personalized, handpicked gifts) is rarely economical for companies with numerous employees so it’s important to find an option that is meaningful and memorable to the employee and conveys the message the company desires without being overwhelming for the person who is in charge of fulfillment.

If you partner with a company that will provide customized presentation materials using your company’s logo, images and wording, you can ensure that the experience includes the branding that a lapel pin or logoed item conveys while at the same time showing the employee that their individuality is important to the company by providing them with the personalized experience of selecting the gift that will be most meaningful to them. The ability to assign each milestone anniversary a dollar value allows for ease of budgeting without having the cost of each gift become the focal point of the experience and the follow up conversations supervisors and coworkers can have with the recipient afterwards will allow them to find out a bit more about each employee and their interests when they find out what gift each employee selected.

To Sum It Up
An employee reaching a service milestone should be an exciting and memorable event celebrating the continuation of a successful relationship between an organization and employee. The type of award will say a lot about the organization’s values so it’s important to find the service award option that will be the best fit for your company. Focusing too much on the company (logoed gifts) takes the focus away from the importance each employee as an individual plays and solely focusing on the employee (personalized, handpicked gifts) is rarely economical for companies with numerous employees so it’s important to find an option that is meaningful and memorable to the employee and conveys the message the company desires without being overwhelming for the person who is in charge of fulfillment.

Has your company tried any of these types of service awards? What are some of the pros and cons to the one(s) you’ve had experience with? We’d love to hear your thoughts on what has worked best for your company in the past or some of the things you’re looking to improve!

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