Years Of Service Awards? Everything You Need to Know !

What is the only item in the world that is so precious that no price can be put to it? It’s not the Kohinoor, nor a prime piece of real estate or equity stakes in a new breakout Unicorn. The only truly priceless item in the world is one’s time. Time that has passed cannot be bought back for any price. Long Service Awards (LSAs) or Years of Service Awards are special commemorative awards that acknowledge and celebrate the time that an employee has given a company. 

An LSA award or trophy is usually given by the Company to its Employees, on or around their work anniversary, to thank them for giving their precious years to the company. It is a celebration of the personal ties of the individual to the collective team and their journey within the company. These are customised awards, often a part of a Long Service Award Kit, that is the backbone of most Employee Engagement Programmes. 

Long Service Awards matter. When done right, LSAs cement a company’s relationship with its employees and reinforce their position as a good employer and a good place to work. The Long Service Award says to the employee that they are an important part of the team whose presence makes a difference.

Long Service Awards go a long way in creating a positive company image and culture. It is encouraging for new employees to witness others who have worked for the company for a long time get celebrated for their years of service. 

It doesn’t matter whether you are a small company with just 10 people or a large one with thousands of employees. It makes no difference whether you are running a design agency or a factory manufacturing components. Celebrating the long service of your employees with a customised award creates a happy atmosphere. Read my blog 7 Reasons to start a Long Service Award Program in your Company Today to know more about starting long service awards in your company.

A few years ago I was in a meeting with a tech company that was planning the roll out of its Long Service Award Programme. Present at the table were their Senior HR managers and Corporate Communications team. We had decided on a stunning timeless design for their LSA, we had finalised the packaging of the LSA kit. The last item we were discussing was the Certificate to be included in the LSA Kit. That’s when a debate broke out over the language of the Certificate. There was a sharp disagreement over  one word.  Half the room felt that the Award Certificate should be congratulatory in nature, while the other half of the room felt that the Award Certificate should thank the recipient for their service. Both sides had really strong reasons for their views. We were stuck between a “Congratulations” and a “Thank you.” As I listened to both sides, it occurred to me that the debate underway was speaking to the heart of Employee Recognition. It was touching upon the First Principles upon which Service Awards must have first started. That conference room felt like it was a stage and the argument that unfolded was being acted out, to deepen my knowledge of my own business. Team Gratitude insisted that the award is about expressing thanks for the time given to the company and for their contribution to the growth of the company. Team Congratulations felt that was going too far, that a simple Congratulations would be enough, that it is more about acknowledging that the employee has reached a specific milestone. Just then the CEO dropped by for a quick word and one of the Managers threw this query at him. Without a moment’s hesitation, the CEO said, “Of course the LSA is about saying thanks.” He added something along the lines of, “What would our company be without its longest serving employees?” 

As it turns out, I totally agree with him. It is not as if the LSA is not a congratulatory award. It is! That’s why people are so happy to post their LSA on social media while announcing their work anniversaries on LinkedIn etc. But the true emotion behind an LSA done right, is to say THANK YOU! 

That said, for some companies, expressing a Congratulatory tone with an LSA is the better choice. It depends on each company and their culture.  At the end of the day, the right Long Service Award for a company is one that authentically captures the spirit of that company. Really think about the emotion that you are trying to evoke in your employees and design your LSA around that. 

When I first started Pinnacle, I noticed that most LSA Awards were given at retirement. Then quite quickly, the more modern and progressive companies started celebrating 5th year and 10th year, 15th and 25th year work anniversaries with Long Service Awards. These days, we even ship awards celebrating first year work anniversaries, this is specially so in the tech space where employee retention is a key focus. Check out our article, Which years do typically companies celebrate Long Service Awards in India.

It’s important that you celebrate long service awards and make that journey memorable for your team members. The larger the organisation the more important it is for it helps to build bonds and connections within people. Here are few more blogs of mine which may be of interest to you: 10 Questions To Ask Before Hiring Your Long Service Award Fulfilment Partner in India and The ABC of Including Edible to LSA Kits.

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