Are you looking to retain staff and considering long service as a way to do this? You may be like the 87% of SMBs who say retaining and engaging existing employees is ‘the most critical’ to company success. (After all, lost knowledge, interviewing, recruitment, and onboarding costs all add up.) But is a long service award the best route? Or has appreciation for long service awards declined?
We believe the stats support regular reward and recognition with The Lifestyle Gift Card instead.
What is a long service reward?
Staff long service awards / long service rewards are a gift from an employee for years of service, traditionally given between 5 to 25 years of employment, and now given to mark one year of service or sooner. The longest-serving employee award is over 84 years old and is marked in the Guinness World Records!
Do long service awards work?
While long service awards and events show appreciation, there's a clear shift in their effectiveness in employee retention in today’s workforce. Long service budgets are starting to be best spent on smaller, more frequent rewards given from one year service or sooner.
6 reasons long service awards should be given sooner:
Long-service rewards have long been used as a way to motivate teams. But as these stats show, there’s an engagement gap! Give them sooner. Using the Lifestyle Gift Card as a regular reward may be a far more effective use of your budget.
1. 43% of employees only see work as a way to make money (Up from 36% in 2019)
The UK workforce has a motivation problem. In a comparison from 2019 to 2023, ‘willingness to work’ decreased from 58% to 55%, a willingness to work harder than needed decreased from 57% to 51%, and only 50% of employees said time flies when working. In fact, only 49% said they were enthusiastic about their job, and only 28% felt full of energy at work. A single long service reward is unlikely to move the dial here.
2. 4 in 10 employees plan to leave in 2024
A survey of nearly 2000 UK employees in Q4 2023 by Tiger Recruitment shows that four in 10 UK professionals plan to hunt for a new job – and a higher salary – in 2024, and 22% of Gen Z workers are quitting jobs that don’t give them benefits. As you can see, 10+ year long service awards for employees won’t help retain these people.
3. Rewarding work intensity is more significant than tenure
Long service for employee recognition may not be as important as rewarding what they do. Scientific findings suggest recognition should be linked to work intensity, not longevity. “Intense work with high-speed tasks and tight deadlines has ramifications comparable to second-hand smoke exposure. Recognising employees promptly based on their work intensity rather than longevity can foster a healthier and more productive work environment.”
4. Consistent recognition can reduce turnover by 31%
A study published by Quantum Workplace states that higher productivity results from consistent recognition. Whereas long service awards have typically been given after 10, 20 and even 30 years of service, you can reap the rewards of better engagement when you start sooner!
5. Employees who believe they will be recognised are 2.7x more likely to be highly engaged
Save surprises for proposals and birthdays! A structured plan is definitely the way to go when it comes to long service rewards. It can contribute to a culture of physiological safety, and it’s been shown that company cultures with a high sense of belonging have seen a 56% increase in productivity and a 50% reduction in the risk of employee turnover.
6. Only 66% of employees rewarded annually feel it’s enough
66% of employees rewarded annually want more recognition. In fact, a study on optimal reward and recognition shows only 35% of employees who receive monthly or weekly recognition crave more.*2
Best Ways to give long service rewards:
Make it clear that employees are rewarded often
The study Effort Motives, Job Satisfaction and Quit Intentions by Argyro Avgoustaki and Hans T. W. Frankort posed that intensive work driven by incentives is more positively associated with job satisfaction and more negatively with quit intentions. In short, incentives help employees get through tricky work periods and retain them.
Make managers part of the process
Get managers invested in reward and recognition. Research shows that managers account for at least 70% of variance in employee engagement scores, and a Gallup study of 7,272 adults revealed that one in two had left their job to get away from their manager.*6
Make it personal
While traditional gestures like glassware and timepieces feel significant, personal and thoughtful touches are more likely to be appreciated. Whether through personalised gift cards, unique long-service events, or parties, expressing gratitude can be done your way.
The perfect long-service award
Suspect a lack of appreciation for typical long service awards? Lifestyle Gift Cards are ideal as an alternative.
200+ quality brands on one gift card
Choose physical cards with a presentation wallet (100% recyclable) or instant eVoucher delivered via email
Free personalisation and messaging
No minimum spend
No service or admin fees
We can handle it all for you with our account-managed service - just let us know what you need and how we can help!