Are you in HR and ready to improve your organization’s work anniversary program? Then, this is the big question: How do I get started? This blog post makes getting started simple.

Inspiring Work Anniversaries is a workplace culture improvement book in disguise! 🥸

Inspiring Work Anniversaries is now available everywhere books are sold — as a hardcover, paperback, audiobook, and ebook!

The definitive, unbiased guide of all the options for gifts you can give on a work anniversary, along with which make the most sense for which types of organizations

If you’re a manager, then your employees believing you care about them as people is important to your team working at its full potential. How do you show you care? Prepare! You can ask about your employees’ preferences and then use those preferences to tailor what you do on their work anniversary.

Looking for one of the simplest and most loved work anniversary gifts and one with zero tax complications? Look no further than additional time off!

Managers are uniquely positioned to eliminate the #1 work anniversary complaint for all of their direct reports — learn how to eliminate it, and how to easily be amazing at it. ✨

If your team communicates using a physical bulletin board to post notices in a well-trafficked area — like near the time clock or in the break room — then you can use that space to improve how your organization acknowledges work anniversaries!

Think about broader, societal-level cultures. Think about one that you are especially drawn to. What is it about the culture that appeals to you? Whatever it is, it’s the parts that are different. What makes the culture unique is what makes it special — both in the broadest sense of the word culture and in workplace culture.

If your organization has “increased competency” promotions, then you should be aware of the many benefits of delivering the promotion news on an employee’s work anniversary! 🎉

A heartwarming paragraph from an employee’s manager is perhaps the most meaningful thing an employee can receive on their work anniversary.

If you’re a manager and your team is in person at least once a week, then work anniversary lunches can be a powerful way to do something meaningful for your employees, boost a sense of belonging, and even increase interdepartmental cooperation!

Some organizations have a formal process for having conversations with employees about their careers, but many don’t. If yours doesn’t, setting up your own personal tradition of having a career-focused one-on-one conversation on each employee’s work anniversary can be really special.

Do you want amazing work anniversaries at your organization? Get more people involved!

August 17th is Elinor Smith day!

Celebrate by learning about Elinor Smith’s amazing life.

You don’t need the CEO or HR or any of the managers at any of the levels above you to give you permission. You can make work anniversaries where you work better, and you can start right now!

Fun committees go by many names, but whatever yours is called, they can play a big role in making work anniversaries more fun!

Effectively communicating to employees when to expect performance reviews and pay raises is foundational to the success of any work anniversary program. Further, at the organizations with the best work anniversary programs, performance reviews and pay raises will not happen on or near work anniversaries.

What makes your organization special to employees? How do you communicate that on your careers page, in your job posts, and as part of your hiring process? Work anniversaries can help!

Use work anniversaries to reinforce a reciprocal relationship of trusting support rather than a cold economic relationship where each side is trying to get by with minimal contribution