1. CASE STUDY: YEARS OF SERVICE AWARD PROGRAM
Strategic Objectives: Reduce the cost of turnover and training costs
A manufacturing company was coming out of the infancy stage.They had been in business for eight years and
began to experience high levels of turnover.The ownership realized they needed to reward the employees for
their dedication and commitment to the organization.Their objectives were as follows:
• Increase average years of service throughout the entire organization
• Reduce turnover while building continuity
• Reduce investment costs of training new employees
Tactics: Develop a years of service program
The organization chose to implement a simple but impactful years of service program.The program was
comprised of three tiers, as follows:
• Immediate recognition: The employee is recognized on their anniversary date.The manager posts
the announcement on the company intranet viewable by the employee and his/her co-workers.
• Monthly company-wide meeting: The employee’s anniversary is acknowledged at the company-wide
monthly meeting.Their manager prepares a personal speech for each employee that reaches a service
year milestone for that month.
• Annual Event for all employees: An annual event is hosted to recognize those who have reached
1, 3, 5, 7, 10, and 15 years of service.The event is hosted at a golf course during business hours. Each
employee is required to participate in nine holes of golf.The recipients are honored during the
ceremony after dinner.
Tools: A variety of awards that correlate with each tier of the program
The following tools were used at each tier of the program:
• Immediate recognition: An announcement is posted on the company
intranet for all employees with an anniversary date on each business day.
• Monthly company-wide meeting: Managers are trained to deliver a
sincere and personal presentation in addition to a paper certificate.
• Annual Event for all employees: A keepsake award was chosen to
symbolize the achievement of the employee. In addition to the awards
ceremony, every employee receives company apparel and a variety of gifts
and giveaways.
Results:
The manufacturing firm measured the success of the program by tracking the turnover rate, average years of
service and new hire training costs.This was done using the annual employee satisfaction survey. Below are
the results for the first and forth year of the program.
ProgramYear Year 1 Year 4
Years of Service % of employees
at level of
% of employees
at level of
1Year 42% 15%
2Years 28% 17.5%
3-5 years 15.5% 44.5%
6+ years 14.5% 23%
Turnover Rate 19% 5.6%
New HireTraining Costs decreased by 38%
Diane Roodvoets • diane@glessnerrewards • 616.446.4173