Are Service Awards Dead?

Written on June 26, 2012 by in Appreciation, Rewards, Trench HR

From the Expo Floor of #SHRM12, an interview with Mike Byam,  the Managing Director for Terryberry, long-time provider of workplace loyalty awards. I say the answer to this question is “no.” Mike thinks so too.

Yes, the audio sucks…get over it. There are like 14,000 people in the background.

14 Comments - Leave a comment!
  • Ljhaft

    Charlie, just wanted to put my two cents in regarding longevity awards. Personally, I’d prefer to see individuals rewarded for contribution, not just for being a “loyal”/long-term employee. Unless the employee is updating their skills, learning new things, going out and gathering best practices, longevity tends to make the person change-averse. Why do we frown on people moving from one company to another if the end result is that it brings another perspective to the workplace? If a person works only for one company for any length of time, that’s all they know; their frame of reference can be too narrow. BTW, love the stuff Terryberry has, just not for the length-of-service reasons.

  • http://twitter.com/keychangeinst/status/217666213243920384 Reut Schwartz-Hebron

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  • http://twitter.com/jackhar/status/217667565063905283 jackhar

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  • http://twitter.com/careeradvisors/status/217668819412455427 Career Advisors

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  • http://twitter.com/careeradvisors/status/217669163907428353 Career Advisors

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  • http://twitter.com/bryanwempen/status/217670434773147650 Bryan Wempen

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  • http://twitter.com/mikespinale/status/217673105630433281 Mike Spinale

    New on @HRFishbowl: Are Service Awards Dead?: From the Expo Floor of #SHRM12, an interview with Mike Byam,  the … http://t.co/5aywSDiU

  • http://twitter.com/awardframes/status/217674256098660355 awardframes

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  • http://twitter.com/nesrdubp081/status/217953685618180097 Thomas McCormick

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  • http://twitter.com/hrfishbowl/status/217962490821226496 Charlie Judy, SPHR

    thx for sharing, Thomas “@nesrdubp081: RT @HRFishbowl: Are Service Awards Dead? #HR #DiceLounge #SHRM12 http://t.co/9bOVLYbY”

  • Tim Gardner

    Charlie-
    I have been with the same company (sort of) for 33 years. In year 5 we were re-considering awards. I got nothing. Year 10 was crystal candle holders. Years 15 and 20 were on either side of an acquisition, and there was nothing at 15, and I got lost at 20. Year 25 was a selection, and I got a nice Seiko watch with no company logo. I liked that it was a gift with no advertising. And lunch with a VP – who was also a long term employee. 30 was another choice – a nice pen in my case.
    While I have appreciated the items, I don’t necessarily care about them. I don’t care for the recognition. I don’t want to be recognized for longevity, but for making a difference in our ability to succeed in achieving our goals.

  • Pingback: Why Service Awards Still Matter

  • hrfishbowl

    @tim and @linda – i’m picking up what you’re putting down. all i’m suggesting is that there still might be some merit to having this as part of a bigger portfolio of recognition programs and strategies. we celebrate milestones in life – anniversaries, birthdays, etc. why shouldn’t we do the same with work? sure, value creation is a more important thing for us to measure and reward. but every now and then shouldn’t we recognize those for just very simply showing up, slogging away, and remaining committed to the company? if, by the way, you’ve allowed them to do that even though they haven’t created any value, then shame on you (i.e. your organization is too weak to make tough decisions). it’s not an “either/or” proposition when it comes to recognition; it’s an “and/both”.