What Receiving My 7-Year Service Milestone Meant to Me
3-minute read
When I woke up on Aug. 26, I knew what day it was: my seven-year work anniversary with Workhuman®! I opened my email and saw my Service Milestone® award and that “20+ of your colleagues have contributed stories and congratulations to the award.” I was excited to take a walk down memory lane.
I had been looking forward to this day because my path has crossed so many others during my tenure with the company. I had already received three other Service Milestone awards from Workhuman (at years two, three, and five years), and have contributed countless messages to celebrate my colleagues, so I had an idea of what to expect. One of the highlights for me was seeing the photographs that people posted. I knew that, true to form, my friend Amanda (who I referred to the company five years ago) would make a collage. I was excited to see the pictures she chose and I knew there would be some references to our softball team, my car, and work trips.
When I first started with the company, we were in a different building and there were only about eight members of the account management team, which has since been renamed customer success. We now have upward of 50 people on our team! We used to have our all company meetings in our small entry way foyer and we were a short walk from Starbucks, where we often would have walking meetings.
Things are very different now as the company has grown to more than 700 people and our office moved to a different city. Things are even more different right now since most of us are still working remotely. That’s why, to me, this award was especially meaningful. I miss the human interaction and connection more than ever. Reading through my colleagues’ stories helped me relive the past seven years – from the time I had my first sushi in Illinois while visiting a client, to our company trip to Dublin, to remembering many of the projects that I have worked on over the years.
I worked at my previous company for just under five years. Each year HR passed out lapel pins for managers to leave on employees’ desks. After five years employees were treated to a buffet-style breakfast served on plastic plates in the cafeteria. It was definitely not a memorable experience. As a manager, there were no expectations for any type of celebration when one of my direct reports reached a bigger career milestone.
Before I joined Workhuman, I had no idea that a work anniversary was something that companies actually celebrate! Now after having directly managed relationships with more than 45 customers (and indirectly managed relationships with an additional 25), I have had the privilege of being part of many customer launches and witnessing the power that these personal moments can have on others. Twice I have witnessed customers tear up when experiencing the magic of Service Milestones. Just this past month, I was a part of a video to create a meaningful moment for one of our long-time client program managers. It’s gratifying to hear from HR managers that our program is such a light administrative lift. And I have seen our clients reap the benefits of reduced turnover and increased engagement scores after launching their program.
As an employee and as a human, I am truly grateful for the way we celebrate these occasions and for our Social Recognition® program, “Gratitudes,” where all these celebrations live. I’ve never felt more appreciated, not only by my manager, but also by my colleagues.
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About the Author
Topic(s):
Employee Experience, Employee Recognition