EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION

In response to the transition back to in-person work after the remote environment imposed by COVID-19, and considering the company's significant growth, a need arose to establish a system for recognizing and celebrating new employees while also highlighting employee milestones. At the time, there was a lack of consistent methods to welcome new team members and commemorate work anniversaries.

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To address this, I devised a two-tiered employee recognition program. The first tier focused on new employees and involved standardizing best practices for announcing and welcoming them. These practices included:

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• Posting a social media announcement on their start date.

• Creating a welcome video featured in the employee newsletter to introduce the new team member to all colleagues.

• Ensuring inclusion in the monthly company-wide all-hands meeting.

For the second tier, which celebrated work anniversaries, I not only developed standard templates for social media posts specific to each year but also drew inspiration from our fun and casual office culture. I crafted a unique "Through The Years" plan, akin to wedding anniversary themes. Here are some of the celebrations developed for the first ten years of employment:

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• Year 1: Year of Magazine Covers - Taking inspiration from an inside joke involving a magazine cover created for the CEO's birthday, I conceived the idea of framing personalized magazine covers for each employee, featuring "headlines" from their first year with the company.

• Year 2: Year of Cheers - Since beer and coffee were prevalent in the office, I decided to gift employees celebrating their two-year anniversary with a custom pint glass and coffee mug featuring their name and face.

• Year 3: Year of Swag - Everyone loves free stuff, right? Upon reaching three years with the company, employees were given the opportunity to select a custom piece of swag exclusively for them.

• Year 4: Year of Me Time - When employees completed four years of service, they were granted their work anniversary and birthday off to indulge in some well-deserved rest and relaxation.

• Year 5: Year of Awards Show - Employees achieving five years of tenure were presented with a personalized "rock on" trophy in recognition of their dedication and hard work.

• Year 6: Year of the Cookout - At the six-year mark, the employee and their family were invited to the CEO's house for a delightful cookout, as the CEO has a passion for cooking, grilling, and making pizza. This unique celebration honored the employee's contributions and fostered a sense of connection.

• Year 7: Year of the Bobble - An employee's seven-year anniversary called for a special gift: a custom bobblehead designed in their likeness. Need I say more?

• Year 8: Year of Music - Leveraging the company's cultural affinity for music and the CEO's love for the art form, I curated a list of songs that embodied each employee's spirit. These songs were then pressed onto a record as a keepsake.

• Year 9: Year of The Shirt - As part of a fun company tradition, unique quarterly shirts were distributed to commemorate each quarter's theme. When an employee reached nine years of service, they received an entire quarterly shirt dedicated solely to them.

• Year 10: Year of the Bucket List - Upon completing a decade with Rent Ready, the company covered the expenses and provided paid time off for the employee to fulfill a long-held dream or bucket list item (within a specified budget, of course).

These employee recognition initiatives not only fostered a positive work environment but also served as effective tools for boosting employee morale, engagement, and retention.