How prevalent are service anniversary award programs? According to WorldatWork, nine out of every 10 companies that have a formal employee recognition structure in place feature one within their portfolio.

There is a reason for that. Service anniversary awards do a good job of celebrating the dedication and loyalty an employee has exhibited over time. Still, in a labor market that’s becoming younger and increasingly mobile, is the one-dimensional nature of the traditional service anniversary award—one that offers simple symbolic and/or emblematic rewards and not broader, lifestyle-based choices, and does so only in five-year intervals—the best way to retain talent?