Apple CEO Tim Cook has been doing a fantastic job at recognizing those employees who stick with him and Apple for the longer term.
When an employee reaches the ten years of service milestone, they are presented with a hefty slab of aluminum that bears Apple’s iconic logo, along with the following message:
“Congratulations on reaching this milestone moment. The work you’ve done, the challenges you’ve met and the breakthroughs you’ve made possible — they all add up to a profound and lasting contribution to Apple’s mission to change the world for the better. On behalf of everyone at Apple, thank you for all you bring to our journey together.”
Beneath that, Cook signs the note, and on one side, the number 10 is stamped to denote the ten years of service. Beneath that stamp is the employee’s name and the exact date that marks the ten year anniversary.
It gets better though! The gift also comes with an Apple polishing cloth so that recipients can keep it looking like new, and the gift set includes a second note that informs the recipient that the aluminum their gift is made from is the same 6000 series aluminum the company uses to manufacture their products.
It’s just an amazing gift and a great way to recognize employees for their hard work and years of service. You can check out the award right below.
This is how it’s done. If you’re struggling to make good use of your existing award and recognition program, or if you haven’t yet launched one and were looking for some best practices to follow, here’s the example you want. Do it like Apple is doing it. Surveys show employee recognition affects how long an employee decides to stick with a company.
You can start with any of our highly customizable awards, then add something personal from your own product line like Apple did with their cleaning cloth. Most anything can be tweaked to be made appropriate to the occasion and at the end of the day, that’s what you’re going for. Kudos to Apple for providing such an exceptional example!