We recently had a few team members achieve their one year service anniversary.  To make it a memorable moment, our graphic designer created awards that fit the personality and job function of each person being recognized. 

They ranged from spacemen feeling their way through IT issues, to superhero accountants.

At our weekly team meeting the recipients received their awards and their faces lit up with excitement.  They truly felt recognized and appreciated by the thought and personalization of the award.  Weeks later, everyone is still chatting about the awards, and we are now creating a wall of fame in the department to display the awards.

Make the extra effort to make it special and memorable for the employee and they’ll reciprocate in a thousand ways.