I send a lot of greeting cards to a lot of people. But I have just realized that I rarely send anniversary cards. I don’t know why…
There are certainly enough reasons to send anniversary cards. Everyone celebrates an anniversary of one form or another. Think of all the different reasons you can send an anniversary card: wedding anniversaries, anniversaries of moving into the perfect home, anniversaries of finishing paying for the perfect home, the anniversary of the day your pet joined your family, or even the anniversary of the day you passed the BAR exam (or insert your professional exam in place of BAR).
But do you ever give much thought to sending employee anniversary cards to someone in order to commemorate how long they have been working in a particular company? Admittedly, I probably would never have given this topic much thought if I didn’t work for The Gallery Collection…a company that manufactures corporate greeting cards (including anniversary cards).
When I received my first anniversary card from The Gallery Collection (hand signed by our company’s President and the Chairman of the Board), I was truly delighted…and shocked. This occurred just a week after receiving a birthday card from The Gallery Collection (again, signed by both the President and Chairman), which had shocked me as well. I had never worked anywhere before where the company (as opposed to just the people who worked around you) would acknowledge a birthday, and certainly not an anniversary. Since we manufacture business greeting cards, I suppose you could say that commemorating how long we have worked here is part of our corporate culture. But I think it might be more than that.
Receiving a card that acknowledges an anniversary shows that you are considered an important member of the team and that your contributions are valued. When I received the first of many employee anniversary cards here at the Gallery Collection, especially since at the time I didn’t work in the office but at various vendor locations, it gave me a sense of belonging and made me feel that I was appreciated. I couldn’t believe how good it made me feel. And I returned to work the next day looking forward to my second anniversary at The Gallery Collection.