According to  statistics by Dale Carnegie Training, over 70% of all employees are not fully engaged in the workplace, with a quarter being completely and actively disengaged. It’s plain knowledge that companies with engaged employees perform better than companies with disengaged employees (outperforming the latter by up to 200%).

But such companies – and engaged employees – are hard to come by. Companies spend most of their revenue on improving productivity and replacing lost employees, neither of which is an effective measure to reduce employee turnover.

The only way to reduce employee turnover, thus, is to increase employee engagement, and that can be done by celebrating individual, company, and team milestones.

Below are some key ways to celebrating milestones to increase employee engagement, boost loyalty, and focus on company culture.

• Reward team on company goals being met: It’s a well-known fact that if the employees do well, the team does well, and if the team does well, the company does well. It all comes down to the employees, so rewarding them for achieving company or team goals is of utmost importance, whether it’s weekly, monthly or quarterly. Take the team out for dinner or drinks at the local watering hole, have a party, or just order biryani for the whole team instead of eating the cafeteria food.
• Focus on personal milestones: Work milestones are important to celebrate, yes. But personal milestones are just as important. Employees develop a closer bond with managers who keep in touch with their personal and not just their professional lives. Celebrating birthdays by bringing out the cake, celebrating wedding anniversaries by inviting their spouse to the office, or celebrating work anniversaries by commending them on all the ways they’ve helped the company over the years can really help increase engagement.
• Celebrate the small stuff: Whether the employee has bagged one client or a hundred, it’s still adding value to the team, and hence the company. Celebrate even the smallest of achievements. This doesn’t mean you have to incentivize them or buy another cake – instead, a small bit of praise, a tiny trophy, or a greeting card can also boost employee morale, loyalty, and engagement to a considerable level.
• Turn the spotlight on themselves: Encourage employees to recognize their own milestones, as well as the milestones of their peers and coworkers. Oftentimes employees are shy to bring up their achievements or point out how they’ve helped bring an increase in revenues. Doing this will make your employees more confident and enthusiastic about working harder and better.
• External milestones: Celebrating milestones outside of the company’s influence, like national holidays, festivals, or traditional holidays is a must! Have a fireworks show on Diwali. Ask employees to invite their significant others or spouses to the office for Valentine’s Day. Have a plum cake-baking competition for Christmas. Be innovative in your approach and make sure your employees have fun.

Don’t look at celebrating milestones as an expense to the company, but instead as an investment. Small or big, celebrations can help boost employee engagement and bring in profits you never expected to see in your accounts.