Why work anniversaries are important

Dr Benson Wairegi, Britam's Group's Managing Director during Britam @50 celebrations held at the Safari Park hotel, Nairobi. PHOTO: ELVIS OGINA/STANDARD

Does your company have a milestone anniversary coming up? It doesn’t matter if the firm is turning one, five or 100 years - whatever the age, financial services company Britam reminded us last Friday that celebrating an anniversary can be a powerful marketing tool.

Experts say that promoting such milestones can help your firm boost employee morale and raise awareness about the company’s overall brand and services, as well as strengthen relationships with existing clients and prospects.

Anniversaries are significant because people generally prefer to work with a company that’s not only successful, but also stable and dependable -one that has stood the test of time and will continue to be there for its clients.

“Our company’s 50th anniversary provides the perfect reason to showcase this success, knowledge, experience and longevity, and create meaningful marketing opportunities and events to highlight the past, present and future,” said Britam’s Group MD  Benson Wairegi (pictured) while delivering the keynote address.

From the attendees who included clients, service providers, lawyers and retired employees, it was clear a company could use company anniversary to attract positive attention and play up your strengths, inspiring even greater confidence and credibility in its services.

Day one at work

One of the most important contributions of such gatherings is the opportunity it affords employees to interact with their superiors and have conversations that may otherwise be regarded as forbidden at the workplace.

“I remember 33 years ago when we interviewed the company’s Group MD Benson Wairegi for the post of chief accountant in the firm. He was young and passionate,” said one of Britam’s longest serving investors Peter Munga.

Wairegi said anniversaries should have the excitement of day one at work. “The goal of celebrating a company’s anniversary is to tell the employees that the company appreciates them as much today as they did on day one,” said the MD while introducing current and some past employees who had retired from the firm.

“Celebrating anniversaries is a way of telling employees they’re important. And the time they give to the company is important,” said Wairegi.

Work anniversaries can help build strong teams. The company’s board chairman Francis Muthaura reminded workers that no one is successful alone. “We need the help of others. Work anniversaries can remind us of the people who help us every day,” said Muthaura.