Work anniversary cards
What to write in a work anniversary card for someone on your team
For managers: recognition that is specific, public and does not read like the annual review. Lines for a report's milestone.
Happy work anniversary! Watching you grow into the person the whole team relies on has been one of the best parts of my job.
HeartfeltThank you for five years of quiet excellence. The migration last spring happened because of you, and everyone knows it.
HeartfeltHappy anniversary! You make everyone around you better, and the newer folks on the team say so constantly.
HeartfeltThree years in and you already feel impossible to replace. Thank you for everything you bring.
HeartfeltHappy work anniversary. Please accept this card in lieu of the long weekend we both know you deserve.
FunnyCongratulations on another year! You are officially past the point where you can pretend you do not know how things work.
FunnyHappy anniversary. Thank you for all you do.
ShortSo glad you are on this team. Congratulations!
ShortHere is to many more years together.
ShortCongratulations on your work anniversary, and thank you for your outstanding contribution to the team.
FormalWith thanks and congratulations on this milestone.
Formal
When you manage the person, your line carries more weight than anyone else's on the card, and it will be read closely. That makes it the right place for the specific recognition that does not fit in a review: the call they made that saved the quarter, the new starter they quietly mentored.
Keep it about their work and their effect on people, not about ratings, promotions or pay. A card is public; anything that sounds like a promise or an assessment belongs in a one-to-one.
Three things worth getting right
- Name a specific contribution, ideally one others on the team will recognize.
- Thank them; do not grade them.
- Make no promises about promotions or pay in a public card.
Common questions
Should a manager write something longer than the team?
A little longer, yes, because it will be read as the official voice of the card. Three or four sentences with one concrete example is plenty.
How do we do this for a remote team?
Share one link a week before the date. Everyone signs from wherever they are, and you can set the reveal date to the anniversary itself.
One card, signed by everyone
You have the words. Card Event collects everyone else in one link, with photos, video and voice notes, and no app or account for the people signing.
Start a cardWriting to someone else?
All card wording guides — lines for someone on your team and everyone else