How to Retain and Engage your Long-Standing Valued Employees

In every organization, there are those who’ve stayed through the highs and lows—individuals who’ve built deep institutional knowledge, mentored peers, and helped shape the company culture. These are your tenured employees, and their presence is a sign of trust, loyalty, and stability. But while they may be long-standing, keeping tenured employees engaged remains a unique challenge.

Surprisingly, studies show that long-tenured employees are often at a greater risk of disengagement than their newer counterparts. Over time, their contributions may become expected, their voices less heard, and their motivation harder to sustain. That’s why organizations must take proactive steps to celebrate, develop, and retain them—not just through compensation, but through meaningful recognition, growth opportunities, and a renewed sense of purpose.

In this blog, we’ll explore why tenured employees are vital to your business success and share actionable strategies for ensuring they remain enthusiastic, valued, and committed for years to come.

Who are long tenured employees?

A tenured employee is one who has been with a company or organization for a significant amount of time. Out of these, long-tenured employees are those who have been with a company for more than five years, while short-tenured employees have been with the organization for fewer than five years.

The need to retaining your long tenured employees

Employee retention is important for organizations as it costs money and time to replace talent, especially the most productive ones. The need for the intellectual capital and wisdom of long-standing employees becomes apparent during times of corporate change, such as acquisitions and mergers.

Tenured employees who know every detail of the organization act as buffers against the shock of change to make it more seamless. They can maintain the workflow and the total consistency of the organization’s output which newer employees will have difficulty contending with. As essential assets for any organization, long-standing valued employees offer the following benefits:

• They provide a solid knowledge base of the organization’s culture, products, and services.
• They are an indispensable support system for new employees.
• Their presence indicates stability in the organization, which boosts its employee value proposition.
• Retaining valued employees is more cost-effective than acquiring new ones.

What does it mean to engage tenured employees?

Employee engagement is employees' enthusiasm and commitment to their job and workplaces. Therefore by definition, a tenured, highly valued employee should also be highly engaged to make it that far. However, the reality is quite counterintuitive.

According to a survey by Gallup, employees with the longest tenure tend to be the least engaged. The study also uncovered that the longer the tenure, the more likely the employees would be actively disengaged. On the positive side, Gallup's data also suggested that high-performing employees had three things in common:

• Their tenure was more than a decade.
• They were highly engaged in their roles.
• Their roles and natural talents were in alignment.

Role of appreciation in tenured employee engagement and retention

Over time, even the most loyal and high-performing employees can start to feel overlooked. Their consistent output, reliability, and depth of experience may begin to fade into the background, especially as newer team members demand more visible onboarding attention. That’s why appreciation is not just a nice-to-have—it’s a strategic necessity for retaining tenured talent.

Appreciation goes beyond annual performance reviews and compensation hikes. For long-tenured employees, it’s about being recognized for the legacy they’ve built, the mentorship they’ve offered, and the resilience they've shown through the organization's ups and downs.

This is where Empuls becomes a game-changer.

Empuls offers a dedicated rewards & recognition platform that ensures your long-standing employees feel seen, celebrated, and valued—consistently.

7 Effective tips for keeping tenured employees engaged and retained

While new employees are pleased with the rewards and recognition they receive, the question remains on how to recognize employees for years of service. Recognition and rewards do not work on a one-size-fits-all model. Tenured employees need long service recognition to distinguish their contributions. Here are some suggestions:

1. Offer highly competitive pay

Offering above-average pay with great benefits is one of the most obvious ways to retain a long-standing valued employee. The pay and benefits alone can help lock your best employees in and incentivize them to stick around.

Additional benefits such as retention bonuses are extra incentives to keep them happy and performing well. Benefits such as health insurance, vision, and dental coverage, paid time off, and even a retirement plan can be essential.

2. Share the financial success

While competitive pay is a strong motivator by itself, sharing financial success with your top performers could be all the motivation they need to stay put and do their best.

Since their contribution matters significantly to the organization’s success, it is only a fair deal to allow them to reap some of the financial rewards. You can offer them stock options along with annual raises with similar rewards.

3. Offer flexibility and irresistible perks

Hybrid work and flexibility are no longer just nice-to-haves—they're a baseline expectation for most employees, especially those who have invested years into your organization. Long-tenured employees often value autonomy, work-life balance, and the ability to tailor their work environment to suit their evolving needs.

To keep top performers engaged, it’s crucial to pair flexibility with meaningful perks that demonstrate appreciation beyond just salary. Think beyond the basics: offer wellness programs, learning allowances, lifestyle benefits, and personalized rewards that align with what your employees actually value.

This is where Empuls plays a vital role.

With its perks & benefits module, Empuls enables organizations to provide long-standing employees with access to:

• 6,000+ brand discounts across categories like travel, wellness, fitness, and lifestyle
• Early access to earned wages, helping employees navigate financial stress with ease
• Tax-saving benefits tied to meals, fuel, books, and more through Lifestyle Spending Accounts (LSAs)
• Flexible fringe benefits for remote work support, upskilling, family care, and wellness initiatives

Empuls makes it easy for HR teams to customize these offerings based on tenure, location, or team, ensuring that long-tenured employees feel seen, supported, and valued. Even during lean times, offering such high-impact, low-cost perks can go a long way in boosting morale and loyalty.

In short, combining flexibility with perks through a platform like Empuls not only strengthens your employer brand but also creates a workplace experience that tenured employees are proud to be part of.

4. Invest in skill development and growth

Staying with the same organization for years can also mean some degree of stagnation for the long haulers. Employees often jump when they feel their skills start growing blunt.

To overcome this issue, you can promote your valued employees for higher compensation and responsibility. Investing in your employees' education and career development is the other way to ensure they stay sharp and stick around for the continued benefits. Since the need for new skills, especially in the IT industry, is a must, investment in their up-skilling benefits both.

5. Match roles with natural talents

As seen from the Gallup study above, the top-performing employees are always well-matched with their roles. Their natural talents enable them to take on meaningful challenges and deliver value consistently. Over time they would grow to take on bigger challenges and responsibilities that keep them strongly engaged.

6. Reward and recognize frequently

Rewards and recognition are tangible expressions of employee appreciation—and for long-tenured employees, they carry even more significance. Over time, it’s easy for seasoned team members to blend into the background, with their consistent contributions being taken for granted. That’s why it’s important to celebrate not just their tenure milestones but also their ongoing impact.

While recognition can take many forms—team celebrations, monetary bonuses, wellness gifts, or shout-outs—what truly matters is consistency, personalization, and visibility. This is where a platform like Empuls becomes invaluable.

Empuls offers a comprehensive Rewards & Recognition (R&R) suite that helps companies move beyond the occasional “thank you.” With automated long-service awards, peer-to-peer recognition, and AI-powered nudges that prompt managers to recognize achievements in real time, Empuls helps create a culture where appreciation becomes part of the daily workflow.

Additionally, Empuls lets you:

• Customize awards for tenure milestones (5, 10, 15+ years)
• Offer employees a global rewards catalog featuring gift cards, experiences, merchandise, wellness kits, and more
• Set up recognition campaigns tied to core values, projects, or performance goals
• Display recognition on a public wall of fame, increasing visibility and team morale

For long-tenured employees especially, personalized recognition validates their journey, honors their loyalty, and strengthens their emotional connection to the company. When recognition is done right—and done often—it becomes one of the most powerful tools for retention and engagement.

7. Appreciate their expertise through mentorship programs

One of the best ways to show your tenured employee that their skill is valued is by enrolling them in mentorship programs. These programs pair experienced employees with juniors to transfer knowledge while the juniors are still learning the ropes. Mentorship programs boost employee engagement as it validates their skill and improves job satisfaction.

Below is a full communication plan that leverages Empuls features—like surveys, social recognition, rewards, and intranet—to drive awareness and engagement across your organization.

🎯 Reignite engagement among long-tenured employees

Use Empuls to celebrate, listen to, and reward employees who have been with the organization 5+ years—improving retention, morale, and loyalty.

🗓️ Campaign Duration: 4 weeks (ideal for an internal theme like "Celebrating Loyalty Month" or "Legacy Leaders Appreciation Drive")

📢 It's time your run long service award campaigns using Empuls.

1. Kickoff Announcement (Week 1)

Where: Social intranet feed + email
Content:

• Celebrate all long-tenured employees (5+ years)
• Share why they matter: stability, knowledge, mentorship
• Set the tone: “We see you, we appreciate you, and we’re investing in your continued journey”

2. Automated Milestone Celebrations (Week 2)

Where: Social feed + recognition dashboard
Action:

• Use Empuls to trigger automated service awards (5, 10, 15, 20+ years)
• Include peer shout-outs and manager notes
• Include links to redeem rewards (gift cards, experiences, etc.)

3. Pulse Survey: "How Are We Supporting You?" (Week 2)

Where: Surveys module
Action:

• Run a short, focused pulse survey for tenured employees:
  • Do you feel recognized?
  • Do you have growth opportunities?
  • What support would help you thrive?

4. Perks & Benefits Activation (Week 3)

Where: Internal comms + Empuls Perks Store
Action:

• Showcase perks long-tenured employees can access:
  • Tax-saving benefits
  • Wellness & remote work allowances
  • Discounts from 6,000+ brands
• Spotlight testimonials from current employees using perks

🛠 Empuls Feature: Perks & Benefits module + Perks email template

5. Mentor Moments Recognition Wall (Week 4)

Where: Social feed
Action:

• Invite junior employees to post appreciation messages for long-tenured mentors
• Use custom core value badges for "Mentorship", "Consistency", "Legacy Builder"

Closing thoughts

Long-tenured employees are some of the most influential people in an organization as they bring a wealth of knowledge, skills, experience, and wisdom to their roles. It is possible for even the most seasoned long hauler to lose their motivation and engagement over time. Therefore it is important to appreciate valued employees through regular rewards and recognition and boost their engagement.