Getting More From Holiday Gift Card Awards

The holiday season is here again, and for those looking to thank their employees, channel sales teams or clients, gift cards remain a favorite option.

What are the advantages of using gift cards as holiday awards? 

• Gift cards provide a real value and allow the recipient to get the merchandise item that they want, when they want it and from where they like to shop. 
• During the holiday season and beyond there are a myriad of items that will be on sale.  The value of the card you give is actually expanded, often by double, when used for discount bargains.
• From the buyer perspective, lead times on giving gift cards are far shorter than other merchandise items; you can get them quickly, often within 24 hours.he shipping cost of getting the cards to you is very small and doesn’t adversely affect your budget…almost 100% of the budget gets into the hands of those you want. 
• You can get gift cards in almost any denomination that fits your needs, large of small.
• You can get universal gift cards such as the Award of Choice that gives your award winner over 500 of the most popular brands to choose from.  You no longer have to agonize over what brand to use.  They will know what they want, let them have it. 
• You can use electronic gift card awards such as instant Award of Choice where all you have to do is order a certificate online, send it to the recipient and they can in turn order the electronic card they want.  All this can be done in minutes.

Many buyers we’ve spoken to over the years don’t like gift cards because they think they are too impersonal (or don’t want the recipient to know what they actually spend.)  Unless you plan to buy a specific different item for each recipient, at least 50% of what you give won’t hit the mark, and won’t be personal at all.  And with the ease of comparison shopping online, figuring out the cost/value of almost anything this side of a space ship is a breeze.

Research has shown that the recipients would much rather choose what they want rather than something they have no use for. Closets desk drawers and garage sales are full of items given that were never used. 

Why Gift Cards are More Compelling than Cash as Employee Awards

 

Executive responses to a recent Incentive Federation study on employee incentives showed that merchandise and travel are more compelling than cash as employee awards.  And specifically in the merchandise category gift cards were the most popular awards. 

The reasons most incentive planners feel why gift cards are more effective were listed as:

1. Trophy value: Gift card purchases are more memorable – they create a lasting reminder of achievement.

2. Viral value: Employees tell each other how they redeemed gift cards.

3. More discrete: It’s polite to mention non-cash awards.

4. True gift perception: Gift cards are not viewed as part of compensation.

5. Universal benefits: Gift cards combine the benefits of merchandise with the benefits of cash.

6. Guilt-free spending: Recipients don’t feel guilty treating themselves.

7. More likely to improve work performance: Studies show that cash doesn’t improve work performance – gift cards do.

8. Family support: Because the participant’s family is involved in selecting awards – they’re more likely to support the participant’s goals.

9. Pleasing loved ones: There is a strong motivation to earn an award for one’s significant other

10. Long-term positive feelings toward organization: Gift cards reinforce positive associations with sponsoring organizations.

To review the entire research click here.

Should You Have Year End Celebrations?

Clearly no one seems to be in the mood to celebrate all that has happened to us this year.  Businesses and employees are traumatized with the layoffs, closures, budget cutting and depression and anxiety abound in the workplace.

However, we would suggest that this is not the time to skip that holiday celebration; in fact it may be one of the best times ever to have one.  Granted, budgets have been cut and you may not be able to have the elaborate events of the past, but if there was ever a time to thank your dedicated employees it is now.   If 2020 taught us one thing it’s that our employees are tremendous people with big hearts and loyalty.  Now is the time to tell them you appreciate them.

Consider a simple note from middle management or executives personalized to the employees that speak to the things they have achieved, the hardships they have endured and the obstacles they have overcome often doing things outside their job descriptions to help keep the business going.  You might want to include with it some small token of thanks pertinent to your particular business…you can find hundreds of logo merchandise ideas in your ASI catalogs.  

Also consider bundling the ASI item with a gift card voucher for extra emphasis.  Gift cards are shared with the family.  Using a gift card voucher that gives your employee the choice of hundreds of gift card brands, allows you to give one gift and the employee gets something they want or need...a wide variety of merchandise, entertainment, restaurants or grocery stores.  If your employees are not in central locations, issuing gift card vouchers can be done electronically with very little effort on your part,

Say Thank You and celebrate those who make a difference.

Create Employee Recognition That Builds Customer Satisfaction

 

Providing quality customer service requires engaged employees, and communicating to employees how much their work is valued is an important but often overlooked way to maintain high levels of workforce satisfaction.  Millennials especially want immediate acknowledgment that their performance on the job meets or exceeds expectations. 

Employee recognition programs can play a central role in increasing employee engagement and satisfaction.  There are many “how to” recipes for building the best recognition program.  Here’s a simple design that can help you get started in building what’s best for you.

 Create an Employee Reward and Recognition Team 

The main function of this team is to design your recognition activities to align with the organization’s standards of behavior. To ensure operational success, the team should routinely meet with company managers to discuss what is going well in their areas of the organization. These conversations remind managers how important it is to recognize outstanding employees. This constant reinforcement by your recognition team helps everyone realize that it is worth taking the time to recognize their employees.  

Measure How Employees Like to Be Rewarded 

This may seem like a simple thing to do, but it is very often overlooked. It is not uncommon for senior and even mid-level management to think they know what employees want.  It is not unusual to project their bias into the thought process.  They may be right, but based on past experience they are more often wrong.

This discussion should also touch on the type of awards the employees want.  Just remember that if you ask someone if they want cash or praise, it is just human nature for the answer to be the cash.  But cash will rarely be what gets the job done, especially when the budgets per individuals is likely minimum compared to income.  Two quotes to remember:

 

                           “ A soldier will fight long and hard for a bit of colored ribbon.”

                                        …Napoleon Bonaparte

 “There are two things people want more than sex and money…recognition and praise”

                                        …Mary Kay Ash 

By using some kind of motivational assessment tool during the hiring process, you can identify how each employee likes to receive recognition.  The tool can also give you valuable information about the employee to help design programs to achieve the employee’s desired outcomes. 

Tie Recognition to Employee Performance Management 

If you have implemented any kind of performance management system make sure you incorporate it into your recognition program reporting and use it so management can have more reasons for recognizing employee performance.  This helps your program feed on itself and grow from within.  We see many companies that don’t tie things together and miss out on this synergy. 

Correlate Recognition Programs with Employee Satisfaction and Customer Experience 

Use past, current and future employee satisfaction surveys and measure against the performance of your recognition efforts.  There are always a variety of reasons why employee satisfaction will have increased (hopefully) but reward and recognition programs will be a contributing factor.  In addition there is prevailing wisdom that a correlation exists between happy and more engaged employees and higher customer satisfaction.   

Employee recognition creates an important link between employees’ day-to-day actions and broader organizational goals and objectives. There are significant benefits that result from tying employee recognition programs to employee evaluations. Although reward and recognition programs require a small time commitment, they pay major dividends in terms of greater staff engagement, employee satisfaction, and better customer experiences.