While words of appreciation are valued by employees, consistent rewards can encourage them to work earnestly every day. People work better when they are enthusiastic and feel that they will be recognized and rewarded for good performance. All the employees, regardless of the extent of individual effort, get paid. However, choosing the kind of reward you want for the work you put in is a special kind of appreciation. This is where employee rewards programs come in.

What is an employee rewards program?

Employee reward systems are programs set up by a company to reward performance and encourage employees as individuals or a part of teams/groups. In a rewards program, an employee may receive an award, a certificate of appreciation, a monetary bonus, or a gift card. The type of reward an employee receives depends on the organization’s preferences. The platforms can prioritize peer-based recognition or performance-based rewards to motivate employees. This type of recognition structure allows managers to reward their team in the way that best motivates each member.

Top platforms

You can choose from multiple digital platforms designed for employee recognition and rewards. A lot of these platforms facilitate sending digital gift cards that can be redeemed by employees at different merchants. Employee gift cards could include covering the cost of dining experiences at select restaurants, retail experiences, and even movie-watching at select cinemas. Here are top platforms that offer employee gift card reward programs:

Guusto: This is a unique and helpful software that helps shape the perfect work atmosphere with unique rewards and digital gift cards that can be sent and received over the Guusto website and app. This software has received maximum appreciation from employees and employers for being extremely convenient and useful. Employees can redeem their Guusto gifts at over 100 merchants. The gift cards offer a scalable employee recognition and rewards solution that fits all budgets. The company can also allocate budgets to managers and teams to recognize their employees.

Empuls: This is a platform that tracks employees’ engagement and gives them points based on their performance. These points can be later redeemed as a gift voucher. Empuls offers over 21000 gift card options across more than 20 reward categories and 75 countries. Its key features are one-on-one feedback and a peer-to-peer rewards program. It is one of the most trusted and easy-to-use employee rewards platforms.

Additionally, another unique employee rewards program is Blueboard, which offers experiential incentives to employees instead of gift cards. It also keeps track of employees’ performance, rewards granted, and engagement metrics. The experiences gifted to employees include getting a private chef to cook a meal for them or a getaway like a Greek island vacation.

Why opt for employee rewards platforms?
It is important to provide incentives to employees based on their performance. The rewards platform can help employers keep track of performance, absenteeism, and other metrics to reward diligent subordinates and those who contribute to the success of the company. A platform can hold this data in a single place and offer a wide array of gifts and rewards to match the performance. It is also important to recognize the effort of employees publicly to honor hard-working staffers. If the employee receives a personalized or customized written note from their boss with the gift card, it adds to the motivation and makes the reward even more memorable. Opting for a good rewards program can help boost the morale of employees and avoid them feeling unappreciated and unrecognized.

Benefits of gift card reward programs

A gift card is one of the best rewards employers can offer. Here are a few advantages of this reward:

Flexibility
When the company rewards the employee using a gift card, it grants them the flexibility to pick something that they need instead of assuming what they would like. Such a reward allows employees to treat themselves and pick what’s exciting for them.

Budget-friendly reward

Gift cards can be tailored to fit the company’s budget, whether it wants to spend $5 or $50 on each employee. They can also be scaled as the budget increases. So companies of all sizes can opt for this reward option as a platform is likely to offer low- and high-priced gifts from a variety of merchants.

Positive experience

While it may be difficult for employees to discuss cash bonuses, they can easily talk about non-cash rewards and discuss gift cards with their colleagues without experiencing any negative emotions from peers. It is also a memorable experience for employees as gift cards can cover the cost of a dining experience or a trip.

Source of encouragement

A gift card is a token of appreciation and encouragement. In particular, digital gift cards provide instant gratification for employees. With the flexibility to choose the reward they want, they can work harder to receive better gift cards.