Employee Appreciation Day is March 5th and is a great opportunity to show appreciation for employees. For those returning to the office in person, the risks they are taking during the pandemic need to be acknowledged and employers need to ensure employees feel safe in their workplace. For employees who are working from home, there are no more “office perks” that benefit or enhance the employee experience, so it is important for employers to find creative ways to show appreciation for their staff’s hard work and effort throughout the year. Making adjustments like moving certain office perks, like a fitness class to Zoom, can go a long way in strengthening the relationship between the employer and employee.
How employers show appreciation to their workforce is important not only for retaining personnel and top talent but also for maintaining company culture and employee loyalty. In order to see the return employee appreciation investments, which can require a significant investment on the part of the employer, it’s vital that employee appreciation efforts demonstrate a “trophy value”. These appreciation efforts need to make employees feel special and have a lasting impact on their life both inside and outside of work.
One way to show appreciation for your employees is with eGift cards. With the current state of the world, eGift cards offer instant, contactless delivery, which is ideal for remote or dispersed workforces. In addition to being an easy reward to distribute, gift cards remain the #1 most-requested reward throughout all incentive and rewards programs. Below we have outlined seven ideas to use gift cards to show employee appreciation this year.
7 Types of Employee Appreciation Rewards
Recognition Rewards - These rewards provide employees with basic everyday essentials, like food, clothes, or other household items. The gift cards are often given for brands like Amazon, Target, or Walmart that allow employees to use their employee appreciation reward on anything they may need.
Health and Wellness Rewards - Promoting a healthy workforce, especially during the colder months where it may be harder for employees to get motivated to exercise or eat right, is critical to managing employer health care costs. Using employee appreciation opportunities to promote health and wellness is a great way to reward and reinforce its importance to staff. Gift cards we recommend include CVS®, REI, Vitamin Shoppe®,
Spa & Wellness by Spa Week, and more.
Family-Focused Rewards - Employee appreciation often extends to their family as well. Acknowledge the sacrifices and hardships employees and their families have faced throughout the year by ensuring that their contributions are appreciated and recognized. Something as simple as a gift card to streaming services like SlingTV or Hulu, gift cards for meal delivery from Instacart to encourage more family time by cooking dinner together, or even a gift card to T.J.Maxx stores to purchase clothing and household items.
Team Bonding Rewards - By providing gift cards to teams within your company, employers allow them to have a virtual experience together. This could include restaurant or food delivery gift cards like GrubHub, DoorDash, and UberEats or activities like Topgolf.
Practical Rewards - Some employees are looking for practical rewards that they can use outside of work to purchase basics for themselves or their families. For these employees, appreciation may look like a gift card to CVS, Target, Wayfair, AutoZone®, or HomeGoods.
Spot Rewards - Not all rewards need to be scheduled. It’s important to also provide small specialty rewards when employees are not expecting them. In these types of situations, the reward may be as simple as a gift card for a cup of coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts or Starbucks.
Employee Appreciation During Life Cycle Events - Be there for employees during their biggest moments, whether it’s a wedding, purchasing a home, birthing, or adopting a child, etc. Gift cards to brands that are specific to milestones in an employee’s life can include CB2, Home Depot®, west elm®, babyGap, or Build-A-Bear Workshop®.
Employee appreciation has to be flexible, especially as employees continue to work through and cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. Most importantly, employee appreciation should feel personal and timely for the recipient. When employees feel recognized in the workplace, they become more loyal to their organization. By recognizing your workforce with gift card incentives you not only support employee goals and growth, but you also maintain a satisfied staff and reduce absenteeism and turnover.
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