GiftCard Partners Blog

It is the most wonderful time of the year, or the most confusing. Figuring out your employee gifting/holiday bonus program can be a real pain. How to be fair, how to reward the hardest workers, how to keep everyone happy. Here are a few tips to get you through the employee gifting cycle without a scratch.

It is now officially the holiday season (not that retailers didn't get a head start on that about a month ago!) and as employees look forward to year
-end bonuses, some employers use smaller rewards earlier in the holiday season to get employees energized before the holiday break. Here are 3 key stats from Glassdoor's Employee Appreciation Survey:

Gift cards have become a versatile and appreciated choice for holiday gifting in the workplace. They provide a hassle-free way to say thank you and can cater to diverse preferences. Here are five innovative ways to use gift cards in your workplace during the holidays, benefiting employees, customers, co-workers, and even your company's philanthropic efforts.

According to the new Ixaris Study of Reward & Incentive Preferences, which gathered responses from over 4800 employees form 4 countries (including the U.S. and Canada) employee incentives work in keeping employees satisfied and motivated. According to the survey 28.6% of U.S. employees indicated they had been rewarded or recognized. The more staggering numbers are that 70% of respondents indicated they put in extra effort when they know they are going to be rewarded. 80% of respondents indicated that incentives make them feel valued. Rewarding employees by treating them to something special. 70% of respondents indicated that when given cash rewards they used the reward just like regular pay, but over 75% of respondents indicated that gift card incentives were used to treat themselves to something special. Allowing employees to treat themselves to something special like a meal out with their families at
The Cheesecake Factory, or a shopping spree at
The Limited, or even a bouquet of flowers for a loved one from
1-800-Flowers is a great way to show employees you care, and that their efforts are valued above and beyond their standard compensation.
For more information on the Ixaris study or the positive impact of employee incentives check out this article from Incentive Magazine.

Keeping employees motivated isn’t just about big bonuses or formal recognition programs. While structured incentives have their place, informal employee rewards can be just as powerful—if not more—at maintaining morale, fostering camaraderie, and driving performance. Plus, they can be implemented with minimal cost while delivering meaningful impact.