Why gift cards are a better gift or reward than cash

In most company cultures, talking about cash rewards or bonuses can be considered taboo in the workplace which is less the case with gift cards. Around the coffee machine, employees are more likely to share what they purchased with their rewards like a new TV or sofa. This also provides a great way to indirectly call attention to the award and what was accomplished to earn it. Word of mouth discussions will have a positive impact on your employee engagement and help improve their company culture.

Often when an employee receives cash, it simply goes into the large “hole” of day-to-day costs like mortgage repayments, loans or energy bills. Gift cards can allow for guilt-free spending to buy something tangible that they may have been wanting to purchase for some time such as new golf clubs or running shoes. For your team, gift vouchers are not seen as compensation but as a reward for their efforts, the main aim of any employee recognition programme.

The tangible gift purchased with the retailer gift card will remind the employee of their organisation and what they did to achieve the reward over time. While they may not remember their cash bonus years later, the recipient will remember the TV or computer they were finally able to buy thanks to their hard work in their role. Memorable gifts can make the thank you even feel more appreciated, which helps drive employee engagement and retention.

It’s not a non-specific gesture like cash, but a gift. The recipient has the choice to spend it on what they want, making the reward personalised to them as opposed to merchandise catalogues or spend anywhere cards. With an benefit like the OptionsCard recipients can even choose how they would like to redeem their reward. These could include restaurants, a variety of retail partners, cinema tickets or even contribute to family holidays.

There’s always a strong motivation for people to give something special to their partners or their children on special occasions like birthdays or at Christmas. Seeing your child full of joy that they finally got their desired games console from their Christmas wish list can’t be replicated or replaced. Another anecdotal example is from personal experience where a recipient in one of our programmes redeemed their reward for jeweller gift cards which contributed towards their engagement rings.