What is the best way to give employee recognition?

There are many different ways to recognise employees, either financially, or non-financially, and if you read through research reports, carried out by the CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) such as “Show me the money, the behavioural science of reward”, there are extremely detailed debates around how best to recognise employees.

Encouraging behaviours and engaging employees
One thing that is for sure though, is that recognising employees for a job well done, for loyalty and general super stardom is vital in improving performance, shaping behaviours and supporting constructive employment relations.

Gift cards are cost effective financial rewards
So, back to the question! A list of ideas of how to recognise employees could go on forever. Lunch with the boss, an invite to a special event, a pay bonus, a surprise cake and clap from the team. But if financial recognition is what you are looking for (and this appears to be the right choice for certain types of job roles and sectors), gift cards are a brilliant solution in a climate where pay budgets are squeezed.

A gift card (with some kind of corporate saving) is both commercially beneficial and a tangible way of recognising your employee with something they can actually see, hold and even choose. A gift card is special and can trump a pay bonus which is at risk of just getting sucked into everyday spending and almost being missed.

A range of brands to engage and inspire – whoever is in your team!
Diggecard’s global portfolio of brands and flexible gift card services and platforms will help you to deliver your employee recognition programme, whoever the target audience. You can purchase gift cards in digital or physical format, delivered in bulk or with our personalised or API services. Another option is Gift Card Marketplace and DiggeChoice which gives the control to recipients to choose the gift card that is right for them.

Give an experience
And here is another thing. Research shows that it is better to give an experience, rather than a ‘thing’. By giving a gift card, you are ultimately giving an experience. The experience of shopping, and deciding what a gift card might be redeemed for. And if you opt to give a gift card that is an experience, which reflects someone’s interests and passions (think restaurants, theatre, concerts, experience days, hotel and travel), you would literally be ticking every box!