The main issues many employers face is managing employees’ expectations about what they can realistically provide and how this stacks up against competitors. Anecdotes about employees who leave an employer for a nominal increase in take-home pay and fail to recognise the full value of the overall reward package they are forfeiting are all too common.
Identifying what is likely to appeal to employees, therefore, and ensuring they are aware of the value can help to cut recruitment costs by retaining talented individuals.
Fortunately, an engaging staff benefits proposition does not have to cost employers a fortune. A carefully constructed, considered scheme that provides staff with tangible rewards can often be more effective than simply placing an additional token sum in their monthly pay packet, which can easily be overlooked or swallowed up by everyday costs of living.
Corporate gift cards, however, enable employers to provide staff with a reward that they can use to treat themselves to something they may not otherwise have been able to purchase. Even if given in relatively small values, this can generate a huge amount of goodwill among employees.
The vast range of vouchers now available on the market, meanwhile, means employers can tailor their offering to best suit their workforce demographics. With multi-generational workforces becoming ever more common, this approach is likely to become increasingly integral to reward and benefits structures going forward. (Read more about the market in xx on page 4).
And, not forgetting, that the corporate or bulk-buying discounts offered by suppliers mean this can be an extremely cost-effective way of rewarding staff.
Corporate gift cards can also form the basis of a wider, strategic programme designed to encourage specific employee behaviours or support corporate objectives. Technology firm SSP, for example, has incorporated gift cards into its employee loyalty scheme, using these to recognise and reward long service. (See xx on page 7).
Debbie Lovewell-Tuck
Editor
Follow on Twitter: @DebbieLovewell
