Employee reward and recognition: the benefits of going digital

With a question mark hanging over traditional in person festive celebrations, end of year reward or gift has come into sharper focus.

The benefits of digital reward schemes

Under challenging circumstances employees have continued to deliver public services, many while adjusting to more permanent hybrid working arrangements.

For a number of years now, digital reward and recognition has been developing into the new standard, offering simplicity, speed, and choice. They can also enable a more engaging and personalised experience. And, particularly when employees are unlikely to be in a central location to distribute gifts, reward schemes that are easy to deliver digitally are proving to be the most beneficial.

The impact of reward on employees

When reward schemes are done well, the impact can be high – 61% of staff say receiving end-of-year recognition makes them feel appreciated.

The reward doesn’t have to be expensive. For staff, it really is the thought that counts. Research consistently shows that employees are happy with rewards worth between £21-£50. Often, a cash reward won’t cut it. What really matters is that you provide an engaging way to say thank you. For example, 70% of employees say they’d like to choose their own reward by receiving vouchers or gift cards. More than half (58%) say they’d like to receive something other than cash at year end. (Statistics taken from 2015 and 2017 Edenred Christmas Reward Research.)

Find out more

A digital reward and recognition scheme is available through our Employee Benefits framework. Plus, the single supplier on the framework, Edenred, has produced a guide on how to reward employees this year end and plan a long term recognition strategy for a hybrid world.

You can find a full list of all the commercial agreements we offer, alongside details of how we can help you build policy considerations into your procurement, in our interactive digital brochure.