Employees are pillars of the organization, and their recognition matters when it comes to organizational growth. A recognition program should be designed beautifully with generous funding and effective leadership that helps to foster more productivity and loyalty among the workforce. In this case, an Employee Recognition Catalog can become handy and feel relevant across every demographic and location. Let’s take a deep dive.
What is an Employee Reward Catalog?
An employee reward catalog is referred to as a curated set of gifts with a variety of options that employees can redeem based on the points they earn through their recognition. Unlike a one-time bonus, the catalog works like a living system where employees can choose what they want based on their recognition and points earned through performance.
Understanding the Differences between a Catalog and a Recognition Program:
A lot of organizations consider recognition programs and reward catalogs to be the same thing, but they are fundamentally different, even if connected with the concept. The recognition program helps to determine how employee appreciation will be provided and what behaviors the organization is willing to reinforce. But the catalog can make employees learn the value of recognition. It makes the experience more thoughtful and relevant to their needs, which makes it memorable and impactful. Organizations need to focus on employee engagement when designing the catalog.
6 Strategies for Global Employee Reward Catalog:
When HR leaders and L&D professionals are asked about recognition rewards, most professionals talk about coffee mugs, branded hoodies, gadgets, and stuff that are stereotypically offered in most industries. However, the core requirement is a catalog that allows employees to choose what they are looking for instead of generic gifts.
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Digital Gift Cards
Digital Gift Cards are good enough to become 40% - 50% of the reward catalog. This allows global employees to avail themselves of the things they want regardless of the region they belong to. The gift card allows local shopping, and there will be issues of shipping windows, customs, and currency change.
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Travel and Local Experiences
Experiences can offer more impactful memories than merchandise and create a personal connection that is tied to real life. Local experiences and travel options can become 15 to 20% of the catalog, where employees from different countries can enjoy an experience near their home or origin.
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Branded Merchandise
Branded merchandise is still considered to be a significant part of recognition reward, but it can be only 10% - 15% of the catalog. This strategy can work better in the case of onboarding moments and service milestones. The idea here is to make the experiences feel effortless with convenience instead of making employees wait for six weeks for their rewards to arrive.
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Learning and Wellness Credits
This strategy is highly effective in modern days, where employees can gain personal benefits through mindfulness subscriptions, gym memberships, or online courses. This offers a sense of personal development and caters to the well-being of each employee. This can become 10 to 15 % of the catalog.
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Charitable Donations
A reward catalog can get more emotional depth when it comes with 5% to 10% charitable giving. This can feel more personal than materialistic gains for the purpose-driven professionals in the workforce.
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Cash and Prepaid Options
Cash and prepaid cards can solve a major problem, which is consistency. Then the workforce is stretched across different countries, and cash-like rewards easily become the universally accepted gift that keeps the reward catalog functional everywhere and for everyone.
Employees are the main foundation of a company, and offering them a reward catalog allows them to stay engaged in their work and constantly improve through satisfying rewards.
