It’s Time To Plan Your Holiday Rewards With This Step-By-Step Guide

With all of the hustle and bustle of the holiday season coming up, you might be starting to consider your gift-giving plan. Sure, it is always exciting to watch strings of lights adorn houses and festive sweaters line store shelves.

However, there is nothing quite like making someone’s day with the perfect present. As you write down all of the best ideas you’ve had swirling for family and friends, we’re here to make your workplace gift exchange a seamless one!

That’s right: Here at Prezzee, we make sure that everyone can receive an eGift card from the top retailers worldwide for online and in-store use. Beyond that, we’ve devised the most convenient and thoughtful way to present those same eGift cards.

So, if you’ve ever wondered how to approach holiday rewards for employees, this guide is for you.

Sit back, relax, and allow us to bring you through a clear and concise method for planning, purchasing, and sending your annual, end-of-the-year office thank-yous. After all, we’re sure your hard-working employees deserve them — and you deserve to see their excitement upon opening them!

1. Look at Your Calendar

The simplest and fastest way to sort through your holiday rewards program is to look at your calendar. Make a note of when each holiday is approaching throughout December and January, and consider your options.

Will you be in the office right up until Christmas, like last year? When does Hanukkah fall this year? Do you go back before or after New Year’s Eve?

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The holiday season loosely covers the time period between Thanksgiving in the U.S. and New Year’s Eve. You can choose to send out your rewards to employees’ phone numbers and email addresses at any point during this time, but most offices tend to keep the gifts centered towards the end of the year, as close to a universal holiday break as possible.

Assess the Company

Take a look, or even a survey, of some of the specific holidays your employees observe. These could be religious holidays, cultural holidays, or even non-denominational events like New Year’s Eve.

If you see that you have a fair mixture, it might be best to determine a singular day to send out rewards that do not fall during an observed holiday. This way, it won’t be perceived as favoring that holiday, and everyone can enjoy the fun without having their attention elsewhere. You can use Prezzee to schedule delivery of your employees’ eGift cards, making it easy to pick the perfect time for them to arrive — while at a staff holiday party, for example.

It is also a good idea to send out the rewards while you’re in the office. Some businesses deliver gifts while at a company holiday party so all employees can join in on the fun and excitement together. If you are planning to send eGift rewards (which we will touch upon soon), the emails and links can be sent out right before the end of the week before a break to really get the office in that warm spirit.

Stick to the Schedule - Strictly

Regardless of when you decide to send out your company rewards, plan it accordingly and don’t budge. Of course, extenuating circumstances can cause you to stray from the plan, but most eGifts have a scheduled time you can set for delivery when they are purchased.

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This way, even if you’re out of the office for some reason on the day of the gift-giving, your employees will still receive their rewards.

1. Assess Office Hierarchy

Once you’ve decided when the best time to send out a reward is, look a bit deeper into the demographic of your office. Apart from the holidays they celebrate, your office is likely also separated into different factions.

There are bosses, administrators, regular employees, and maybe even an intern or two. Over the years, holiday incentive etiquette has been not-so-silently established across companies, and we’d be remiss not to highlight it in this guide.

If you’re reading this guide and you are an employee looking to give something to a colleague or boss, we advise that you give them identical presents. This will help avoid drama or confusion.

However, The Cut shares that rewards and gifts usually come from higher-ups to other employees in companies. So while it is a lovely thought to want to recognize your boss this holiday season, it certainly isn’t expected, and it doesn’t necessarily fall into the “rewards” category.

Play Fair With Employee Rewards

After all of those protocols, our advice is still to play fair. The best part of holiday rewards is that they are something to be shared amongst employees. They are a way to thank others for their dedication to your business. They help to build morale and bond office workers together in gratitude and happiness.

By keeping an even playing field and giving each team member an identical reward, you’re letting your employees know that you value them all equally and all of their work is appreciated, no matter their title.

This is a wonderful message to send to your company and encourages higher-ups to respect the work of newer employees, too. A reward is not a bonus (which is often determined in price by rank and salary), it is simply a gift, and therefore it shouldn’t be withheld from anyone or minimized based on status.

1. Determine the Cost

In the vein of playing fair, we advise keeping the rewards at the same price. As stated above, bonuses are the time for delving into salaries and adjacent add-ons, not holiday rewards.

Since these rewards often come in the form of a gift and not a check, keeping it even helps you prepare the allocated funds ahead of time. The company might even have a designated amount that they use every year to pay for the rewards, so it is best to ask your colleagues/other managers if they know about this before proceeding.

Realistic Expectations

Keep it realistic. Whether you’re giving a gift as a colleague or as the owner of a company, you don’t have to go too crazy. Any variation of white elephant exchanges should also have a strict budget that has been agreed upon by everyone participating.

When putting together gift-giving parties (like a Secret Santa/Yankee Swap), ensure that employees can easily and discreetly opt out. Unless the company is providing the funds, experiences like this shouldn’t be mandatory.

Some companies, especially startups, and even more importantly, private employees, shouldn’t be assumed to have big budgets to give out each year for others.

Of course, if you are also giving out decent bonuses, the additional rewards are simply another welcome perk. The thought always counts more than the price, and while the cost is obvious with something like a gift card, it is also an easy way for employees to compare gifts and know they’ve all been given the same amount.

1. Thoughtful vs. Practical

One of the biggest debates about holiday rewards is how personal you should get. While we stated that the amount should be even for each employee, there is no shame in changing up what exactly you give.

Let’s weigh the pros of both options:

Benefits of Personalized Gifts

If you choose to go down the route of personalized gifts, you’ll be sure to make your employees feel seen and important. With the fast-paced nature of an office, making the holiday reward even just a tiny bit special goes a very long way. If you know that one office worker always comes in with a fresh cup of joe, a gift card to their favorite coffee shop is thoughtful without being intrusive.

Be sure to keep the individual gifts practical and appropriate, and don’t overstep boundaries or make assumptions. Stick with what you know about the person that they’ve shared with you specifically.

Benefits of Generalized Gifts

If you’re a bit pressed for time and prefer to order rewards in bulk, stick to one neutral type of gift that can help every worker. A gift card to a restaurant across from the office should be useful for all employees, especially if they have inclusive dietary options.

The same goes for a gift card to an office supply store, although we suggest you keep gifts non-work related. This can help to humanize the work environment and will really make your employees feel seen and valued for more than their office contributions!

How We Help

At Prezzee, we’re experts at gift-giving and reward-giving — trust us, we’ve been doing this professionally since 2014. We know that the holidays are the biggest season to get in the spirit of sharing, and that is why we’ve taken the initiative to give you this guide.

We have specialized services, like Prezzee Business, that aid companies in purchasing large quantities of our gift cards at one time. They can be sent out instantly and are best delegated through email. It couldn’t be any easier!

In fact, it is so simple that major corporations like Coca-Cola utilize Prezzee Business to show appreciation for their large companies. We work with businesses across the world to find them the best solutions for rewarding workers, whether that is during winter holidays or special events.

Simple Yet Special

Our principles at Prezzee are “give openness, give magic, give greatness, and give a damn.” If those sound like some of your own work values, we might just be the perfect match!

Our ever-expanding selection of gift cards allows you to have a sense of autonomy over your rewards. You can feel confident that you’re providing your employees with credit to top businesses, restaurants, and websites.

If you have a smaller company or department and know each employee personally, take this moment to say “I see you” with an eGift card tailored to that particular interest. Maybe that’s a gift card to Pinkberry for the employee with a sweet tooth.

Breaking the Gift Card Stigma

Gift cards are so much more than stocking stuffers or the “easy” present to get a friend you don’t know too well. While they are definitely convenient, they do require thoughtfulness. If you go the extra mile and handpick a gift card to a business that you feel represents your employees’ wish lists, it will be recognized.

When choosing a gift card, there are a ton of options — which is wonderful! But you might not know where to start, especially if you are buying dozens of them for a large company. In that case, think about your professional field and the needs or hobbies that go with it.

For example, if you’re in publishing, a gift card to Barnes and Noble is a sure-fire winner. If you work in the construction space, a gift card to ACE Hardware or a Home Depot gift card will be met with a round of applause.

With a Prezzee card, you bypass the anxiety of figuring out which gift to give each of your employees. We took the stress out of giving eGift cards by giving the recipient the freedom to swap out their current gift card for another one from our hundreds of top vendors. That added personalization makes giving an eGift to your employees all the more meaningful.

To make your Prezzee eGifts even more personal, try customizing them with your company’s logo! Prezzee Business lets you personalize your eGifts by adding your company’s logo, making each of your employees feel like a VIP.

Make Your Rewards System Stand Out

If you don’t have time to send out individual gift cards for different locations and you choose to go the more generalized route, fear not! We have additional ways to personalize those eGifts.

At Prezzee, we are proud of our note option, which allows you to add a message for each eGift card you send. This is a great place to write down the name of your employees and give a special shout-out for any outstanding work they’ve done recently. Yes, we have established that rewards are not bonuses, but they are a fantastic way to highlight the effort employees have been putting into your company.

You can also make your digital cards specific to a theme or holiday. Whether you’re sending out a birthday reward or an end-of-quarter thank-you, we alternate templates and give you the option to upload your own logos and designs. This is a wonderful way to incorporate that holiday surveying we discussed earlier.

What To Write in a Gift Card

If you don’t know what holiday someone is celebrating, you can add a simple snowflake or New Year’s Eve horn. However, if they’ve noted they’re celebrating something special, it can go a long way to add “Happy Hanukkah” or “Merry Christmas” in your note. In general, “Happy Holidays” is always the safest bet.

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Keeping the message as neutral as possible for those who don’t seem to share their holiday plans is a safe bet, but it shouldn’t hold you back from adding that creative flair. Remember to always have fun designing your eGift card. So if you have a shared love of a TV show or an inside joke, go for it!

Who doesn’t want to send the message to your employees that going the extra mile is worth it? You set the tone of your company, and these gift cards are a reflection of that.

“What I Want, When I Want”

Still stumped on where to give your employees their reward? Check out Smart eGift Cards. This innovative reward type allows you to set your budget and send the email to employees without locking in the retailer. From there, employees are able to see our wide selection of gift cards and pick whatever they’d like.

Whether they’re looking for home goods help, clothing (for the office or to get their next going-out getup), a free movie ticket, a new book haul, or dinner at that new restaurant they’ve been dying to try, the possibilities are nearly endless with our offerings of hundreds of top brands.

By giving your employees a choice, not only will they feel in control of their reward (similarly to a bonus), but they’ll appreciate that you’ve had the foresight to understand you might not know them too well to pick their perfect gift.

There’s no shame in this game: It’s better to give someone a chance to treat themselves than tie them down with a gift card to a business they might not like. Plus, you’re acknowledging that there is more to your employees than just their office personalities or the work they have done. You’re giving them a chance to express themselves without it being related to the office.

This way, you can guarantee happiness. Isn’t that what the holiday season is all about?

1. Make a List (and Let Us Check It Twice)

If you’re looking to give Prezzee a go, signing up for Prezzee Business is a breeze. All you have to do is make an account, whether that be on your desktop or our extremely convenient app on Apple and Google Play stores. We recommend making a list of all of your employees and their emails before this step, so you can proceed as quickly as possible.

Take that list and conveniently upload the CSV file to your Prezzee account directly to ensure you’re not leaving anyone out. You can get started immediately. Then, look into our templates and add those special notes for employees if you have the extra time.

Bonding Through Joy

There is nothing quite like watching someone open up your present. With tons of offices still utilizing remote or hybrid schedules, we understand that can look a bit different nowadays. Be sure to hop on a company call or strategically organize the emails to send while you’re in a meeting together so that you don’t miss out on the fun of the moment.

Sending holiday rewards is a great way to create a sense of community within your company and bring some excitement to the environment. This is especially important if you do work remotely and don’t have a chance to meet often in person.

Who knows, maybe you’ll even get a few thoughtful thank-you notes back? (Prezzee offers recipients the option to send one directly in every email.)

It’s time to give your presents some pizazz.

Sources:

Ask a Boss: Should I Get Holiday Gifts for My Co-workers? | The Cut

5 do’s and don’ts of office gift giving | CNBC

The Ultimate Guide To Office Gift-Giving Etiquette | Business Insider

Your Ultimate Guide to Hosting an Unforgettable White Elephant Exchange | Better Homes and Gardens