Our comprehensive online reward solution offers thousands of the latest & greatest awards, providing companies and winners the power of choice to select their own award. Our incentive experts will recommend the right rewards to provide a meaningful, memorable and motivating experience for your reward earners.
Our merchandise selection is refreshed weekly, so reward earners can redeem for the latest and greatest items as they become available. Participants have 24/7 access to online shopping, real-time inventory availability, and fast delivery.
An extensive array of gift card options allows incentive program participants to choose from over 150 national brands in the retail and restaurant arenas. We make gift card fulfillment timely and pain-free with both physical and virtual e-gift card solutions.
Prepaid cards from VISA and Mastercard offer the maximum level of flexibility and freedom of choice for program winners. Card branding options are available so reward earners will have a constant reminder of the program sponsor.
Featuring hotels brands such as Fairmont, Marriott, and Hyatt, winners can choose their own trip destination and dates. Our concierge travel desk will book air, hotel, transportation, and other exciting activities to create a memorable experience and give your incentive winners the VIP treatment.
Pros, cons, and features of the most common rewards used today.
Group “club trip” rewards top performers
Individual trip options let winner choose own destination and dates
Popular, aspirational award
Produces memorable experiences for a lifetime
Socially acceptable to “show off” pictures and brag of adventures
Recognition in front of peers
Time-consuming to plan travel arrangements and operate trip
Participants out of the office
Uncontrollable variables – weather
Online merchandise catalog of exciting and practical items
Points balance used to redeem
Ease of online shopping
Visual awards increase motivation and aspiration
Has lasting trophy value for concrete reminder of sponsor
Some like to see, touch, & compare items at stores
Fulfillment delays or discontinued items may cause complaints
Inventory issues and handling returns of damaged merchandise
Used like cash at one specific retailer
Dollar for dollar balance, often in specific denominations
Freedom ofchoice
Participants can take advantage of sale prices
Tasteful recognition for small rewards ($25, $50, $100)
Can ensure purchase with lasting trophy value
Choices limited to one retailer
Appeal depends on individual taste
Specific retailers may not be convenient for all participants
Fewer branding options
Preloaded points work like a debit card
Redeemable anywhere Visa/MC is accepted
Maximum flexibility & freedom of choice
Participants can take advantage of sale prices
“Wallet branding” when sponsor logo added to plastic
Reloadable options available
Lacks lasting trophy value
Mostly used for necessities (groceries, gas, fast food)
Complexities in fulfillment (branding, emboss line message, expire date)
Often confused with compensation, creating future expectancy, and dissatisfaction if incentive changes
You know what cash is! And how it works!
Ultimate flexibility
Confusion with compensation is a concern
Provides currency for taxes on very large awards (ex. >$5,000)
No warm fuzzy feelings with cold cash
Disappears into checking account
Used for paying bills and basic needs
Minimal, lasting association with sponsor due to no trophy value
Pros, cons and features of the most common rewards used today.
Which is right for your audience?
Pros, cons and features of the most common rewards used today.
Which is right for your audience?
Everyone asks: What is better: cash or non-cash awards?
Before launching an incentive program, Human Resources wisdom advises that basic, monetary needs must be met first by existing compensation structures.
Conclusion: Cash is definitely king for base compensation and commissions.
Everyone should ask: Is cash motivational after base compensation and commissions?
The all-time classic research paper on this subject is “The Benefits of Tangible Non-Monetary Incentives” by Scott Jeffrey, assistant professor in the Department of Management Sciences at the University of Waterloo, Ontario.
The research identified four key reasons for using non-cash awards in incentive or recognition programs:
When properly presented, non-cash awards ignite the imagination in a way that enhances their perceived value. The participant’s reaction to the award substitutes for its actual value.
Non-cash awards deliver more recognition because they don’t get mixed with compensation. Cash invariably turns the extra reward into expected compensation. Cash creates entitlement — you can give it, but you cannot take it away. Non-cash spiffs can be turned on and off without entitlement problems.
Participants receive special satisfaction from non-cash awards because there’s no guilt associated with spending them. If a male participant has 50,000 points, he can guiltlessly select the 70” plasma TV for football season. But if the reward had been $2,500 in cash, he and his wife might debate if instead they should pay off a credit card or start a college fund.
People feel free to talk about non-cash rewards in a way that would be inappropriate for cash compensation. It’s socially unacceptable to brag about your bonus or commission, but it’s acceptable to talk about an incentive trip to Maui. Non-cash prizes provide a tangible symbol of achievement.
Because we believe in putting forth a little “something extra” in everything we do, we have two more benefits of non-cash rewards:
Surveys show that merchandise and travel rewards are remembered longer than cash, with a longer-lasting boost in performance. They provide a lasting reminder of success and reinforce a positive association with the sponsoring company. For example, try to remember an employee reward, trip, or merchandise you won. Now, do you remember the amount of your bonus that year?
Cash is hard to promote — unless you keep increasing the amount. A trip to Monaco, a new HDTV, the latest i-anything from Apple, or big diamonds create visual interest that engages participants’ brains — they see the reward, they want the reward, and they consider how they can improve their performance to earn it. Plus, a buzz factor occurs when employees talk about the prizes.
