A motivated workforce is vital for any company that wants to achieve impressive levels of performance and productivity. Of course, there are a wide variety of ways to motivate staff. Indeed, sometimes impassioned leadership or sincere thanks can be all that’s needed. However, many more organisations these days are turning to voucher-based employee incentive reward schemes to help them motivate their workers.
The vouchers used in these reward schemes are typically available in two forms: paper and electronic.
Paper reward vouchers
Paper reward vouchers have long been a staple of employee reward programs. Paper vouchers remain very popular amongst recipient employees as they can be used to purchase a huge range of products. Indeed, everything from groceries and household goods to retail items and activity days can be redeemed with paper vouchers. Employers also like paper vouchers as they can select the exact denomination they wish to award.
Electronic reward vouchers
Electronic reward vouchers (also known as gift cards) are becoming increasingly prevalent in the UK. These cards work in a very similar vein to paper vouchers; however they enable employers to ‘top-up’ the value of recipient employees’ rewards online. This high-tech approach has seen credit card-type reward systems come into being which can only be spent at outlets that accept cards from the sponsoring payment provider (e.g. Visa, Maestro). Electronic voucher card incentive programs often appeal to employers as they typically require less administration than paper vouchers.