Read time 4 mins
Author Sarah 🧩
The job market has shifted dramatically in recent years. Although the 'Great Resignation' may have eased, businesses face ongoing challenges that make employee retention and engagement more critical than ever.
Post-COVID working habits and the ongoing cost of living crisis present new challenges for businesses worldwide, impacting recruitment practices and putting a spotlight on employee retention.
In the US, the competition for top talent is fiercer than ever. According to a recent LinkedIn survey, almost 85% say they are thinking about changing jobs this year, up from 67% the year before. This heightened mobility underscores the need for recruitment agency’s in-house talent and people teams to adapt and innovate to attract and retain the best candidates.
In this comprehensive guide, we explore how leveraging rewards and incentives can drive business growth and enhance your recruitment strategy, helping you to stand out from the crowd and excel in today's competitive landscape.
Rewards and incentives are powerful tools for driving motivation and expressing gratitude. Though often used interchangeably, they serve distinct purposes:
Although rewards and incentives are effective independently, their impact is significantly amplified when used in tandem.
Here’s how they benefit businesses
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When people think of employee rewards and incentives, they often think of salary bonuses, but gift cards have a unique psychological appeal that sets them apart from cash. This difference, rooted in a concept known as Mental Accounting, can significantly enhance employee motivation and satisfaction.
Studies show that employees who receive cash bonuses tend to allocate these funds to routine expenses like bills or debt repayments. Gift cards, however, are perceived as a special treat, encouraging employees to indulge in luxury items they might not typically purchase, creating a memorable reward experience. This shift in spending behaviour enhances the reward's impact and increases the likelihood of employees remembering it.
“When paying with a gift card, people forgo buying everyday items in favour of buying indulgent items.” - Chelsea Helion, Lead researcher Society for Personality and Social Psychology,
Digital gift cards are not just about the monetary value they hold; they carry the power of brand association and personalisation.
When a company gives their employee a digital gift card from a well-loved brand, they associate the company's recognition with the brand's positive feelings and reputation. This association amplifies the impact of the reward, enhancing the recipient's emotional connection to the brand and company.
A heightened emotional response, coupled with the fact that digital gift cards can be highly personalised to cater to each recipient's unique tastes and preferences, makes them one of the most effective types of reward and incentive. Whether it’s dining, shopping, or entertainment, the flexibility of digital gift cards ensures that every employee feels valued and understood.
Whether you’re launching a new gift card program or optimising an existing one, discover how leading businesses are leveraging gift cards to supercharge acquisition, engagement, and retention.
Reward and Recognition businesses like Perkbox and Reward Gateway offer gift cards to employees for referring friends and colleagues to join the team or to other businesses they may like to work with.
Another tactic is to offer digital gift cards as incentives to employees to engage with workplace initiatives such as training modules or extracurricular activities.
Businesses will use digital gift cards to reward top performers and acknowledge their efforts, ensuring they feel valued and appreciated.
Whether it be a work anniversary, birthday, or holiday, gift cards are perfect for businesses to show appreciation and celebrate significant moments.
We’re passionate about helping brands like Nike, ASOS, Costa Coffee, and Hotels.com launch, manage, and grow their gift card programs.
Here’s why leading brands choose Jigsaw to manage their gift card programs:
🙌 Access the rewards and incentives market (with a B2B focus): we help brands harness the power of the rewards and incentives market, enabling them to reach new customers and reward their own employees. Whether you're looking to expand your business-to-business offerings or strengthen employee engagement through gift cards, we’ve got you covered.
💯 Comprehensive gift card solutions—even if you don’t have a program yet: No gift card? No problem. We can create a program from scratch, acting as your processor and providing the full range of services - from e-commerce integration to B2B distribution and territory expansion.
🏆 Proven omni-channel expertise beyond gift cards: We don’t just stop at gift card management. We strongly recommend a holistic, omni-channel presence and can support you in building e-commerce platforms, improving your in-store experience, and managing your brand across multiple touchpoints.
🚀 Our unmatched expertise: With over 80 years of combined experience, our team lives and breathes gift cards, ensuring your program is in the hands of experts.
👋 Collaboration and custom solutions: We don’t just work for you; we work with you. Jigsaw becomes an extension of your team, tailoring our approach to meet your unique business needs.
💠Continuous innovation: We’re always on the lookout for ways to drive more sales and improve your gift card program.
Jigsaw has close relationships with hundreds of B2B buyers across a wide range of industries, including employee rewards and incentives.
With just one integration to Tillo’s award-winning gift card API, we can ensure that your brand is positioned in the right channels, reaching the audiences that matter most to your business.
As your Program Manager, Jigsaw not only handles the API integration to global distribution partners, such as Tillo, but we also manage any requests from buyers, ensuring that your gift card program runs smoothly and effectively.
Our goal is to maximise your brand’s visibility and impact across every relevant channel, helping you unlock the full potential of your B2B opportunities.
Are you ready to elevate your gift card sales with the help of industry experts?
Connect with our gift card specialists today and unlock the benefits of a program designed to propel your brand forward.
Let’s work together to unlock the full potential of your gift card strategy, get in touch today to kickstart the conversation.
