While it’s true that managers and HR professionals like recognizing stellar performance with gift cards because they are easy to administer, they would be shooting themselves in the foot if the gift cards weren’t desired by the employees they recognize.
Not to worry. A 2011 study by the Incentive Research Foundation in which 170 participants responded showed that, given the choice between cash and prepaid gift cards, prepaid cards are preferred by a ratio of almost 7 to 1. In fact, almost half of the respondents consider prepaid gift cards to be the best incentive of all.
“We found that reward recipients are more likely to mentally classify prepaid cards as guilt-free spending versus cash,” explains IRF President Melissa Van Dyke. “They’re more likely to add the value of that prepaid gift card to their monthly budget, rather than simply replace it, as they do with cash.”
Nearly half of the reward and recognition program planners surveyed say that, dollar for dollar, prepaid cards are the most effective reward available, and more than 75 percent believe they are among the most effective of all rewards – especially in driving loyalty and engagement.
