Designing rewards people actually use
When rewards feel personal, redemption goes up and culture benefits. Here is how to design a program teams love without extra admin.
Key takeaways
- • Give real choice without creating decision fatigue.
- • Make budgets visible to finance from day one.
- • Automate the repeatable moments so recognition stays consistent.
Start with the moments that matter
List the recurring events you already celebrate: anniversaries, new joiner welcomes, project wins, and seasonal moments. Tie rewards to those instead of ad-hoc gifts so everyone understands when and why rewards happen.
Next, add one surprising moment per quarter. For many teams this could be a peer-nominated appreciation drop or a culture day reward. The surprise keeps attention high without blowing up the budget.
Offer choice without chaos
Pick a curated set of redemption options instead of endless choice. For most companies, 15–30 options across food, fashion, experiences, and essentials is enough for genuine flexibility.
If you operate across cities, make sure each location sees local favorites first. With Giftek, you can localize catalogs so recipients are not scrolling through irrelevant merchants.
Protect the budget transparently
Finance should see available balances per team and campaign before anything is sent. Set monthly caps and require approvals only for exceptions; this keeps the flow fast without sacrificing control.
Sync redemption data back to finance weekly. The more they see adoption and unused balances, the easier it is to expand the program.
Automate delivery and reminders
Schedule rewards for anniversaries and birthdays so people managers do not have to remember dates.
Send gentle reminders before expiry. A single reminder can lift redemption by 15–20% and turns a forgotten voucher into a positive touchpoint.