Digital Rewards Guide for HR

With an increasing number of companies allowing their employees to work from home during Covid-19 lockdowns, shifting to digital platforms was inevitable. There was not much option left for the HR managers across organizations of all scales other than digitalizing their reward systems. But digital rewards are not a phenomenon that occurred during the pandemic, and many organizations had started the system a few years back ever since the digital era was initiated.

HR uses digital rewards, similar to physical rewards, to enhance employee motivation and engagement. From gamification to rewarding points, there is a lot to digital rewards for employees. In this context, we will talk about the benefits and select the right system for your organization.

There are innumerable reasons why more organizations are considering opting for digital rewards for their employees. While such programs empower employee engagement and corporate retention policies and enhance the morale of employees, digital rewards drive the following too:-

Why choose a digital reward system/platform?

Personalized rewards – one of the biggest advantages of going digital with an employee reward system is that in the virtual world, rewards can be bespoke. A great digital reward platform will be technically advanced to offer employees offers dependent on their previous purchases or indulgences. Not just that, employees pick their rewards aligned with their perspectives and aspirations giving them great satisfaction than HR picking their gifts.
Digital rewards have unlimited options – physical rewards are limited in numbers, but digital rewards can be tailored and tweaked in numerous ways for driving higher engagement levels within employees. Examples of contactless gift options include –– e-gift cards, vouchers, prepaid cards, etc.
Digital rewards leave a digital footprint that helps in analytics – the kind of insights the business can obtain from employee interaction with the digital reward system is valuable. HR can use the data to better the reward system and drive their employee engagement programs more effectively.
Omni-channel redemption – a distinct benefit of digital rewards for employees is that it gives them multiple channels to redeem their rewards. It proved to be of great importance during the pandemic when physical stores were mostly closed. Virtual rewards integrated with a credible delivery system enable employees to redeem rewards in virtual stores and deliver them right to their door.
Easy activation and deactivation –when certain inclusions may not be available for redemption, or the costs are comparatively higher than the value being achieved; the particular inclusions can be deactivated. Thus, with digital rewards, HR has the unique flexibility to tweak the program and inclusions as per need.
Easy to reward remote and on-site workers – virtual reward systems work well with remote workers, WFH workers, and on-site employees. Unlike physical rewards, in this case, employees connect online with the reward platform on the cloud. Thus, all limitations associated with physical reward systems are broken. Plus, the widespread use of paper is reduced, contributing to the environment. The need to physically sign such papers by team leaders and senior management is minimized. The gifts are contactless; hence, safe.
There is a one-hundred percent refund on unclaimed rewards – another advantage is HR can set a window with a limited period. When recipient employees do not claim the reward within the given period, the amount is refunded, thereby helping the organization save thousands.

Choosing the right digital reward system

The right digital reward system can make a big difference to your employee engagement program. To strengthen your workforce and overcome typical HR challenges associated with rewards, here are a few factors to consider while choosing a digital reward system.

Point-based system

The modern way of incentivizing employees is based on a point system. Employees earn points, and accordingly, based on the total accumulated points, they can choose flexibly between different rewards like merchandise, cash equivalents, gift cards, experiential rewards, etc.

The point-based system is based on employees hitting or fulfilling pre-determined targets or benchmarks. These points can be redeemed on the accumulation of certain aggregate points. The benefits of a point-based system over conventional incentive programs are:

Makes the program competitive
Perceived as creative by your employees
Offers a great deal of flexibility to HR and employees
The difference in points issued and redeemed can help reduce costs.

Gamification

Gamification lends your digital reward program a leading edge in the industry. It is a technique that uses gaming methodologies like scoring points, competitive landscape, etc., for enhanced engagement. It helps employees earn points and move onto the next level by unlocking levels, displaying progress bars and leadership boards, etc. The concept is to make the reward program interesting, engaging, and competitive. Such methodologies help employees remain focused on the tasks on their hands.

The primary reason behind gamification is to tap into the innate nature of the human mind. Psychologically, we all seek status and are competitive naturally. Gamification helps engage employees by playing with these basic human needs and desires.

Mobile solution

The advantage of using mobile-based digital rewards is to award employees greater flexibility. With almost everyone in the organization having smartphones today, a mobile digital reward system makes it easily accessible across all levels, be it remote workers or on-site employees, part of your in-house team or an extended team, and more.

Employees expect that their organizations offer them the technology to access the rewards right from their mobile phones. This enables them to check their reward points, options, redeem points, etc., at their convenience. A good example, in this case, is that of Standard Bank that implemented digital rewards for its employees in Africa. The total number of employees was about 44,000, spread across 22 countries in the continent. The platform helped create awareness about the reward system and introduced the concept of self-service too.

Mobile solutions are centralized, offering one system that can be used for viewing and accessing benefits anytime, anywhere. Additionally, HR can communicate about changes to the reward system easily via the dashboard.

Virtual talent contests

The digital platform can be used to organize talent shows so that organizational performance is not all about work – there is some element of play and fun. Virtual talent shows can be organized related to organizational targets as well as areas beyond typical workflow. It could be about extra-curricular activities and unraveling the creative talents of your employees that do not overlap with their professional work gamut.

This works especially when more employees are working from home or remotely. These contests could range from playing a musical instrument or painting a picture or creating a short video or doing a fitness challenge, and more. The HR can be creative and organize ‘n’ number of contests. The purpose is to keep employees give employees better reasons to connect and engage with their peers and everyone else in the organization.

Surveys

The purpose of carrying out surveys could be multiple. You would want to take feedback about a new technology introduced in the workplace, or HR may want to take feedback about the performance appraisal system. Likewise, individual managers might want to conduct surveys amongst their team members, remote or on-site, about an impending topic, a way to resolve an issue, etc.

Another feature of the survey is that employees need to be encouraged to participate in such surveys. Points can be given to regular participants, sweepstakes, and rewards such as gift cards, cash, or more can be given.

Mood-o-meter

As the word aptly says, this tool is used for gauging the mood of your employees. One can monitor the mood of individuals, team members, the entire workforce, and all the employees. The presence of such a mood-o-meter can help managers and the HR department initiate actions for dealing with employees’ moods accordingly or address the emotional intelligence of their employees.

The tool, however, needs to be used authentically by users. The meter helps record the mood of individuals on an ongoing basis to assess employees’ energy levels. When details are filled in earnestly by employees, it can help organizations find the real reasons behind the different motivation levels of employees and tackle the same accordingly.

Wellness programs for employees

Post Covid-19, most organizations have realized the significance of integrating wellness programs with the reward system. Doing so helps encourage your employees to keep fit and take responsibility for improving their health. Fitness levels of employees affect productivity, impact healthcare costs and reduce absenteeism. Your employees perceive your organization as caring.

It is essential to ensure that employees are offered tangible incentives that are relevant and easily redeemable. The perceived value of such wellness programs should be high so that employees are motivated to participate in such programs.

A digital reward system comes with multiple benefits and is an investment worth the money. We have provided a guide on features to consider when assessing digital reward platforms. The idea should be to go in for a revolutionary platform to take your employee engagement initiatives to a different level. Such a program should enhance the motivational levels of employees, reduce costs by digitizing the entire rewards process, improve employee interpersonal communication, and impact employee attribution efforts.

If you plan to virtualize your reward system, consider Buzzz, an innovative digital software platform best-suited for your reward system. Contact us for a Demo.