How to create a great employee rewards program

Employee rewards increase engagement and morale - reason #1 you need an online company store now more than ever.

If you're an employer, your staff is one of the most valuable assets that you have. The relationship between manager and employee is a personal one, and trust plays a big part in this dynamic. One strategy to increase trust is using an employee rewards program with gifts or perks for work done well. However, gift-giving can be tricky if it's not done right!  

It takes a lot of time and thought to choose employee rewards that motivate your staff and make them feel appreciated. And then there’s ordering, storing, and distributing all those perks, not to mention collecting size, style and color choices. You spend days sitting in a conference room taking orders, sorting through stacks and stacks of boxes, trying to figure out who gets what. 

That’s why we compiled this list for you. These are ideas from some of the most successful online company store/employee rewards programs we’ve set up for our customers. The programs we help them run get results like: 

• 100% (really!) employee participation in year-end appreciation gift orders
• Friendly competition - employees have fun earning points alongside their peers 
• Increased feeling of connection
• Company pride

The best new ideas for employee rewards:

Reward employees with company logowear.

Say goodbye to boring old polo shirts! Elevate your brand with up-to-date, upscale company logowear options. The variety of apparel and bags that can be decorated with your company logo is staggering! Add fresh styles 2-4 times a year for company shop full of on-brand items employees are truly excited to wear.

Create a new employee incentive program.

To build a great culture, go beyond holiday gifts. Try setting up an employee rewards program with points your team can use to shop the company store. You can start simply by giving points on birthdays or work anniversaries. Next, expand your program with a system that includes rewards for hitting certain targets: customer reviews, peer-to-peer evaluations, goal tracking, etc.

Add promotional items to your employee rewards shop.

You can (and should) include more than just apparel items in your company store. Offer high-quality, sought-after items employees will use outside of work. Not only does this increase visibility for your brand, it helps show employees that you care about them as people, not just when they're in the office. Our team loves lifestyle items like stadium chairs, coolers, and bluetooth-enabled speakers!

Give personalized items to make your employee rewards feel more special.

The newest trend in drinkware is unique personalizations – put your employees’ names on their gifts, not just your company logo. You’re giving a gift or perk that feels special because it’s truly one of a kind, just for them. 

Add stickers and badges to your employee rewards program.

Give stickers and embroidered badges to gamify the points experience! This makes it even more fun and exciting for employees to earn rewards for completing their goals.

We've used all of these ideas to help our customers improve their results with employee rewards.

Want to keep up with the newest, freshest ideas in employee rewards options? Get on the "Get Merch'd" list for inspiration and ideas!