A recent article on BBC highlighted the level of mistrust 
amongst corporate businesses around the issue of working from home. It was yet another commentary on productivity levels decreasing, the lack of trust and transparency from employees, and ultimately highlighting a disconnect amongst organisations and those that work for them.
For us, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
An outcome of the pandemic is that corporates have become more human and employer-employee relationships have never been more important. Covid has driven an almost overnight revolution, where today, employee wellbeing is more critical to businesses than ever before. As many companies will maintain a level of hybrid working for the foreseeable future, incentives and rewards for staff to do a great job have never been so important.
As restrictions have lifted over the past few months, employer confidence has shot upwards, and hiring has reached a new record high. When you consider the level of business confidence we are encountering at this very moment in time, the war for talent is increasingly crucial to our economy.
Businesses will have to think hard about their offer if they want to attract staff, not just in terms of pay but also benefits, working conditions, and work-life balance. We have the opportunity to shift perceptions around workplace wellbeing once and for all, and make it not just a positive option, but one that is as normalised as much as pay or holidays.
A key factor of workplace wellbeing is personal rewards and thank you initiatives
However, the digital gifting industry has stuck in a crossroads; as it pivots, it has been often clunky and more so impersonal – an obvious issue with the digitalisation of something so emotive. Just like many other industries, technology has driven change and revolutionised the sector to allow it to become more human and much more tailored to the company or individual, it now needs embracing.
Whenever an industry becomes digitised there is often a period of time when it is all about the technology and the human element is lost. Then, after an initial period, people yearn for the human element and the industry adapts accordingly. Take the travel industry as an example. The impetus of technology meant that everything went online and became very impersonal. Fast forward to today, we have Airbnb where technology is empowering but you have the human element of the owner to connect with. Another example is Trip Advisor, where you can read feedback from those who have been to that destination or hotel.
Digital gifting is in a similar place and Prezzee is leading the way. Today, as well as gift cards carrying a logo of your choosing, innovative leaders can add images and issue personalised gift cards on an ad-hoc basis to colleagues that have gone that extra mile. Technology has allowed for a more intuitive rewards programme, so sending a coffee card or a foodie card to an employee after a good month’s work to treat themselves that weekend is as easy as clicking a button.
At more structured times such as Christmas, an entire workforce can be sent personalised e-gift cards which can be redeemed in over 150 outlets, with an accompanying video message from the CEO to say thank you for everyone’s hard work.
The ability to personalise digital gift cards has been elevated from a last minute afterthought to something that is very personal and can be kept, and never has it been more important in a post-Covid world. It can act as a key part of a company’s employee brand and an opportunity to encourage employees to be proud of the business they work at. To ‘wear their rewards’ with pride as such, and ultimately become a brand ambassador for your business.