Christmas employee reward – four tips to get ahead and beat the rush

October: whether we like it or not, it’s the month that signals the start of the build-up to the festive season. At work, thoughts have turned to Q4 performance and that crucial end-of-year period that is often busier and more demanding.

With Christmas being the season of goodwill and giving, there is no better time to recognise your employees for their hard work throughout the year. A gift of thanks is both a good way to close the year and to start the new one with renewed staff energy and motivation.

Here are four tips to help you start planning your Christmas rewards strategy as early as possible to avoid the last-minute rush.

1) Start your list early

If you leave your Christmas rewards plan until the last minute, you’re not maximising its full potential to inspire and motivate. Decide now how you want to manage the process based on how much time, budget and resource you have. Create a timetable for communication and reward to ensure the process is efficient and measurable.

Most importantly, ask yourself – what can you do differently to make your Christmas rewards have a bigger impact this year? How can you give your people the biggest and best reward experience?

2) ‘Tis the season to be jolly…tired

The festive season isn’t the same for everyone. Some people socialise more, some people have a bigger “to do” list than usual and for many, both things are true. Whichever way you look at it, it’s a busy time of year and as a result, your people may feel more distracted and stressed at work in December.

As for January, the dreaded month of the “blues” and the dented bank balance…that’s when motivation to perform is really required.

It therefore makes sense to include a Q4 and Q1 element to your reward plan, which will incentivise your people to stay focused and maintain productivity either side of the festive season. This shows them you understand that it’s not just about thanking them but also responding to their needs beyond the end-of-year reward.

3) Don’t forget the elves

Involve your managers in the planning right from the start, so you can understand exactly what they need. It’s also important to start thinking about how you can plan communication around end-of-year rewards effectively.

Make sure your managers and team leaders understand the importance of their role in delivering reward and recognition to their team. In this case, words speak as loudly as actions: make a plan together so each member of staff hears and understands clearly why they are being recognised.

This positive behaviour by your managers also reinforces the values that matter to your business, encouraging buy-in from your people and ensuring the goodwill created by the Christmas reward extends way beyond the festive season.

4) The personal touch

Just as everyone celebrates Christmas in a different way, it’s unlikely that the same Christmas reward will have the same impact on everyone. And let’s be honest, giving someone a gift without any thought is almost worse than not giving one at all.

While a cash gift in the December payslip may seem like an easy option, our research shows that today the majority of people (58 per cent) would prefer something different.

That doesn’t mean spending big, but spending smart on something which is useful, flexible and personal. Vouchers, gift cards or digital rewards have double the impact on your employees: once when the reward is received and again when the reward is redeemed and spent.

Double the recognition, motivation and performance…with that approach, you’ll definitely make it onto Santa’s ‘good’ list!

To find out more about going one bigger this year, download our Christmas employee rewards ebook.

Andy Philpott is sales and marketing director at Edenred UK.

This article was provided by Edenred UK.

Edenred is sponsoring REBA’s Innovation Day, taking place on 22 November at County Hall, London.