Well if Aussie employees are anything like their British counterparts they want Gift Cards.

With so many forms of reward and recognition available, choosing the best approach to suit both the needs of the individual employee, as well as the aims of the business can be a difficult task. Couple this with the fact that workforces comprise of a diverse mix of ethnicity, age groups and socio demographics and the seemingly simple task of choosing a Christmas gift for staff can go horribly wrong.
According to a survey commissioned by Argos for Business, which polled over 7,000 people about Christmas rewards, 39.5% selected gift cards as the most desired form of employee incentive. In comparison, 31.7% would rather have an extra day’s holiday. Read the full story here as covered by HR Director
Gifts like wine and Christmas hampers can seem like a safe choice, but with only 15.3% selecting hampers as a preferred option it hardly seems worth it for either party!

Australian employers should however still be mindful – Store gift cards, even those for large chains or big shopping centres come with a few challenges – Gen x Lucy might be really motivated by a store gift card from retailer A, but gen Y Darren perhaps couldn’t care less and in any case wouldn’t be seen dead in store A! Store cards lock your recipients into a single chain of stores.  On top of this, your regional staff may not have a store near them. An open loop gift card like an eftpos gift card will give recipients a far wider range of choice and flexibility.
Although some employers may have concerns about the potentially impersonal nature of gift cards, there are a number of ways to add personal touches to eftpos gift cards including customised names, design and messaging
And, even though it may be tempting to just throw your hands in the air and keep things really simple by depositing a Christmas bonus in employees  pay packets, resist the temptation  – find out why here!