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The Halo Effect: Emotional Connections for Meaningful Employee Rewards

Picture of N Tan By  N Tan  ·  1 minute read

Do better than a cash transaction with your next employee recogition gesture.

Finding ideas for a personalised and memorable gift for employee recognition and rewards can be hard. However, we think the wristwatch is a classic momento to recognise a career milestone, an employee service award gift that can be treasured for years to come. Belinda Ramanauskas, author of this great article from 212F says,

" At any point someone glances at their wrist, they’re reminded of the company’s experience and emotion that gave them the gift. This is known as the Halo Effect."

Any employee service award needs to go beyond a mere cash transaction to the Halo Effect, which is the purpose of a good employee recognition and rewards programme. You want to build that deep sense of belonging and goodwill towards the company, and this can be achieved through personalised employee recognition and rewards.

There are several reasons you'd want to pick tangible, in-hand "Halo Effect" gifts over cash rewards.

Cash rewards:

  1. Have limited "trophy value" and emotional connection to the memory of the reward

  2. Aren't usually shared with peers or discussed

  3. Are spent on everday expenses that are far from memorable, and if anything detract from the emotional value of the reward

You might argue that giving cash to employees as a reward helps satisfy a diverse audience, but an extensive recognition and rewards catalogue does the same thing while adding personalisation and meaning that makes the reward truly inspiring and engaging.

Being able to choose a gift, receive it with congratulations from your manager, and unbox it, all adds to a social, celebratory recognition experience that is unforgettable. We agree with 212F, that

"to ensure the success of a reward or incentive program, you must connect with your audience on an emotional level"

To finish, here are 212F's three tips to ensure the success of a recognition and rewards program:

  1. Use non-cash rewards that are motivating and memorable

  2. Build anticipation with storytelling about the recognition and rewards programme

  3. Create celebratory experiences around employee recognition and rewards

    *Ideas shared with permission from 212F, read the full article here.

Get in touch - we can help you tailor an affordable Australian-made recognition and rewards solution. Join our clients from LinkedIn's Top 25 Places to Work in increasing employee engagement and offering employee service awards with H.W. Holdsworth.