YOUGotaGift is recommending that employers combine recipient choice with a personal expression of thanks when planning year-end rewards. Its December 8, 2023 guide focuses on recognizing the work employees have completed during the year and making the reward straightforward to receive and use.

The company proposes digital gift cards for seasonal gifting because they can be distributed electronically and offer access to different spending choices. It presents multi-brand cards as a way to avoid selecting one product or retailer on behalf of every employee.

Personalization is a separate part of the recommendation. YOUGotaGift suggests pairing the reward with a message acknowledging the individual’s contribution, rather than relying on a standard festive greeting alone. It also describes seasonal card designs as an option for employers that want the presentation to match the occasion.

The guide draws on research commissioned by Blackhawk Network in 2022, including a workplace survey of 2,608 US adults and a holiday study of 2,001 US consumers. Those earlier US surveys provide context for the company’s 2023 recommendations; they are not new findings from the December publication.

For employers preparing a seasonal program, the practical choices in the guide are the value of the reward, the range of available brands and how appreciation is communicated. YOUGotaGift argues that the experience should feel relevant to the recipient as well as manageable for the team distributing it.