Employee engagement platforms often reconsider a reward provider after repeated problems with pricing, catalog availability or support, Runa argues in a May 2026 analysis. Its advice is to evaluate the quality of the ongoing partnership alongside the features demonstrated during a sales process.

Runa describes different consequences across a buying team. Partnership managers handle broken commitments, product teams deal with late or failed employee rewards, and finance teams must reconcile changing prices or unclear foreign exchange costs.

The article cites Gartner’s 2025 survey of 632 B2B buyers, in which 69% reported inconsistencies between vendor websites and sales conversations. That broader B2B finding provides context for Runa’s argument about trust; the survey is not presented as a study confined to reward providers.

Reward provider pricing, availability and migration

Runa recommends examining whether pricing and currency costs can be audited, whether promised catalog items are reliably available, and whether support quality remains consistent after onboarding. It also suggests asking customer references how implementation compared with the original estimate and how the provider responded when problems arose.

The company acknowledges that switching carries costs, including new integration work, retraining and catalog migration. It says a reliable incumbent may remain the right choice, while recurring workarounds and reconciliation problems should be included when weighing the expense of a move.

Other evaluation criteria include the provider’s handling of international payouts, communication of product limitations and ability to support alternatives to gift cards when an employer requests them. Runa’s recommendation is to assess those operating behaviors before committing to a new partnership.