Setting up and Administering Peer Bonuses

Peer bonuses are given as points and all employees get X points per month to give out to others. We can set any dollar value to a point, and any amount of points as rewards. For example:

• We can set 1 point = 1 dollar, and allow employees to give bonuses of 5 points at a time, creating $5 peer bonuses
• We can set 100 points = 1 dollar, and allow employees to give much larger point awards that slowly add up and create a much more granular system
• Recommended: 
  • Every employee gets 100 points to give out during the month
  • Set 5 points = 1 dollar
  • Allow employees to give thanks with points using the following increments:
    • 10 points ($2 dollars)
    • 25 points ($5 dollars)

Employees will see the option to give points each time they give positive feedback to their coworkers.

If an employee gives recognition with points to a group of people, then everyone recognized will get the same number of points.

Employees can give points two ways:

1. Via the Plugin
2. Via the Web App

How do my employees use points to redeem gift cards?

To redeem a gift card:

1. Go to the Recognition page and click on the Rewards tab on the left-hand side
2. Click on the gift card you want and the dollar value you’re interested in
3. You’ll get an email from Tango or Giftbit with further directions (email should come from “@tangocard.com”)

Sample Gift Card Email

How do my employees use points to redeem custom rewards?

To redeem a custom reward:

1. Go to the Home page and click on the Rewards tab on the left-hand side
2. Click on the custom reward you want (at bottom the of the page)
3. Follow-up with your Reflektive admin

Reflektive administrators can pull a "Reward Redemption" report to see what gift cards or custom rewards have been redeemed and will need to take care of the fulfillment of custom rewards.

Real-Time Feedback administrators are able to pull a Reward Redemptions Report. 

We encourage you to pull this report on a regular basis (every two weeks or every month) to see what kinds of rewards people are selecting. Remember that if your company uses custom rewards, this is where you will go to find out what custom rewards your employees redeemed so that you can take the appropriate action. 

To download the Reward Redemptions Report:

1. Go to the Admin page and click on the Reports tab on the left-hand side
2. Select report type "Real-Time Feedback"
3. Select a report "Reward Redemptions"
4. Select your date ranges (please be sure to update your date ranges!)
5. Download CSV

If you decide that you want to use Reflektive's Peer Bonus feature, these are some of the questions you'll want to answer:

1. How many points should employees have each month to give out to their colleagues?
2. What's the dollar value you want to assign points? For example, 5 points = 1 dollar.
3. Do you want to incorporate custom rewards?
   1. Who will fulfill custom rewards? 
   2. This person will need access to the Reward Redemption report at a regular cadence.
4. Do you want to allow employees to redeem gift cards?
   1. Do you need to limit the list of gift cards?
   2. Have you discussed budget with your finance team?

Recommended: 

• Every employee gets 100 points to give out during the month
• Set 5 points = 1 dollar
• Allow employees to give thanks with points using the following increments:
  • 10 points ($2 dollars)
  • 25 points ($5 dollars)

Peer Bonus systems are highly engaging and motivating for your employees, but many companies are hesitant to add them because of uncertainty about the cost. With Reflektive, you can quickly and easily launch an effective program that fits within your budget constraints.  Here are some common questions on this topic:

1. How much will it cost?
   We'll work within your budget to figure out a plan.  That said, we recommend that each employee have four $5 bonuses to give out each month at a minimum. This equates to $240 per employee per year, and given the impact on employee engagement and retention, this is some of the best money a company can spend on its employees.
   
   
2. What's the most effective amount for bonuses?
   If your budget is flexible, higher bonus amounts will definitely increase engagement and interest. However, the frequency at which bonuses are given might be even more important: more frequent bonuses, even if they are small, have a higher impact in keeping employees engaged. For example, three $20 dollar bonuses per month would likely have a higher impact that one $60 dollar bonus.
   
   
3. What if I don't have any budget?
   We can craft an effective plan on a very low budget.  Some of our clients give employees "points" to share as bonuses. At the end of each month, they look at the top point-getters and reward them with something small: a gift basket, a team lunch etc. This can be done on even the tightest of budgets.
   
   That said, consider how much you might spend on employee coffee, birthday cakes, snacks and other perks. For a fraction of that price, you can implement a system that promotes real engagement through peer to peer recognition, and sets your company apart from the competition.
   
   
4. What if employees try to game the system?
   We'll ensure that you don't exceed your budget by carefully limiting what each employee can give. Ultimately, any peer bonus given through our system is coupled with positive recognition and will help with employee engagement, so there are no "bad" peer bonuses.
   
   
5. Does Reflektive charge for adding this feature?
   There is no additional cost for adding our Peer Bonus system. Set up and activation are all free. You will be responsible for the actual cost of the bonuses, via monthly a monthly billing cycle. There is also a small transaction fee (~5%) if you choose to use integrated gift cards as bonuses, which we will discuss with you during set up.
   
   
6. What are the tax implications?
   This will depend on how we set up the system, but we strongly recommend you discuss tax implications with your finance team before launch. We don't provide tax advice, but we can say that tax issues have never yet been a serious obstacle.