Image of the Motivosity mascot, Carl the Yeti, with a cake and calendar meant to recognize employee milestones.

A Comprehensive Guide to Total Employee Rewards

March 20, 2025

Erika Rahman

The impact of rewards and recognition on engagement

Nearly 40% of employees report that the best way to improve their engagement is for leaders to recognize their work.

At least 80% of employees say they would work harder at their jobs if they felt better appreciated.

92% of employees ssay they are more likely to repeat a specific action if they are recognized for it.

The impact of employee engagement on business performance

What is an employee rewards strategy?

Recognition programs

Performance-based compensation

Physical rewards

Professional development

Experience rewards

Why are employee rewards important?

Improve work performance

Increase employee loyalty to the business

Raise employee satisfaction

Boost the company’s revenue

Promote higher retention rates

1 - Evaluate your current rewards strategy.

2 - Assess your company’s needs.

3 - Ask for employee feedback.

How to do this in Motivosity:

Send out an employee survey to get feedback from your workforce on what rewards mean the most to them. By surveying your employees, you can prioritize the reward options that will be the most impactful to employees and the business.

For help with creating, editing, and reviewing a survey, check out this help article.

4 - Create your employee rewards strategy.

Take Note:

While an employee rewards strategy is a great first start, offering meaningful rewards is even better. And for companies that want to reach a best-in-class status—and see the most impact from their total rewards strategy—your employee rewards strategy should include a more comprehensive approach to a culture focused on engagement where rewards and recognition serve a higher purpose.

Company swag, gift cards, and an extra day of PTO are nice, but they’re not the reason employees stay longer. Rewards must be connected to employee needs, company values, and a culture of appreciation in order to make the most impact.

5 - Launch your new total rewards strategy.

6 - Measure your success.

What are the five pillars of total rewards?

Competitive Compensation

Comprehensive Benefits

Work-Life Integration

How to do this in Motivosity:

Managing all of your employee rewards is easier if it’s in one place. With Motivosity, you can offer employee rewards that run the gamut—physical products, swag, gift cards, and even intangible rewards like an extra day of PTO or a day for service. And with Spaces, it’s easy to build community and connection programs for your employees like book club, lunch and learns, wellness programs, and more.

For help with setting up a Space in Motivosity, check out this help article.

Career Development and Growth

How it works in Motivosity:

Use Motivosity to build a specific Space for your mentorship programs, manager/leader development initiatives, and professional growth opportunities. Include resources for each group, select specific employees (and manage permission levels), and more.

Learn more about Spaces here.

Recognition and Appreciation

How it works in Motivosity:

Recognition is both easy-to-do and integrated into a robust platform with Motivosity. Integrate peer-to-peer recognition, public or private recognition, global rewards (that include physical, digital, points, or dollar options), and so much more.

Learn how to create an employee recognition program in this article.

Creating an Employee Rewards and Recognition Program for Your Company

What is employee recognition?

Why is employee recognition important?

Employee recognition improves employee satisfaction.

Employee recognition reduces turnover.

Employee recognition directly impacts employee engagement.

Employee recognition improves employee productivity.

Best practices for employee recognition.

1 - Employee recognition should be timely.

2 - Employee recognition should be specific.

3 - Employee recognition should be genuine.

4 - Employee recognition should align with company values.

5 - Employee recognition should be a mix of formal and informal.

Best practices for employee rewards.

1 - Employee rewards should be timely.

2 - Employee rewards should be personalized.

How it works in Motivosity:

Build personalized reward catalogs for every need—onboarding, wellness, service anniversaries, etc. Add items from your inventory, connected stores, Amazon, gift cards, intangible items—like extra PTO days—and more!

3 - Employee rewards should be meaningful.

4 - Employee rewards should be accessible for everyone.

How it works in Motivosity:

Don’t leave anyone out—Motivosity’s global rewards makes it easy to gift rewards across country lines and timezones. Shop at more than 1,000 connected Shopify sites in the Motivosity directory, add your own private site, or use the connector to get access to more than 1 million stores. Products from all over the globe are available with local shipping and fulfillment for intentional employees.

5 - Employee rewards should be flexible.

How it works in Motivosity:

Motivosity makes it easy to give employees flexible rewards. You can gift employees specific items, allow them to choose from a selection you’ve chosen, or give them dollars or points to purchase items of their choice from Amazon, using their ThanksMatters Visa Card, and more. Plus, it’s easy to maintain complete control over expiration, cash options, and gift selections.

Types of Employee Rewards

Custom Gifts

Company Swag

How it works in Motivosity:

Offer branded merch and swag to your employees. Link your existing swag store and display featured items with a Shopify connector or leverage a partner to create a new, turnkey store. Add custom catalogs with custom swag or hire Motivosity to create a custom swag store that fits your unique needs.

Gift Cards

How it works in Motivosity:

Shop digital gift cards and give employees the power to choose the amount they want from their spending balance. Select from hundreds of options from your favorite retailers like Nike, Apple, and more.

Travel Experiences

How it works in Motivosity:

Offer unique, once-in-a-lifetime travel experiences to your team through Motivosity. Allow your employees to book travel directly in the Motivosity Store or gift them a trip from the company to celebrate a major accomplishment!