Employers’ Year End Offerings Run Gamut of Giving (Bottom Line)

The end of the year is a time for holiday traditions. These include everything from wreaths, trees, lights and candles to the annual company Holiday party, and of course, gift giving.

Whether the goal is to reward employees for a productive, profitable year, show appreciation with small gifts, or both, there are a variety of approaches employers can take.

“It’s going to vary. Sometimes there’s the traditional turkey or small gifts, and sometimes there are bonuses based on how the company is doing,” said Bruce Johanson, partner with the Fayetteville-based consulting firm the Johanson Group.

Johanson has noticed several trends among employers. Some use gift cards, some might give out cash or checks, while others might opt to pay for continuing educations classes or send employees to work-related conferences. Some businesses might not be in a position to give anything at all, particularly if it’s been a lean year.

“The one thing I think companies are doing a better job of is telling employees that it’s not a guarantee,” he said. Often, employees come to see a year-end bonus or gift as an entitlement and not an extra.

Arvest Strikes Gift Card Gold

Gift cards have become popular in the last few years as a way to avoid the dilemma of buying something the recipient doesn’t like, while also skipping long lines and busy department stores.

Many retail stores now feature kiosks with dozens of options, from Foot Locker to Best Buy, Barnes & Noble to Bass Pro Shops.

For the third year, Arvest Bank is offering an option that is even easier, said bank spokesman Jason Kincy.

Arvest sells prepaid Visa cards that can be used virtually anywhere, and can be purchased for nearly any amount. The cards have proven popular among employers for employee rewards and gifts.

“The biggest selling point is, everyone’s going to like it – you don’t have to worry about the wrong size,” Kincy said.

Another advantage of a bank-issued card is, if it’s lost or stolen and the cardholder still has the card number, the bank can – for a fee – cancel and replace it.

The cards are more secure than store cards, because they’re kept in a vault, where the numbers can’t be written down for illicit use.

Last year, Arvest sold 55,000 of the prepaid cards during November and December. November sales were up 28 percent this year, Kincy said.

Typically, the bank will sell one-third to two-thirds of all gift cards during the holiday season, but sales are increasing during other times of the year as businesses begin to use the cards as bonuses, prizes and other incentives, he said.

New Creature Staff Get Digital Goodies

Since starting Rogers-based marketing and packaging design company New Creature in 1999, co-founder and principal Patrick Sbarra has tried to always give his employees a hip, often electronic, gift.

“This year we were considering portable DVD players, but we decided not to,” Sbarra said. The company will instead hand out checks. In the past, he’s given employees digital cameras, iPods or gift cards.

“These are Christmas bonuses, which are different than year-end bonuses. This is just because it’s been a great year, because we love each other and because we can,” he said.

Sbarra said the company’s performance bonuses vary depending on how the company performed during the year.