When are Points More Than Just Points? – Navigating Loyalty Points Within the Organization

In today’s shopping landscape, almost every purchase comes with the opportunity to accumulate loyalty or reward points. These programs are designed to encourage repeat business and provide insights into customer behavior. Typically, loyalty points are linked to an individual’s account, presenting challenges for organizations in tracking these benefits.

A recent scenario highlighted the need for clarity around this issue: An employee earned loyalty points from a restaurant while making a purchase for an organizational event. This led to discussions about who rightfully earns the points in such scenarios, raising several important considerations for our organization.

Why This Matters The question of who gets to keep loyalty points might seem minor at first glance—like taking a pen from the office. However, the accumulation of points, especially from frequent purchases, can translate into significant value, either through direct savings or redeemable items. This raises ethical and policy considerations for organizational purchases.

Scope of Application While organizations have established policies for credit card and travel-related rewards, the increasing prevalence of loyalty programs across various sectors—including restaurants, grocery stores, and office supplies—necessitates a more comprehensive approach.

Best Practices Given the challenges in tracking loyalty benefits, creating a one-size-fits-all policy is difficult. However, for credit card rewards, a clear policy should outline whether rewards or cashback belong to the individual or the company, facilitated by the transparency of these systems. For broader loyalty programs, considering an annual threshold for reward points earned by an individual could be beneficial, albeit challenging to monitor. Alternatively, treating loyalty points as an employee perk—separate from overall compensation—can offer a balanced approach, provided it ensures fair access for all employees.

Moving Forward It’s crucial for organizations to develop a policy that reflects its values and is consistent with existing guidelines. Reward points can serve as an appealing perk for employees, but it’s essential to establish a framework that promotes fairness and transparency in their distribution.