Appreciation all-star

Why would you want your budget to go towards a platform, when every dollar can go to your best asset?

I don't know why everyone doesn't use it, because all your money goes where it counts: your employees. Why would you want your budget to go towards a platform, when every dollar can go to your best asset?

Her point

The budget question, asked plainly

Most gifting platforms take their cut before a single gift reaches anyone. A per-user license, a platform fee, a minimum commitment, sometimes all three. On a recognition budget that was already fighting for its life in the annual planning cycle, that is money leaving the people it was meant for.

If the platform costs nothing, the whole budget becomes gifts. That is the entire argument, and it does not need a deck.

The interview

Fourteen questions, answered fast

Every appreciation all-star gets the same fourteen. Here are Erika's.

When you walk into the room, what song would be playing?: Happy by Pharrell Williams
How would you explain your job to a 5 year old in 10 words?: I hire and help people in the workplace
What was your first paying job?: Cashier at the local supermarket
What is your favorite curse word?: Shit
What is the best compliment you can give?: That you are kind
What is the best compliment you can receive?: Probably the same thing, that you’re kind
What is your favorite Gift Card brand?: Well, with Amazon you can get anything you need, but I always need something from Sephora
What book / podcast can you recommend?: Walk the Talk by Cass Cooper in our Inclusive Leadership Network
What is the most rewarding aspect of your job?: When someone's having difficulty with something and I have conversation with them, and they circle back and say, ‘Wow, that really helped’. So yeah, that's cool
Where do you want to go on your next vacation?: Take the family to Hawaii
What was the last gift that you gave someone?: Tickets to the NY Giants for my son's 16th birthday. He got his jersey signed!
What is your favorite word?: Okay, I know it's three but "Live, Laugh, Love"
What is your least favorite word?: Can’t
Do you have a motto, spoken or unspoken?: “Always Try to Find the Positive”