Recognitions
Rewardian vs O.C. Tanner for Sales Incentives
Last updated: October 2026
How does Rewardian compare to O.C. Tanner for sales incentives?
Rewardian and O.C. Tanner both let you run incentives alongside employee recognition, but they approach incentives differently. O.C. Tanner’s Culture Cloud includes Incentives, a goal-based tool that lets anyone set up a team goal, attach point values and celebrate progress together, inside an enterprise recognition platform known for custom awards. Rewardian ties sales incentives to your CRM data, with rules for tiers, multipliers and specific products, and extends the same program to channel partners, with a dedicated Account Manager. If you want collaborative team goals inside a global recognition program, O.C. Tanner is a strong choice. If you want sales earning driven by your sales data, Rewardian is built for that.
O.C. Tanner, founded in 1927 in Salt Lake City, says Culture Cloud serves 14 million users in more than 180 countries, with clients including 3M, Bayer, American Airlines, Chevron and Capital One. Culture Cloud spans peer and manager recognition, service awards and Yearbooks, custom and signature awards, a global rewards marketplace, Culture Intelligence analytics and Incentives, which align teams on goals such as sales targets, launches, training and wellbeing, with points tied to each goal and progress tracked along the way.
Rewardian is a SaaS rewards platform for employee engagement, sales incentives, and channel incentives, founded in 2015 with its roots in Brandmovers, its sister company, which has run consumer loyalty and promotions programs since 2003. Rewardian’s sales incentive features award points from CRM activity and results, such as meetings set, deals closed and quota attained, under tiering, multiplier, bonus and product or SKU rules. Rewardian reports a 94% client retention rate.
Both combine recognition and incentives. They differ in how incentives are earned, whether channel partners can join the same program, and the scale of organization each is built around.
This comparison is written by Rewardian. O.C. Tanner details come from octanner.com and third-party listings as of October 2026; confirm current details with each vendor.
Rewardian vs O.C. Tanner: sales incentive feature comparison
|
Feature |
Rewardian |
O.C. Tanner |
Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Incentive programs |
Sales incentives earned from CRM data under tiering, multiplier, bonus and product rules, plus manager awards |
Incentives: goal-based team incentives anyone can create, with point values tied to goals and progress tracking |
Depends on priority: O.C. Tanner for collaborative team goals, Rewardian for rules-based sales earning from CRM data |
|
How results reach the program |
Microsoft Dynamics natively; other CRMs through the REST Open API |
Incentive owners set goals and award points; CRM-driven earning not detailed on the pages reviewed |
Compare in a demo |
|
Channel partner incentives |
Native: SKU and brand rules, partner tiers, deal-registration triggers, rebate and MDF options |
Not part of O.C. Tanner’s published suite; its external recognition lets customers recognize employees |
Rewardian |
|
Employee recognition |
Peer and manager recognition, milestones, nominations, badge boosting, AI Recognition Assistant |
Peer and manager recognition, service awards and Yearbooks |
Tie |
|
Awards for top performers |
Branded swag kits, bulk physical awards, Switchfly-powered travel |
Custom and signature awards for significant wins |
Depends on priority: O.C. Tanner for custom symbolic awards, Rewardian for points-based rewards and travel |
|
Games and contests |
Challenges and contests tied to sales targets, leaderboards, bingo, scratch-off, badges |
Goal progress tracking within Incentives; other game mechanics not detailed on the pages reviewed |
Compare in a demo |
|
Rewards |
500K+ rewards across 10M+ options, Amazon Business, Switchfly travel, branded swag kits |
Global rewards marketplace, bulk gifts, Company Store and Manager Store |
Compare catalogs against your reward mix |
|
Analytics |
Program snapshot report, KPI dashboards |
Culture Intelligence, including a Flight-Risk dashboard |
Depends on priority: O.C. Tanner for culture and retention analytics, Rewardian for program and incentive reporting |
|
Primary market |
Mid-sized organizations (200–5,000 employees) |
Enterprise and global programs; 14 million users in 180+ countries |
Depends on priority: O.C. Tanner for global enterprise programs, Rewardian for mid-sized organizations |
|
Program support |
Dedicated Account Manager for every client; monthly meetings and QBRs; US-based participant support in English and Spanish |
Culture consulting, program assessment and implementation partners |
Tie |
|
Pricing model |
Priced to program scope |
Custom quote |
Tie: both quote |
|
Security & compliance |
SOC 2 Type 2, PCI, GDPR |
SOC 2 Type 2, SOC 3, ISO 27001, PCI |
Tie |
Rewardian vs O.C. Tanner: Sales Incentive Evaluation Criteria
Does O.C. Tanner offer sales incentives?
Yes: O.C. Tanner’s Culture Cloud Incentives lets teams set goals such as sales targets, attach point values and track progress together. Colleagues can award points for contributions. It is built around collaborative goals that incentive owners create and manage. Ask O.C. Tanner how sales results are captured, for example from your CRM or by owners updating progress, and whether rules can vary by product or quota tier.
Which fits better: goal-based team incentives or rules-based sales earning?
O.C. Tanner suits teams rallying around shared goals, while Rewardian suits sales teams whose incentives depend on CRM activity, quotas and product focus. Goal-based incentives build collaboration and visibility across a team. Rules-based earning can reward each rep automatically for meetings, deals and quota attainment, with tiers, multipliers and product rules. Some sales organizations use both styles: team goals for launches and individual rules for everyday performance.
How do sales results reach each program?
Rewardian connects natively to Microsoft Dynamics and to other CRMs through its Open API, so results can award points automatically. O.C. Tanner’s Incentives pages describe owners setting goals and point values without detailing CRM connections, so confirm how progress is updated. If your CRM is Salesforce, confirm the Open API data path with Rewardian too. Caring Senior Service used Rewardian’s API to connect its proprietary Tendio software.
How should you honor top sellers?
O.C. Tanner is known for custom and signature awards that mark significant wins, while Rewardian rewards top sellers with points for merchandise, travel or swag. O.C. Tanner has made awards since 1927 and pairs them with its Yearbook and service awards. Rewardian offers branded swag kits and bulk physical awards alongside Switchfly-powered travel. A lasting award for the top tier and spendable points for everyone else can work together.
How do the pricing models compare?
Both quote rather than publish rate cards: O.C. Tanner provides custom quotes for Culture Cloud, and Rewardian prices each program to its scope. Points and awards are funded on top of platform fees in both. Ask for itemized quotes covering platform, incentives, implementation, custom awards and reward funding, and ask how unredeemed points and taxable award values are handled.
What support and launch timeline should you expect?
O.C. Tanner offers culture consulting and implementation partners, while every Rewardian client has a dedicated Account Manager and an average implementation of 4–6 weeks. Ask O.C. Tanner for its timeline for your scope. Rewardian’s implementation includes weekly calls, role-based training and a staging environment for testing incentive rules. Before Opportunities, Inc. launched, Rewardian helped its executives tie payouts to departmental KPIs.
Can channel partners join the same program, and how secure is each?
Rewardian can extend the same program to distributors and dealers through channel incentives, while channel incentives are not part of O.C. Tanner’s published suite. O.C. Tanner’s external recognition lets customers recognize employees rather than rewarding partners. On security, both hold SOC 2 Type 2 and PCI; O.C. Tanner adds SOC 3 and ISO 27001, and Rewardian is GDPR-compliant.
Rewardian Differentiators
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Sales earning that follows your CRM: Rewardian can award points automatically from CRM activity and results, with rules for tiering, multipliers, bonuses, growth and product or SKU focus.
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Employee engagement, sales incentives, and channel incentives in one platform: Rewardian extends the same program, catalog and Account Manager to distributors, dealers and other channel partners.
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Contests for individual sellers: Rewardian’s challenges, contests, leaderboards, bingo boards and scratch-off games can be assigned company-wide or by user type.
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A dedicated Account Manager: Every Rewardian client has an Account Manager, monthly meetings, quarterly business reviews and a staging environment for testing rules.
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Built for mid-sized organizations: Rewardian is calibrated to organizations of 200 to 5,000 employees, with an average implementation of 4–6 weeks.
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Participant support in English and Spanish: Rewardian’s in-house, US-based support team helps participants by phone, email and in-platform, with critical issues handled under documented SLAs.
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Client retention: Rewardian reports a 94% client retention rate; read Rewardian’s case studies.
Where O.C. Tanner stands out: nearly a century of recognition and award craftsmanship since 1927; Culture Cloud’s scale, with 14 million users in more than 180 countries and clients such as 3M, Bayer and American Airlines; goal-based Incentives that build collaboration around shared targets; custom and signature awards and Yearbooks; Culture Intelligence analytics; the research behind its Global Culture Report; and a broad security set including SOC 3 and ISO 27001. For a global enterprise that wants incentives inside a research-backed recognition program, O.C. Tanner is an excellent choice.
Verdict: which should you choose?
Choose the platform that matches how your sales incentives should be earned and who they need to reach.
Choose O.C. Tanner if you are a large or global organization that wants collaborative, goal-based incentives inside a research-backed recognition program, with custom awards to honor significant wins.
Choose Rewardian if you want sales incentives that earn from your CRM data under rules you define, the option to include channel partners in the same program, and a dedicated Account Manager. See what sets Rewardian apart.
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Talk to Rewardian See how CRM-driven sales incentives, recognition and channel programs could run in one platform for your organization, with a dedicated Account Manager. Request a Rewardian demo. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Rewardian a good O.C. Tanner alternative for sales incentives?
Yes, for organizations that want sales earning driven by CRM data, rules for tiers and products, and channel partners in the same program. Rewardian includes a dedicated Account Manager. O.C. Tanner remains strong for goal-based team incentives inside a global recognition program.
What are O.C. Tanner Incentives?
O.C. Tanner Incentives is a Culture Cloud tool for goal-based programs: anyone can create an incentive, tie point values to goals and track progress. Colleagues can also award points for contributions. Examples include sales goals, product launches, training and wellbeing.
Does O.C. Tanner run channel partner incentives?
Channel partner incentives are not part of O.C. Tanner’s published suite; its external recognition feature lets customers recognize an organization’s employees. Rewardian runs channel incentives natively, with SKU and brand rules, partner tiers and rebate or MDF options.
How is a Rewardian sales incentive program priced?
Rewardian prices each program to its scope, so sales incentives, recognition and any channel program are quoted on your design, not a rate card. Compare that with O.C. Tanner’s custom quote, including awards and reward funding.
Should sales incentives reward teams or individuals?
Team incentives build collaboration around shared targets, while individual incentives reward each rep’s own activity and results, and a mix of both often works. Team goals suit launches and cross-functional pushes. Individual rules suit quota, product focus and activity targets. Watch for free-riding in team goals and unhealthy internal competition in individual contests.