GiftCard Partners Blog

Workplace wellness trends have been a hot topic over the last few months.  Recently, the 
International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, released
Workplace Wellness Trends: 2015, an in depth survey conducted last October which uncovered the most prevalent types of initiatives, wellness offerings and trends, wellness outcomes and ROI, as well as incentives and strategies.  78% of the survey findings were from US organizations while 22% were from Canadian organizations.  The glaring difference between the US and Canada was the focus on the healthcare system.  The Affordable Care Act's influence has most US organizations focusing more on controlling health-related costs while Canadian organizations were more likely to focus on investing in employee health and engagement. Here are some other notable survey findings:

Employee motivation is the lifeblood of an organization- and particularly important this time of year while parts of the country are facing brutal temperatures, buried under several feet of snow or getting drenched with rain. So how do you keep employee motivation from freezing up with the rest of the country? Here are three things employee motivation killers, and some important strategies to help overcome those pitfalls.

The secondary gift card market is a delicate topic in the gift card industry. It's sort of like a dirty little secret that’s extremely helpful for consumers. In this market, consumers can recycle, regift or exchange their unwanted or unused gift cards for something that is of more use to them. It's a free market, or markets and with the access to internet today these exchange sites are literally at consumers' fingertips. While this new market may leave unwanted gift card holders jumping for joy, retailers are as thrilled. Secondary gift card markets can be seen as devaluing retail brands. These markets essentially allow consumers to trade in one brand for another, making the currency that was previously brand specific, brand agnostic. Currency no longer gets funneled into a retailer's business, but rather commoditized on the open market. Diane Freeland, GiftCard Partners' VP of Client Relations, comments on the commoditization of the secondary gift card market stating, "These secondary marketplaces offer consumers the opportunity to trade unwanted gift cards that they were received as a gift at a less than face value for the cards they are trading." Selling a retailer's brand for less than face value can have unforeseen consequences that only time will tell. Secondary gift card markets are a sensitive subject in the gift card industry, and it is certainly something we will keep an eye on. Check back to this space for more information on this subject as we track the industry’s response.

No one loves hearing they’re wrong or that they’ve made a mistake. Poorly delivered criticism can shake an employee’s confidence or even cause them to disengage entirely. But feedback is an essential part of leadership, and when done well, it can drive growth, build skills, and increase loyalty.

Recently the Obama administration announced a goal of accelerating changes to Medicare so that within four years half of the program’s traditional spending will go to doctors, hospitals, and other providers, stressing quality and frugality.  This plan is intended to replace Medicare’s traditional fee-for-service medicine.  Currently in the fee-for-service structure, doctors and hospitals are paid for each service without regard to how the patient fares. Last year about $72 billion (20%) of traditional Medicare spending went to alternate payment models such as Accountable Care Organizations (ACO), where doctors banded together to care for patients along with the promise of getting a portion of any savings they bring to Medicare.  Across the U.S. there are now 424 ACOs and 105 hospitals or health care groups that accept bundled payments. In return, Medicare gives them a fixed sum for each patient which covers initial treatment and follow-up care. The administration is targeting for about $113 billion (30%) of Medicare’s traditional spending to go to these ACO type of endeavors by 2016 and about $215 billion (50%) by the end of 2018.  They also want to spend on quality components. such as bonuses and penalties on top of traditional fee-for-service payments, so that by the end of 2018, 90% of Medicare spending has some sort of link to quality. "For the first time we're actually going to set clear goals and establish a clear timeline for moving from volume to value in the Medicare system," said Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell,  "So today what we want to do is measure our progress and we want to hold ourselves in the federal government accountable."
Read more on the Obama Administration’s plan for Medicare here!