Give gift cards as benefits and rewards...the right way
Giving gift cards as benefits and rewards can be extremely effective when used correctly. Here are some quick tips to maximize the effect of your gift card employee reward program.
1. Don’t award too many cards too often- Maintain the trophy value of the rewards by only giving rewards when specific goals or targets are reached.
2. Don’t wait to give the gift cards to winners- Spot rewards can be even more meaningful, with more trophy value given their surprise nature.
3. Do include public recognition- Make sure other employees know why recipients earned their reward, so they can become positive role models for the rest of the staff.
4. Don’t use gift cards as extra compensation or a pay bonus- Use gift cards as rewards for desired behavior or upon completion of reaching a goal.
5. Do combine the cards with an overall incentive program- For example; if your organization runs a health and wellness program, use a gift card to reward employees who reach their health and fitness goals.
6. Don’t get too narrow with card choices- Giving a wide variety of card choices makes the reward more useful for employees.
7. Do tell employees about any limitations or conditions on a gift card- Be up front about expiration dates or conditions to using the reward, so employees know what to expect and can use their cards in an appropriate timeframe.
For more information on the best ways to use gift card as incentives, rewards, and benefits check out this Business Management Daily article.
Need Subscribers? Use Gift Cards
Not seeing the response rate you're hoping for when it comes to your company’s news, emails and promotions? The answer could be as simple and as affordable as gift cards. If you feel like you’re pulling teeth to get people to interact or respond to your content then this small reward can go a long way in changing that. Purchasing gift cards in bulk saves you money and also guarantees you have enough plastic incentives for all your prospects, all year long. Gift cards are a perfect way to incentivize or reward future prospects for thinking twice before clicking that delete button and moving an inch to the right and clicking that golden 'subscribe' button; thus giving you the possibility of reaching a new audience. If you are reaching out to a relatively small audience then a $5 or $10 gift card to
CVS/pharmacy or
SUBWAY could be offered as an incentive to subscribe or give a referral. Not only are gift cards great for working within a tight budget but they also offer you the opportunity to grow your company's database and eventually capture leads & sales.
Employers continue to use Health and Wellness benefits to manage costs
According to a survey released this week by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), employers are using an increasing amount of Health and Wellness programs and benefits as both a mechanism to raise employee morale and manage rising health care costs in a slowly recovering economy. Raising employee morale and keeping employees healthy through professional development, and health and wellness programs is a cost effective investment for employees. These benefits provide an ROI in raised retention rates, productivity, and job satisfaction, as well as lower employer health care costs. The survey revealed that employers offering development opportunities such as life-coaching jumped from 33% in 2008 to 45% in 2012, and providing small rewards, such as gift cards, for completing health and wellness programs increased from 23% in 2008 to 35% in 2012. These significant increases prove this is a growing trend and the value of these rewards continues to be successful.
For more information on the SHRM survey and how employee benefit programs help manage employer costs check out this MarketWatch Release.
Engaging Generation Y Employees
As Baby Boomers retire and Generation Y becomes a more prevalent piece of the work force it is important to keep in mind Generation Y values when choosing employee rewards. Different things are important to children of Baby Boomers than was important to their parents and it is important to maintain the impact of reward programs as those values change. Here are some examples, as articulated by Employee Benefit Advisor.
Safety Programs and Incentives
Although safety programs are effective for cutting workplace injuries in all workplace environments; manufacturing is an optimal industry segment to promote workplace safety incentives. Workplace environments can be harsh and employee safety is a number one concern and constant initiative. Formal safety reward programs provide an important function to motivate employees to take proper safety precautions and adapt to the safer behaviors that your environment demands. If employees are motivated to take safety awareness seriously enough to reduce the likelihood of accidents, and the program is properly structured with measurement methods in place; the company will realize ROI in increased performance, and reduced healthcare insurance premiums. Following are a few examples of typical safety and workplace incentive programs that manufacturers employ:
