GiftCard Partners Blog

As the economy starts to recover and 2011 comes to a close, more employers are bringing back the year-end reward. This often comes in the form of a bonus or a small gift. These types of rewards had tapered off during the recent recession, but are now coming back to the workplace. According to a new Careerbuilder.com survey, 40% more employers are planning to give bonuses this year, which is a 7% increase from 2010. What is almost more compelling is that 73% of that group is giving the same amount of year-end reward as last year, with 14% of employers giving an increased reward from 2010. This survey and similar research have proven that simple rewards are appreciated and motivating to employees. 81% of employees think that rewards are a nice thing to do for employees but should not be expected, so giving small simple rewards such as small bonuses, or a small denomination gift card, will still provide the motivation and desired outcome employers are looking for. So, as 2011 winds down, make your employees a priority in planning for 2012 and let them know how much they matter to your company.  
To learn more about the comeback of year-end rewards check out the ThomasNet News article.

Internet and social media immersion is without a doubt second nature to Gen-Yers, AKA, Millennials. As a Generation X-er and an early technology adopter; I can clearly see how our most recent generation of college grads were born 1 step from where I was.  We've seen some recent research around shopping habits, customer loyalty, and working tendencies of Generation Y; I’ll bring these findings together here to offer insight in the realm of employee motivation, incentives and loyalty. “45 percent of Millennials would accept a lower-paying job with more flexibility towards social media access, remote work and technology choice than a higher-paying job with less flexibility.
¹” This is a pretty big number, but should not cause much surprise. As an entirely remotely operating company, GCP expects people to work this way, it’s in our company DNA. But we did not expect that almost 50% of a generation would prefer it. (YAY for us/GCP). Are you an employer who will rise to this challenge, knowing that embracing a remote working situation is a core motivator and a recruiting competitive advantage? In a recent national poll conducted by the No. Carolina firm of Public Policy
²; It was found that generations precluding Gen-Y, are skeptical about younger workers' work ethics, motivation and engagement in their workplace. Gen-Yer’s said this about their own generation:

As mobile wallet technology becomes more common, and more retailers begin accepting programs like Google Wallet and MasterCard PayPass it is important to know how and when to use your mobile wallet technology. These tips will help maximize your experience AND keep your financial information secure.
Tap-and-pay systems: Systems like Google Wallet and MasterCard's PayPass are going to only gain momentum. The technology is improving (for instance moving away from a tap, and more towards a wave motion), and the types of locations accepting this form of payment is increasing. How different would it be to do away with metro card systems for public transit, and simply be able to swipe your SmartPhone? It may happen sooner than you think.
PayPal mobile payments: Mobile banking apps such as these allow you to make purchases, and even in some cases, transfer funds without disrupting your life. You can order pizza and pay from the couch, or even transfer bonus funds from your company to your employees, making year-end bonuses instant and convenient.
Roaming credit card readers: These devices allow small businesses and organizations, such as a Girls Scout troop in Ohio (who boasted a 13% increase in cookie sales) to use credit cards without paying a prhibitive fee. These credit card readers come at either a nominal fee (usually a small percentage of each sale) or free to the user. And don't fear about the initial security concerns, readers encrypt financial information before transmitting to the bank. Mobile wallet technology is growing, so make sure you know the basics of how to use it, when to use it, and which products to take advantage of.
For more information on mobile wallet technology check out the article in U.S. News and World Report.

Most employees will say that they are not expecting much from their employers for the holidays. But, in their heart of hearts, most of us feel the pull towards recovery and hope for something extra for our hard work. What kind of gift will employees consider fair recognition and reward for the year to date, while offering encouragement for the year to come? A recent Parago survey indicates that for a whole year’s worth of work:

When rewarding employees it is important to be as effective as possible. Here are some tips from the Washington Post on making rewards work for you AND your employees.
Find out what rewards are attractive to your employees- giving employees a reward they actually want and can use will be more effective than a reward that the company wants to give (tools like 
surveymonkey.com allow employees to answer anonymously)
Explain to people how rewards are determined- making the rewards process clear to employees is key in making rewards an effective tool (placing guidelines and performance structure in the employee handbook puts the criteria in writing)

Distribute rewards in a fair way- if the distribution system is not fair it can ruin the employees opinion of the rewards program, and the company (making the earning criteria for rewards clear will always make the system seem fair)

Provide rewards in a timely manner- providing rewards as quickly as possible makes employees appreciate them more, spot rewards (small, instant rewards such as a small denomination gift card) can be very effective

Use rewards to reinforce constructive behaviors- rewards should both reinforce desired behavior and motivate employees to repeat it

Consider flexibility- employee backgrounds can differ significantly, so it is important that rewards vary accordingly. Having a variety of gift card brands provides convenience for the employer and choice to the employee

Vary the awards- vary external rewards such as gifts and bonuses, with internal rewards such as autonomy and varied projects (indicating these options in the reward criteria will make employees aware of their options)

Periodically check employees’ perceptions- this ensures your rewards program remains effective (
surveymonkey.com, and other similar tools can be helpful for this as well)