GiftCard Partners Blog

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)

There is a very basic property of gift cards that can be easy to forget in the rush of holiday giving, whether giving to your family and friends or company giving, to customers, employees and partners. The general public doesn’t tend to know the difference between open loop gift cards and closed loop, but if you are buying gift cards in bulk; you need to know which yields you the best deal. Credit card issued gift cards are open loop and they most often charge a fee to purchase the cards, they tend to have expiration dates and often, a diminishing balance over time without even using it. Retailer or merchant issued gift cards are retailer specific but there are no fees for purchasing, in fact a sliding scale discount is given for levels of bulk purchase. There are no expiration dates or diminishing value for the recipient to manage. GiftCard Partners  is offering one of the best deals possible on CVS/pharmacy gift cards through December:
Get $100 in free gift cards for each $1,000 you spend*. You’ll see on the site a deadline; just give us the following code to redeem this offer through the month of December, 2011: CVS 10%
The savings don't end with $100 in free gift cards...spend $2,000 and get $200 in free gift card, spend $3,000 and get $300 in free gift cards...save up to $500 in free CVS gift cards.

I am quite familiar with QVC; I can’t say I’ve shopped QVC, but I DO expect to have many gifts under my tree in big brown QVC boxes for Christmas. In fact, approximately 99.9% of all gifts given to me by my parents since about 1990 came from QVC. Although they are most known for their televised shopping experience, the online channel now accounts for more than 1/3rd of their sales. Their recent partnership with CashStar will leverage CashStar’s
“digital gifting and incentives platform to provide a personal, compelling and convenient gifting experience”, says CashStar in their recent press release. I for one, would love an eGift Card from QVC, so I can pick my own QVC gift this year…I’ve never known how to return the gifts my parents get me…and frankly I pick out better gifts for myself. Read more on this interesting integration of TV, online, gift cards, and the eGift:
CashStar to Power QVC's eGfit Card Program

For many small businesses staying open on the holidays is a key way to compete with major retailers. In doing so, this often causes obvious strain on employees and employee relations. It is essential to the success of the company that these difficult situations are handled properly, and that employees needs are kept in mind. There are some pretty simple ways to say "thank you" to employees. When assigning holiday shifts, keep flexibility in mind. Things like allowing employees to request certain shifts or switch off holidays among employees can go a long way toward boosting morale and making workers feel appreciated. Another way to say "thank you" is by giving small denomination gift cards, as a token of appreciation. Giving small gift cards is like a small bonus, and the trophy value makes employees feel like they have done enough to earn something as a reward. This motivates employees beyond the holidays, and into the new year. Be sure to be sensitive to your employees this holiday season and it will benefit your organization long after the holidays have ended.  
To read more about employee rewards and holiday shifts check out the Fox Business article. 

We’ve been hearing a lot about how gift cards have become the most coveted gift this holiday season, as well as their rise to the number 1 spot for workplace incentives, but; do gift cards have a strong hold on the most redeemed item in loyalty programs? Really…we want to know! A recent study released in the United States, called “Born This Way: The US Millennial Loyalty Survey”, concluded that Gen Y, AKA “Millennial” consumers (those born between the mid-1970s and the mid-1990s)  “will change the way companies and brands build sustainable customer loyalty”. HOW?