GiftCard Partners Blog

Employers and employees alike are hit hard by their company’s limited funds. Keeping a motivated workforce doesn't have to drain your budget. And it doesn’t have to drain your time and energy either. If raises and bonuses are out of the question, employers are forced to get creative in order to keep motivation high, and to reward and recognize their employees. Forbes recent article titled, “5 Ways to Keep Your Employees Motivated Without Breaking the Bank,” outlines several ways for employers to implement creative ideas, that are also unique, and most importantly budget-friendly. One such idea is, have a ‘Boss Does Your Work’ promotion. This fun incentive works great in an office with a break room and bathrooms that employees are in charge of keeping clean. Consider offering employees the chance to have their managers take over these chores for the month, in turn for meeting specific goals. If you know your employees are looking for a little extra, gift cards to SUBWAY for a healthy lunch can work perfectly. Or, say ‘Thank You’ to them and their family with a night out to dinner with Boston Market or The Cheesecake Factory gift cards.
Discover more creative ideas for motivating employees without ‘Breaking the Bank’ by reading the full article here. Can you think of anymore?

Career development isn’t just a nice-to-have, it’s a must-have. In today’s competitive job market, employees want more than a paycheck: they want growth, purpose, and a future. For HR leaders, this presents both a challenge and an opportunity. Get career development right, and you don’t just retain employees—you build a motivated, high-performing workforce.

Thinking you can’t afford an employee incentive and rewards program? Incentives don’t have to be expensive and you can pair them with the financial needs of your employees. A recent study from researchers at California Institute of Technology (Caltech) suggests that employees could “choke” if the stakes or rewards are high. They  liken this performance phenomenon to a sports event in which people become afraid of losing their reward. “It is a somewhat unexpected conclusion. After all, you would think that the more people are paid, the harder they will work, and the better they will do their jobs -- until they reach the limits of their skills”, states Science Daily. However, these researchers have found that the more that is at risk, the more performance could be hindered, therefore demotivating and working against larger company goals. Digging deeper, their  research also revealed that “performance improved as the incentives increased -- but only when the cash reward amounts were at the low end of the spectrum. Once the rewards passed a certain threshold, which depended on the individual, performance began to fall off.” This speaks volumes about “knowing thy employee”. Interesting science that is easily parleyed into the concept of providing more incentives, in smaller amounts, like gift cards. Gift cards can be purchased in bulk in any increment, but cards like
SUBWAY,
Boston Market, and
CVS at $20 or $30 per gift card offers your employees small incentives that they can really use. They will grab lunch on the way to their summer destinations, bring dinner home for the family and stock up on sunscreen and first aid for the season. Source:
ScienceDaily Online – Science News

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:

We’ve all heard of the gold watch after 10 years on the job. But in today’s workplace, employees aren’t sticking around for a decade just to feel seen. Recognition needs to start earlier, happen more often, and feel more meaningful. If you're trying to boost retention and keep employees engaged, one of the most effective—yet often overlooked—strategies is milestone recognition.