GiftCard Partners Blog

The title pretty much covers it for this one, so if you have to stop here (which we at GiftCard Partners DON'T recommend) you've gotten (part of) the point. For most organizations, employees are the biggest and greatest asset. Invest in them! Employees matter, and employee training produces ROI like any other investment. Here are three ways to invest in your employees.

A new type of employee is gaining ground: the self-driven high performer. Often mislabeled as “selfish” or “independent to a fault,” these individuals are motivated by internal benchmarks, personal ambition, and a desire for autonomy. They thrive on setting and reaching their own goals, not just company targets.

We all know it’s a little tough to focus in the office when kids are out of school and the weather is nice. Workplace productivity drops 20% during June, July and August, so to ensure your employees stay focused, happy and productive in the office, make sure they spend some of their time out of the office. Employers often use summertime to offer special perks like the 41% who indicated they offer flexible schedules, and the 28% who offer "summer Fridays." Ensuring that your employees take some time away from their desk for a vacation and "digital detox" is a great way to increase workplace productivity. For those workaholics who you can't seem to squeeze in a week at the beach other incentives such as gift cards are a great way to acknowledge hard work. Small denomination gift cards to popular retailers like 
The Limited, 
Boston Market, or 
AutoZone allows employees to treat themselves during the summer, and feel appreciated by their employer. Encouraging a work/life balance and rewarding hard work, especially when temptation to slack off is at its height, will keep your workforce engaged and workplace productivity going long after Labor Day. For more ideas on keeping your organization's summer productive check out this infographic from American Express Open Forum.

Gamification is a trend that continues to gain traction in the workplace. It can be applied to health and wellness initiatives, employee motivation programs, and even training programs. New research from the University of Colorado indicates that new employees who participated in online gaming and interactive modules as part of the training process showed higher overall retention rates, a greater knowledge of the organization and their particular role, and a higher level skill set. Gamificationtraining engages employees in the process of on-boarding, rather than having new employees sit through hours of static training sessions where they listen to so much information it is more difficult to retain and later apply. Gamification alsoallows employees to learn and apply simultaneously, making information more digestible and creating mechanisms to help employees remember important points. Gamifying employee training is an innovative way to invest in employees right from the start. Employees will appreciate the engaging training sessions and feel supported by the organization from the outset of their time. Using gamification for ongoing employee training, for employees who have been with the organization for a period of time, can go one step further byusing incentives for game winners and goal reachers. Using small incentives such as a gift card to a popular retailer such as 
CVS/Pharmacy or 
The Cheesecake Factory for those who achieve or meet their goals from the training will not only ensure that employees absorb the desired material but that all employees are motivated to complete the training and work towards its goals.

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