GiftCard Partners Blog

No matter if you're in the mailroom or the corner office employee recognition has remained a constant in employee motivation. Regardless of the economy, or stage of career all employees want to be recognized and it inevitably leads to motivation and increased productivity. A lot has changed since the 90's, but back then high wages was an employees number one motivator. When employees were asked what motivates them the most more recently, full organizational appreciation of work done ranked number one. When asked for one thing that would motivate them more at work, 31% of employees mentioned better treatment including more praise and a sense of being valued within the organization. Employee recognition is a valuable tool. You can make grand gestures like a company retreat, or a paid vacation for top performers, or smaller expression of employee recognition that can be just as effective. A small denomination gift card to a popular retailer like
Crutchfield,
Boston Market or
Burlington Coat Factory, paired with a public call-out at a staff meeting can be a great way to give employees the satisfaction and sense of value that will motivate them and maintain a high level of productivity.
HR.BLR provides a great breakdown on what you can do to motivate your employees through employee recognition. When done the right way, employee recognition can motivate your whole organization and promote a culture of productivity and teamwork.

An employee safety program can be tough to implement and even tougher to get employees actively engaged in. An effective employees safety program can be a sound investment that keeps your workforce safe and mitigates risk of workers compensation cases. Here are three ways you can ensure the implementation of your employees safety program is effective.

What do cities like Huntsville, AL, Nashville, TN and Orlando, FL have in common? They made the top 10 in Quantum Workplace's list for
Best Cities for Employee Recognition. Quantum's survey polled nearly 5,000 organizations and 400,000 employees to identify the top cities for employee recognition based on which contained those employees most satisfied with their employee recognition programs. The report evaluated employees' perceptions of 11 types of recognition, frequency of recognition and satisfaction levels. In order to be considered for this data set, each city was required to have held a Best Places to Work contest with the participation of more than 70 organizations.

If you're looking for a way to inspire your workers, motivate them, and get more out of your team, we have one big tip for you: stop thinking of them as 'employees.' Instead, start thinking of them as people. They're not interchangeable parts that you can tweak and change to get more work out of—they're living, breathing, working people with personalities, priorities, and passions.

Millennials, those who currently are in the 18-33 age range, will make up 75% of the workforce by 2025. This generation posses an entirely different outlook on workplace culture than the generation before them. Technology is the primary Millennial influence, both in and out of the workplace. What are the best incentives for millennials to be motivated? Growing research shows that point system incentive programs have the highest success level, especially with Millennials. These employees want to not only be recognized, but they also want choices in how they are rewarded as well. Points programs are virtually foolproof, easy to understand, appeal to the interests of many different types of participants, tend to have higher participation rates, and are just plain fun! One amazing employee points program incentive model is the Values In Action program at CVS/pharmacy. An online rewards system where colleagues and managers can recognize one another by granting points that are redeemable for merchandise, travel vouchers, gift cards, and even the option to make a charitable donation. While points programs work best for Millennials, they can be customized for any diverse workforce. 
For more information on why points programs are so popular check out this article by Quality Incentive Company.