GiftCard Partners Blog

Our parents all taught is the golden rule. "Do unto others as your would have done to you." In instances of employee appreciation, we broke it down into 3 key rules. If employees are appreciated at the right times and in the right ways, their tenure with the company will be longer and no one will go home and complain about work or their boss or the annoying colleague two cubes down. Here's what we came up with. Have additional suggestions? Leave us a comment.

In our recovering economy it sometimes seems like there will always be more candidates than jobs. In some industries today that is already not the case. A talent war is looming, a time when companies are poaching each other's human capital and when employee loyalty should be at the top of your HR Strategy agenda. Here are three ways to build, maintain and teach loyalty in your organization.

Mobile payment is an increasingly popular trend. This makes a ton of sense when we look at the increase in overall mobile activity, from sales to marketing to everyday use. But when it comes to mobile payment, the steady rise is sure to affect everyone from retailers and merchants to those in the gift card business. In this
infographic, by e-complish, we can learn a lot about mobile payment trends and growth. In 2012 mobile payments only amounted to $1.5 million, but by the following year, that number had grown to $4.5 million, showing the exponential growth that the mobile payment industry is currently seeing. The U.S. and China are two of the leading countries in mobile use, meaning that they'll also be key countries for growth in mobile payments. Sixty one percent of U.S. adults own a smartphone, meaning that mobile payments will likely spread to many of those 61 percent, if they haven't already. Mobile payments crept into the payment systems and now have skyrocketed in popularity. It has been predicted that by the year 2025, as much as 20 percent of all purchases will be made on a mobile device. Because of the new trend, we're also seeing a growth in mobile payment apps and "mobile wallets." Keep your eye out for larger shifts in technology as we see more and more consumers paying for purchases on their mobile devices.  

22% of employers who use financial incentives in their health and wellness programs are structuring them as penalties. After all the studies done over the last few years proving that "carrot" incentives are more effective at motivating employees to a healthy lifestyle than stick deterrents." Still stick incentives are up 4% from 2013 and employees with extenuating health circumstances risk a steep tax penalty from the Affordable Care Act, along with the penalty from their employer. Employees with minor health issues like decreased lung capacity from asthma cannot change how their lungs work. Their condition cannot be improved through exercise and won't change no matter how healthy their diet is. So is it fair to potentially tax them and charge them organizational penalties? This is one of the ways carrot incentives help drive employees to their best state of health. Incentivizing health improvement shows support of employee efforts regardless of if they are in perfect shape. It shows appreciation for the effort as well as the result. If you are considering  health and wellness incentives, consider a carrot over a stick and reward your employees' healthy efforts all year round.
For more information about stick deterrents and carrot incentives check out this article from 22WWLP.

The weather is getting warmer and employees minds are starting to wander to that summer vacation to the beach or the lake. Springtime is the perfect time to devise a way to keep employees focused and motivated from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Variety is the name of the game with employee motivation, the key to success is finding a reward that everyone likes. Here are a few ideas: