GiftCard Partners Blog

Employers and managers must be mindful of leading their employees by managing emotions. If employees' emotions are positive in the workplace, employees will be more productive in their positions. Using emotional intelligence when planning leadership and recognition strategies is crucial to maximizing productivity in your organization. Here are 5 tips to lead with emotional intelligence.

An increasing number of mid-sized companies continue to adopt health and wellness programs to help manage health care costs, and promote wellness within their workplace. According to a new study out by the ADP Research Institute and The Vitality Group, companies who use Health and Wellness programs save almost six dollars for every one dollar invested in the program. These savings are attributed to improvement in employee health leading to a 27% reduction in employee sick leave, a 26% reduction in health costs and a 32% decrease in workers' compensation and disability claims. These numbers are staggering; with a 168% increase in health care premiums between 1999 and 2011 almost all midsize companies are citing control of health care costs as an organizational priority. Health and wellness programs don’t just stop at controlling costs, but also give employers the chance to boost employee morale, and create camaraderie among colleagues. Health and wellness programs are often goal based, whether that goal is reaching a certain weight, achieving a certain blood pressure, or raising fitness levels to reduce the risk of costly conditions such as diabetes. When colleagues support each other and empower each other to reach goals,professional relationships grow and professional peers begin to work better together. Providing small rewards as "carrots" in a health and wellness program is effective in motivating employees as well. When an employer provides small incentives such as gift cards to retailers such as 
GNC or 
CVS/Pharmacy to help employees along their journey to a healthier lifestyle, employees feel supported and empowered. This type of empowerment can leave lasting effects on an employee’s motivation in their work and in their loyalty to the organization that invested in their personal future. Health and Wellness programs do help control costs, but they also help to motivate employees and maintain employee loyalty.

As you commit to volume gift card purchases for your loyalty & rewards programs or corporate employee programs, you want to know that the public thinks highly of the brands you include.
Boston Market is ranking high on the list of fast-casual restaurants this holiday season and it’s sure to hold strong into 2013. Check out Boston Market’s recent record sales news:
Home Style Restaurant Chain Achieves History-Making Sales During Its Busiest Week of the Year and you will see not only great sales results for the company, but the value they offer to families across the U.S. In an effort to support the New York and New Jersey victims of Hurricane Sandy, Lowe’s distributed more than 22,000 FREE family meals from Boston Market, serving 136,000 people affected by the storm. This resulted in Boston Market’s single largest order in their history. GCP is proud to offer Boston Market gift cards to those buying in bulk.

Looking for the latest trends in employee motivation, engagement, incentives and rewards? In this month’s GCP eNews edition,
you’ll  find the
Tools to Boost Employee Motivation & Productivity, including: -          Wellness Programs in the Workplace: Technology that Inspires Healthy Living – for Mind and Body -          eNews Interactive: 4 Apps to Keep You On-Time and On-Task -          Wrapping up the Holiday: Improving Productivity during the Holiday Season -          The Safety Zone: The Key to a Successful Safety Program -         
AND MORE Don’t forget to subscribe to our eNews, a consolidation of “the best of” in customer loyalty, employee motivation, health and wellness incentives, engagement strategies, and rewards.[hs_action id="2809"]

Using money for employee motivation can be effective, but it can also create a culture where employees are constantly and exclusively working for the money. Motivating with money can even create situations similar to coercion, by taking away the self-motivation that drives employees to go the extra mile. However, motivating with non-monetary compensation can motivate and dedicate employees for years to come. Here are 3 ways to use non-monetary compensation and put year-end compensation in perspective.