GiftCard Partners Blog

Employee wellness initiatives have taken many forms over the last 5-10 years. They have ranged from biometric screenings to company exercise groups to discounts on health insurance. Each company does it differently, depending on what is most effective for their specific organization. But according to this Washington Post article, employee wellness is taking a new turn and it's compelling for both employers and employees. Employee wellness is becoming part of company culture. With a growing millennial component to the American workforce, employers are focusing on enticing younger employees with perks and attractive cultural components in the work environment. Wellness programs are shifting to be a component of these types of company culture and positioning efforts. So what does it mean for employers? How can they measure ROI when they take tangible metrics and transition them into the "intangible benefits" so important to difficult-to-please millennial? Here are a few ways:

Small business incentive programs are growing rapidly. According to a recent article from Incentive Magazine, research conducted by the Incentive Federation revealed that a substantial amount of small businesses are now using rewards and recognition programs. The study asked businesses with at least $1 million in annual revenue about their goals, programs, awards they use, and how they measure whether or not their incentives are successful.  Most of the smaller firms that responded to the survey spend less than $50K annually on sales incentive programs, whereas firms with revenue of over $10 million spend significantly more annually on their incentive programs. When it comes to the type of reward, electronics came in as the most requested merchandise reward, followed by food and beverage and apparel. Other popular choices were sporting goods, luggage, watches, and home decor.  

According to Incentive Magazine, the number one reason employers and managers give for not practicing employee recognition is time. They don't have time, they can't find the right time, it's not effective if you do it too much or too little. There are a million reasons. But the reality is, employee recognition shouldn't take a lot of time, and with some planning and scheduling employee recognition can extend the time employees remain loyal to their organization.
1). Timely Employee Recognition- If an employee does something worth recognizing, make sure you execute on employee recognition in a timely manner. If you wait too long the recognition becomes stale and ineffective. Ensure ROI and trophy value for rewards by recognizing employees as soon as possible.
2). Doesn't Need to Take A Lot of Time- There's a misconception in the market that employee recognition is time consuming. However, if you have a regular recognition program, and rewards on site, recognition only needs to take a few minutes. Whether it's public or private employee recognition, it doesn't need to be a time suck.
3). Deliberate Frequency- Make employee recognition programmatic. That way employee expectations around recognition and rewards are set and can be met and/or exceeded. From a time perspective, deliberate recognition builds recognition into your calendar, rather than being disruptive. Making time for employee recognition will ensure ROI into any program that is approved and endorsed by management.  

CVS Health and Target Corporation recently entered into a definitive agreement for CVS Health to acquire Target’s pharmacy and clinic businesses. CVS Health is set to acquire Target’s more than 1,660 pharmacies across 47 states and operate them through a store-within-a-store format, branded as CVS/pharmacy. Target’s nearly 80 clinic locations will be rebranded as MinuteClinic, while CVS Health will open 20 new clinics in Target stores within 3 years of the acquisition being completed. These new clinics will be part of CVS Health’s overall plan to operate 1,500 clinics by 2017. CVS Health and Target plan to develop five to ten small, flexible format stores over a 2-year period as well, branded as TargetExpress and will include a CVS/pharmacy. This relationship will bring together two of the top retailers in the U.S. The complementary strengths, brands, and cultures will enhance the health care experience for Target shoppers while expanding CVS Health’s retail presence in new markets. This will allow CVS Health to reach more patients, and with their proven success of growing its business, the relationship is expected to benefit Target’s long-term traffic and sales growth. Target will center on continuing to deliver products and experiences to help guests eat well, be active, and find natural and clean label products. Read more about this exciting acquisition from the CVS Health Newsroom!

Summer gift cards are gaining popularity in the gift market this spring and summer. As individuals look for gifts for moms, dads, grads and newlyweds, gift cards continue to be the catch-all gift that's easy for the gifter and always a pleasant surprise for the giftee. The  infographic below from the Retail Gift Card Association reveals that 80% of gifters want their recipients to have the option to redeem online or in-store, showing that omnichannel flexibility is an overwhelming consumer concern. Since gift cards are flexible in nature, consumers want to ensure that recipients have as much flexibility in how and where they redeem as they do in what merchandise they redeem for.