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:

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.  

Ever wondered what employee rewards your staff really want? While you know they may appreciate the sentiment of the reward, and even find the rewards fun, have you ever wondered, if they could pick anything, what the general employee response would be? In a recent study done by The Voucher Shop these hard-to-come-by desires are revealed. Even though these are results from across the pond, there's a lot to be gleaned applicable for American employees and households as well. Here are the top categories employees want to see in rewards from their employers:

A recent survey by OfficeTeam revealed that 89% of employers think they are doing a good job with employee recognition for outstanding efforts at work. That would be great, except only 70% of employees tend to agree with that statement. The divide between employee and employer opinions is significant. If employees don't have confidence or agree that their employers are doing well recognizing their efforts, then employers get no return on what is often a significant investment. There are many reasons why employers can fail at delivering employee recognition. Sometimes it's a lack of effort, communication or application of a program. Here are three reasons we find most common- and how to overcome them.

With 80% of U.S. and Puerto Rican workers under moderate or high levels of financial stress, employers are looking beyond physical wellness programs and adding a financial wellness component to employee benefits. Financial wellness programs often provide financial advice and guidance to employees with the aim to reduce financial stress and increase workplace productivity. According to an Aon Hewitt survey, 76% of employers were interested in financial wellness initiatives in 2013, and looking to expand their efforts by 2014. Companies also observe that the more financially stressed an employee is, the more sick time they take, disrupting work flow and workplace momentum. At Meredith Corp. employees are offered a financial wellness questionnaire and can take educational courses and other financial wellness actions to gain access to discounted healthcare options and other financial perks. Meredith is recording big results on their financial wellness program too.