GiftCard Partners Blog

With much attention being brought to minimum wage workers across the country it is important to recognize other ways to motivate and reward your front-line employees besides handing out cash bonuses. There are ways to improve compensation outside of traditional raises and bonuses that can be equally helpful to employees. It is critical to invest in front-line employees because they are the embodiment of your brand to consumers shopping in the store. A bad interaction with a store employee and you can lose a customer's business. However, when your employees are happy and motivated, consumers tend to have more positive interactions which can lead to upsell and higher potential spending. Motivating chain store employees through public recognition for a job well done at daily, weekly or monthly staff meetings are a great way to reward exemplary employees, and show other employees what kind of behavior management is looking for. Using spot rewards to give employees rewards for above-and-beyond behavior in real time. Small denomination gift cards make great spot rewards. They carry a fixed cost for employers and are helpful to employees by giving them an opportunity to treat themselves and their families to a nice meal at popular restaurants like
The Cheesecake Factory and 
Boston Market. Giving employees a luxury they may not be able to afford themselves is a great way to say thank you to the individuals who control your customers' experience with your brand.
For more information on how to motivate chain-store employees check out this article from Retail Wire.

Relationships with channel reps and resellers can be tricky. You are giving them the power to control your message and brand when you aren't around, and while they are doing the same for other brands at the same time. Here are a few tips to ensure you motivate channel reps to represent your brand and drive revenue.

Digital gift cards are combining the traditional uses of gift cards as currency among gifters and gift receivers, and the cutting edge technology of mobile payments. As mobile payments and mobile wallets because more common at retailer POS, employers can begin to think of digital gift cards as easier solutions to employee reward, health and wellness and safety programs. Here are three reasons digital gift cards are the wave of the gift card future:

This winter has been especially harsh on cities and towns across the U.S. Between the sleet, snow, ice and frigid temperatures we are beginning to hear Mayors and Governers talk about shortages in salt and sand used to minimize ice on roads and sidewalks. This all adds up to countless hours logged by public works employees clearing snow, de-icing roads and making sure the rest of us stay safe amidst the winter weather. The media covers how average citizens can stay safe in the inclement weather, but it is the job of public works departments to make sure their employees stay safe through the winter months as well. Make safety a priority this winter. Talk about how to maintain safe practices even in the worst situation. Publicly acknowledge employees that go beyond their basic job descriptions to make sure everyone around them stays safe. Safety recognition programs are a great way to motivate employees to maintain safe practices. Recognize safety milestones like "X days without a safety incident," or hand out small spot rewards for a job well done. Giving out small denomination gift cards to popular retailers like
Crutchfield,
AutoZone or
Speedway are a great way to say thank-you to employees who work hard in the worst conditions to keep the rest of us safe all winter long.

In
Monday’s blog we discussed the #10 trend taken from Incentive Research Foundation’s
2014 Trends in Engagement, Incentives, and Recognition report, the popularity of non-cash rewards as sales incentives. Today we want to focus on another trend taken from the study, the shift in employee engagement and how businesses are shouting, “Show me the
results!” These
results include things like brand authenticity, effective change management and efficient cross-company collaboration. The report goes on to explain, “Engagement as an aspiration measure is shifting focus and becoming a way to drive better outcomes.” Those direct outcomes are not only being recognized and measured, but strategically rewarded in an effort to secure a successful program for the long haul. Check out more on this trend and the other 9 topping the list for
2014 here.