GiftCard Partners Blog

The employee suggestion box may seem like an antiquated concept. Who is going to drop a crumpled up piece of paper into a box, or send and email to an anonymous email address? With that attitude, no one. However,
Hugh Molotsi, VP of Innovation at Intuit Labs, believes that employee ideas can be the most underutilized tool in an employer's innovation strategy.
Here's the scenario: Your company encounters a large organizational issue. Senior management can't solve it. So, the organization spends thousands, if not millions, to bring in a consultant to try to solve the problem. It may work in the long-term, but how can you ensure ROI on such a huge investment? Alternatively, you could pose a brainstorm contest or competition (
think like a hack-a-thon) to your employees, spend a couple hundred dollars bringing in lunch or dinner for the staff, and empower your
employees to find the fix. Not only have you saved an enormous amount of money, but you've given your employees the opportunity to have a
direct impact on shaping your organization. An employee suggestion can turn into real solutions to problems and real improvements in your organization, without bringing in expensive and sometimes disruptive consultants. Do you invite your employee suggestion into organization strategy sessions or problem solving exercises? If you don't, it might be time to consider a change in 2015.

Our society, and our work standards, strive toward perfection. We sometimes feel we must be perfect, the perfect boss, the perfect employee, the perfect parent, etc. We may even think that making no mistakes is the best possible scenario and that a squeaky clean record at work, and in life, is what it's all about. Well let's think about challenging that notion. According to
Kate Hamill of the Freelancer's Union, weaknesses and mistakes can actually bring out some of our other strengths and can help harvest self-reflection that makes us, our staff, our managers and our organizations more successful. Your weaknesses are inextricably tied up in your strengths. Every cause has an effect and every action a reaction. If you invert your weaknesses, you will uncover your strengths. This is where employee imperfection is key. There is no way to invert perfection, nothing to learn from it. Employees can't grow from perfect, and frankly perfection is boring. There's no evolution or growth that comes from perfection and stagnation can be unfulfilling. When employee imperfection is embraced, it can lead to self-compassion. Employees who learn to give themselves a break, instead of getting frustrated, give themselves a chance to improve upon their discovered weaknesses and get a lot farther in their careers. Self-teaching and independent growth are valuable skills that breed great team members and hard workers. Weaknesses don't have to be negative, but rather should be looked at as the ultimate opportunity, not to achieve employee perfection, for employee growth potential.

Surprisingly, we've found that fixed pay (salary) and individual performance pay have little affect on innovation, while variable group pay and indirect pay (employee benefits) have a much stronger impact.

An employee wellness program is a great way to boost employee health and increase the organization's bottom line. Here are five key steps to make sure your employee wellness program is as successful as it can be through the end of 2014 and the beginning of 2015.