GiftCard Partners Blog

Moments of recognition are powerful, they give us a feeling of purpose, a sense of accomplishment and an undeniable drive to produce our best work. Recognition is continuously proven to motivate employees by allowing them to see and feel their personal value.

Since it's halloween let's talk about motivating employees with a chainsaw. Sounds terrifying and unprofessional. Sounds like it might be the plot of a horror movie, or that we are playing tricks on our readers. It's actually neither. At digital marketing agency Sq1 the Red Chainsaw Award is given to the employee who not only goes "above and beyond" but who does it by cutting through the BS to do it. So there you have it: employee motivation with a chainsaw. Blood and guts free. So here's why you should think about coming up with your own version of a chainsaw award.
Recognition Is Important: Everyone wants it, and employees do weird things to get attention when they don't get it. Actively giving recognition drives everyone to strive for it and motivates the people who get it to keep working harder to be recognized further.
Recognizing the Individual Members of the Team: Everyone at any company is working toward organization goals. However, it's important to recognize the individuals who make the team whole. Sometimes teams achieve things, but don't be afraid to recognize individual rock stars who deserve it.
Rewards are important too: Recognition is great. Whether public or private being told you're doing a good job is great. But don't forget to provide some kind of material reward, which gives a tangible component to positive reinforcement. Whether is a gift card to a popular retailer like
Boston Market,
The Limited or
Crutchfield, or an afternoon off to start a weekend early, make sure you show your employees tangible appreciation.
For more information about employee motivation, with or without a chainsaw check out this article from The Next Web.  

Employee rewards should be differentiated by the employers goal in giving the reward. If you're giving a reward for a job well done in an "everyday instance", the reward should be different than exhibiting exemplary community behavior, which should be different than a reward given for long term growth. Here are three situations and how to differentiate employee rewards for each.

Innovating employee rewards programs are an important part of any HR strategy. However, monetary bonuses can get a bit stale and employees will look for new ways to be rewarded for a job well done. The more innovative your employee rewards program is, the more effective it can be. Here are three ways to reward employees in new and innovative ways.

We write a lot about utilizing gift cards for employee recognition in this space because frankly they're a great way to recognize your employees for great work on a limited budget. But all of our effort to convince you is for naught if employee recognition programs are not implemented correctly within your organization.
Here's the concern,