GiftCard Partners Blog

Employee motivation can be key to maintaining productivity, especially during times of the year like summer when employees can be distracted with kids ending school, or simply the change of season and the nice weather. Providing incentives to create a positive company culture and make the workplace employees feel motivated and inspired to be can provide the motivation to keep your employees productive throughout distracting times. Check out these three easy strategies for employee motivation and see if you could use them to boost productivity this summer.

New regulations have recently taken effect as part of the Affordable Care Act allowing employers providing health care benefits to employees to steer their workforce toward healthier lifestyles and away from disease causing habits. The new rules enforced last week as part of the law by the Obama Administration guide employees through a classic carrot and stick rewards program. Employees who participate in wellness programs, set goals to live a healthier life, and work towards those goals can be rewarded both financially and with non-monetary rewards, while employees who continue to exhibit unhealthy behaviors; or who not working to eliminate preventable conditions such as obesity, high blood pressure, or high cholesterol can be penalized similarly. Any outcome based program such as smoking cessation or weight loss programs are often required to have a "cycle of failure and renewed effort" to give employees multiple chances to achieve their goals. These new rules reinforce the effectiveness of the carrot and stick reward/disincentive strategy, rewarding good behavior and penalizing bad behavior. It shows that strategy is financially sound for any size business and can in fact help manage the ever-rising cost of providing health care benefits. Finding rewards that fit each occassion and have value for your employees is key to programmatic success. Gift cards are a great way to fix cost while providing a choice for employees. Using gift cards allow an employee to choose a brand that they value and will use. For health and wellness programs providing a variety of health and wellness retailers such as NutriSystem, GNC, and CVS/Pharmacy show employees that their employer is supportive of their concerted effort to live a healthy lifestyle. Equally important is finding the balance in the disincentives handed out to employees who do not participate in health and wellness programs. The sticks cannot be so big that it makes and employee unhappy with the organization, or makes them wholly averse to ever participating. The stick should be big enough to push employees in a healthier direction. A widely used disincentive is a higher monthly premium for employees not enrolled in the program- encouraging employees to take the step without turning them off totally.

Yo-Fi Wellness is churning some serious waves in the sea of corporate wellness incentives! As employer healthcare costs continue to rise; innovative wellness incentives continue to offer companies of all sizes the latest in corporate wellness incentives and wellness gifts for employees. This online platform brings healthy living initiatives to employees through inspiring and instructive video programs, on any device. Offering expert yoga, fitness, nutrition and meditation video content, Yo-Fi Wellness empowers employees to live a healthier lifestyle, reducing absenteeism in the workplace and improving employee productivity. The Yo-Fi Wellness digital platform is the perfect solution to providing corporate gifts, incentives and rewards via gift cards and e-Certs.

June is National Safety Month, so as we kick off the new month and the summer season, it seems like a great time to put some fun contests and training sessions in place for employees to help promote workplace safety. Here are a few quick and easy ways to make workplace safety a priority at your company this June, and how to continue it throughout the year.

For many organizations employee recognition and financial rewards are tied at the hip. It makes sense- rewards promote the desired behavior and only incur a fixed predictable cost to the employer. Rewards are proven effective and continue to be so, but the lasting value of that reward goes a lot farther with an employee if it is paired with true recognition of the accomplishment that earned them the reward. The compliment from their manager means as much or more than the reward it is paired with, and the recognition can often get lost in the day-to-day craziness of the workplace. Here are 3 quick and easy ways to ensure that you pair the proper employee recognition with your rewards to make them happier and more satisfied with their position and their organization. 1) 
Be timely: If you notice an employee making an exceptional effort or going beyond their job responsibilities- act immediately. A simple compliment, or a quick email in the moment shows the employee that their organization is always taking notice of their efforts. This makes them feel good whole also promoting positive behavior for the future. 2) 
Be authentic: When recognizing an employee’s good work or extra effort, mean what you say and back up what you do. If you recognize them publicly in front of their peers make sure you recognize their individual accomplishment. Don't give a generic motivational speech, instead speak specifically to what 
they did. Giving formulaic recognition will have an adverse effect where employees race to certain benchmarks because they know a reward is waiting for them, which is much less effective long term. 3) 
Add employee based value: Recognize employees by adding value measured in their terms. When providing rewards, gift cards are a great way to add individual value by presenting employees with a choice of how they want to receive and use their reward, without adding organizational cost. Being able to help a working mom out with dinner by providing a 
Boston Market gift card, and helping that junior associate right out of college buy his first apartment enhancement with a 
Crutchfield gift card, or helping that employee who you know has a long commute every day with a 
Speedway gas gift certificate, adds a personal touch that will be memorable and more valuable to employees. Employee rewards work- but they must be paired with proper employee recognition, otherwise the meaning is lost. Adding value and meaning to employee recognition will have a long lasting effect on their loyalty, productivity, and happiness. 
For more information on how to recognize your employees check out this article from Forbes.