GiftCard Partners Blog

2012 is coming to a close and as you prepare for 2013, it’s important to ensure that your Employee Recognition Program is up for the challenge that the new year is sure to bring. Incentive Magazine’s, Roy Saunderson, explains, ‘Vendors and practitioners must now learn to reinvent themselves and the way recognition will look and is managed in order to lead out into the future.” It’s time to get excited about a brand new year and keep in mind some helpful insights that will start you out of the gate running:
Mobile devices take a more prominent role in recognition. The use of recognition apps on cell phones and tablets brings acknowledging greatness in the workplace to the tips of your fingers: can you say convenient?
Give the rewards they want.
Take an interest in the types of rewards that your employees will use and more importantly appreciate. Gift cards to
The Children’s Place for young mothers or cards to
AutoZone for the car fanatics in the office are the perfect way to show you are thinking about what an employee really wants.
Show them the results. Technology makes it easy to track your employees achievements and recognize both individuals and teams that have advanced towards their goals and the goals of the organization.
Check out more insightful trends from this article in Entrepreneur’s, “Top 10 Trends for Employee Recognition in 2013.”

The infographic shows a lot about employee expectations when it comes to holiday gifts. For those employers who are doing some last minute planning for employee holiday gifts this year, keep in mind that prepaid cards and gift cards are thepreferred gift. These gifts are easy for employers to purchase, and give flexibility to cater to different audiences. Giving prepaid cards or gift cards allows employers the opportunity to either tailored gifts to certain employees, by giving an 
AutoZone gift card to the car enthusiast, or a 
Boston Market gift card to an employee with a large family. These types of flexible  gifts can also be offered to employees with the opportunity to select the brand of their choosing for their end of year gift. Giving end of year gifts are not expected from the majority of employees, and so by giving even small denomination gift cards this holiday season, employees will view the gesture as a thoughtful way for employers to show extra appreciation at this hectic time of year.

It may sound like an obvious thing to say…”that management needs to be committed to their safety program for it to work”. But, all too often safety programs feel like a pretense to employees and this sets the stage for safety behavior. Real world experiences with safety programs and safety incentives tell us that this is happening all the time. The act of selecting which incentives and rewards will be offered sets the tone for your program. Will you expect employees to feel rewarded for fewer accident reports with a “super-star” coffee mug, or other trinkets? Cash is appreciated and remembered, but you won’t receive discount on cash rewards. Gift Cards are the perfect incentive for safety and corporate rewards and business incentive programs, as discounts are achieved for volume orders. Companies like
GiftCard Partners offer only volume orders and discounts on top gift card brands like
Speedway (Gasoline),
The Cheesecake Factory,
Boston Market,
AutoZone and
many more.  

60% of family caregivers in America are employed. 66% of those employed caregivers have to make some adjustments to their work-life to take care of their family obligations. 20% of those caregivers need to take a leave of absence to balance their responsibilities.

Employers and managers must be mindful of leading their employees by managing emotions. If employees' emotions are positive in the workplace, employees will be more productive in their positions. Using emotional intelligence when planning leadership and recognition strategies is crucial to maximizing productivity in your organization. Here are 5 tips to lead with emotional intelligence.