GiftCard Partners Blog

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.

The topic of selling sales incentives made the list in the Incentive Research Federation’s (IRF) newest report,
2014 Trends in Engagement, Incentives, and Recognition. The report shined light on the fact that although sales goals came up short last year, many of those companies are still raising quotas for 2014, leaving many executives searching for answers on how their sales teams will make those numbers. One trend that came out of the study was focused on the incentives being used to motivate sales teams. The report stated,

Engaged employees become brand advocates and evangelize your organization. Engaged employees do better work to serve your customers and ensure your team and organization hit revenue targets. Here are three ways to boost your employee engagement:

We found some scary stats from the Harvard Business Review about employee engagement, and how much is lacking from today's workplace. Here are just 3 quick facts from a recent Bain & Company and Netsurvey study.