GiftCard Partners Blog

Chicken or Steak; Obama or Romney; Comedy or Drama; Yankees or Red Sox; Gift Cards or Cash? We may not have all the answers, but according to Incentive’s “2012 Gift Card IQ” survey, gift cards trumps cash.

The use of gift cards in the incentive industry grew from 27.8 percent last year to 36.7 percent in 2012. Not only are companies using gift cards as a way to recognize or reward employees during the holiday season but the survey shows that they are increasing the frequency of which they use gift cards throughout the year and the amount spent on them. The survey seems to be holding steady states Incentive Magazines Leo Jackson, “…the best word to describe the results of Incentive’s “2012 Gift Card IQ” survey, compared to the 2011 version, is stability. By and large, this year’s results were within a couple percentage points of last year’s in virtually every category.”

It looks like gift cards are on the rise while cash rewards could become a thing of the past. Some interesting findings from the survey include:

The use of incentives, such as gift cards and small bonuses, are becoming increasingly popular among employers to incentivize employees to participate in health and wellness programs. The HR Consultancy's 2012 Health Care Survey of nearly 2,000 U.S. employers, representing over 20 million U.S. employees and their dependents, provides insight on how employers are using incentives to promote healthy behavior in their workplaces. Healthier employees lead to happier employees who are more productive and dedicated to their organization. Healthy employees also lower the cost of insurance for employers, making the ROI for health and wellness incentives apparent. Here are some of the insights the new HR Consultancy revealed: •58% offered some form of incentive for completing lifestyle modification programs, such as quitting smoking or losing weight. • About a quarter offer incentives for progress or attainment made toward meeting acceptable ranges for biometric measures such as blood pressure, body mass index, blood sugar and cholesterol. • More than 80% of employers provide an incentive to complete a health questionnaire, yet less than 10% provide an incentive to address the results of the questionnaire. • More than 60% of employers provide an incentive to complete biometric screening, but less than 10% provide an incentive to take any action.  
For more information on health and wellness incentives check out this article in Home Channel News.

The UK Gift Card & Voucher Association recently announced that the sales of vouchers and gift cards increased by 9% last quarter (Q2-12), while the gift card/voucher industry as a whole has grown 5%.
GiftCard Partners believes so deeply in the corporate use of gift cards as employee incentives, like health  and wellness program incentives and sales incentives, employee rewards, and customer loyalty tools, that a growing percentage of our staff is focused on selling gift cards in bulk to the corporate channel. GiftCard Partners recently launched
maxchoice international vouchers, which offer great options to reward employees with vouchers that are redeemable at more than 1,000 top retailers throughout Europe and leisure and service providers throughout Europe, Asia and Australia. maxchoice brings you options that allow your corporate incentive program the flexibility of choice:

The infographic below covers the importance of keeping employees happy and engaged. It certainly pays off for your organization. Happy, engaged employees boost productivity, revenue, and retention rates. Implementing employee engagement and reward programs are a great way to keep your workforce happy. Whether it is a health and wellness program rewarding employees for leading a healthy lifestyle, a spot rewards program providing small rewards such as gift cards to employees for a job well done, or putting in extra hours on a big team project. Any way you choose to reward and engage your employees will lead to a happy workplace, which leads to a measurable ROI for your organization.

Employees who feel engaged and appreciated at work are proven to be more productive, more satisfied in their jobs, and tend to stay in their positions longer. So creating a culture of engagement is key to maintaining your organizations greatest competitive edge: your people. Here are 3 quick rules to creating a culture of engagement in your organization.
The Rule of Common Purpose: Iterating and reiterating company goals and beliefs is key to fostering a common purpose among employees. If everyone feels the sense of common purpose, camaraderie and teamwork will grow. Employees will be motivated to work together to reach the common goals of the organization.
The Rule of Selective Membership: Create an atmosphere where membership is a privilege. Unique environments and ensuring employees feel supported and appreciated by the organization will help to attract top talent and retain it for longer stretches. Providing unique perks such as extra time off or gift cards for a job well done, or in-office perks such as free food, or a lounge space can also help attract and retain top employees. Creating an exclusive environment where employees feel "special" as a part of it can promote engagement.
The Rule of Omission: Since people always remember what you don't do, rather than what you do do, make sure that if you want to engage employees and show your appreciation for them, don't deceive or exploit them in any situation. Creating internal practices that would hold up in an external business context will motivate employees to perpetuate that upstanding way of doing business. What core beliefs does your organization promote?
For more information on how to foster an environment of engagement check out this article from Fast Company.