GiftCard Partners Blog

As the summer months approach, many employees seek flexibility and perks that align with the season. Companies can capitalize on this opportunity to boost morale, productivity, and loyalty by offering targeted benefits. Here are some key insights and recent statistics on what employees value during the summer and how to implement effective reward strategies.

Open and honest communication in the workplace is essential for building trust, increasing productivity, and improving employee morale. When employees feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and concerns, companies can address issues proactively and foster a culture of transparency. According to a 2023 study by McKinsey, companies with strong communication strategies are 3.5 times more likely to outperform their competitors.

In today's competitive business landscape, employee recognition and rewards programs play a pivotal role in fostering a positive work environment and driving employee engagement. However, despite the prevalence of these programs, many employees remain unaware of their existence, leading to a significant gap between perception and execution.

Using carrot rewards, which reward employees for desired behavior, have been proven effective in rewarding employees in a number of ways. Carrots can be used in health and wellness programs to reward employees for reaching goals, they can be used as spot rewards, to reward employees on the spot for desired behavior, but carrots are most traditionally used as milestone rewards. Rewarding employees for long-term commitment to their organization goes a long way. Whether it is a gift card on their one year anniversary, extra vacation time after 5 years, or a watch after 10 years, recognizing employees efforts, commitment and sacrifice over time is crucial. It both recognizes the employee's contribution, and shows the employee that their organization will continue to support and recognize them. When employees feel noticed and supported their productivity goes up, their commitment extends, and they become more content in their jobs and their workplace. Dangling carrots may help boost retention rates and keep employees content for longer.
For more information on using carrot rewards to improve employee retention check out this article from Daily News and Analysis.

There are 4 major criteria on which employee rewards should be evaluated. Addressing compensation, benefits, recognition and appreciation through employee rewards will help address a diverse range of HR topics. Using employee rewards to address these areas will help cut down on HR issues and keep employee productivity up. The investment in the rewards program will save your organization in the long term and help support strategic organizational goals. A comprehensive reward program should recognize both employee activity performance, and specific behaviors. Activity performance is goal oriented. Once an employee reaches a performance goal, they should receive some type of reward from the company, whether it is a gift card to their favorite restaurant, or an extra afternoon off. Behavior-based rewards are slightly more difficult to execute. When an employee exhibits a certain type of behavior desired by the organization, they should also be rewarded. This can often take the form of a "spot reward." These are smaller rewards given on the spot of desired behavior. This could be a small denomination gift card given to employees whenever appropriate.  Rewards should be given for both types of behavior, in all four categories to maintain consistency and a culture of appreciate within the organization. This will improve retention rates, productivity, and morale.  
For more information on creating a strategic rewards system visit this Entrepreneur.com article.