More Good Deeds with Gift Cards
At this time of the year, we can’t get enough news around good deeds, especially when it involves something close to our hearts – our military servicemen. Credit Unions are typically buying gift cards in bulk as incentives to new customer incentives, but this year the Service Credit Union of Portsmouth, New Hampshire is giving for another reason. The Credit Union’s President/CEO Gordon Simmons has awarded 70 gift cards totaling $3,500 to Colonel Paul "Hutch" Hutchinson, commander
Are Year-End Rewards Coming Back?
As the economy starts to recover and 2011 comes to a close, more employers are bringing back the year-end reward. This often comes in the form of a bonus or a small gift. These types of rewards had tapered off during the recent recession, but are now coming back to the workplace. According to a new Careerbuilder.com survey, 40% more employers are planning to give bonuses this year, which is a 7% increase from 2010. What is almost more compelling is that 73% of that group is giving the same amount of year-end reward as last year, with 14% of employers giving an increased reward from 2010. This survey and similar research have proven that simple rewards are appreciated and motivating to employees. 81% of employees think that rewards are a nice thing to do for employees but should not be expected, so giving small simple rewards such as small bonuses, or a small denomination gift card, will still provide the motivation and desired outcome employers are looking for. So, as 2011 winds down, make your employees a priority in planning for 2012 and let them know how much they matter to your company.
To learn more about the comeback of year-end rewards check out the ThomasNet News article.
Corporate Health & Wellness Watch
Perhaps you have heard about the benefits and healthcare insurance savings for companies participating in health and wellness programs. And, perhaps you understand the benefits of incentives (like gift cards) for desired healthful behavior in order to keep company premiums in check. However, if you are not up to date on the above realities; you may not be in line to include health insurance penalties for those participating in UNhealthy behaviors. What is the next trend for corporate health and wellness programs? It could be falling in the employer's court and cost the employee more out-of-pocket.
Gift Card Marketing as an Advertising Strategy
Retailers' preparation for the holiday shopping season is now in full swing, and as retailers look for last minute ways to boost their year end revenue; gift marketing becomes a very effective option. Gift marketing uses gift cards as a device for loyalty and rewards. Giving bonus gift cards to shoppers for spending a certain amount turns a gift card from a one-transaction device into a revenue boosting loyalty device that keeps shoppers coming back. It shows appreciation and gives the essential value-added incentive that shoppers look for as they shell out their holiday gift spending.
What do Twitter, LinkedIn and Employee Recognition have in Common?
Timeliness!
Incentive Magazine recently published an article called
“Forget Employee of the Month and Focus on Employee of the Moment”, where they discussed the rise of importance of immediate rewards for brilliant performance. In the past year, our connected sociability brought a 250% increase in tweets per day, 100% growth of LinkedIn users, and Facebook’s increases logins to 250 million each day, indicating a rapidly growing culture of immediacy. How does this effect HR professionals? Razor Suleman’s Incentive article announces that it’s time to institute an “Employee of the Moment” strategy by launching a social networking campaign to:
