GiftCard Partners Blog

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.

An increasing number of mid-sized companies continue to adopt health and wellness programs to help manage health care costs, and promote wellness within their workplace. According to a new study out by the ADP Research Institute and The Vitality Group, companies who use Health and Wellness programs save almost six dollars for every one dollar invested in the program. These savings are attributed to improvement in employee health leading to a 27% reduction in employee sick leave, a 26% reduction in health costs and a 32% decrease in workers' compensation and disability claims. These numbers are staggering; with a 168% increase in health care premiums between 1999 and 2011 almost all midsize companies are citing control of health care costs as an organizational priority. Health and wellness programs don’t just stop at controlling costs, but also give employers the chance to boost employee morale, and create camaraderie among colleagues. Health and wellness programs are often goal based, whether that goal is reaching a certain weight, achieving a certain blood pressure, or raising fitness levels to reduce the risk of costly conditions such as diabetes. When colleagues support each other and empower each other to reach goals,professional relationships grow and professional peers begin to work better together. Providing small rewards as "carrots" in a health and wellness program is effective in motivating employees as well. When an employer provides small incentives such as gift cards to retailers such as 
GNC or 
CVS/Pharmacy to help employees along their journey to a healthier lifestyle, employees feel supported and empowered. This type of empowerment can leave lasting effects on an employee’s motivation in their work and in their loyalty to the organization that invested in their personal future. Health and Wellness programs do help control costs, but they also help to motivate employees and maintain employee loyalty.

As the holiday season approaches it is important to show appreciation for your employees, and ensure that end of year gifts that go beyond the standard holiday bonuses provide meaning and extra gratitude for employees. Here are 3 quick quick tips to make sure your employee gifts prove meaningful this year and motivate your employees:

We have all seen fuel rewards programs, where businesses reward customers by awarding points for dollars spent at the store. These programs continue to grow with national gas prices, and can be an effective way to drive loyalty, and gift card sales. Offering flexible items such as gift cards, that consumers can then repurpose as gifts holds a huge value for consumers. Their gift dollars go twice as far, since they are earning gas rewards, a huge and necessary expense for most Americans. The value of repurposing every dollar for twice the impact will keep consumers coming back to both the gas retailer and grocer consistently as long as they can continue to gain rewards.

Holiday marketing season is in full swing! Consumers are planning their holiday shopping, if they have not started already, and retailers are planning their big holiday marketing and promotional push. If you are looking for some innovative ways to stretch the last piece of your 2012 budget check out these 5 ways to execute a holiday marketing campaign with a limited budget.