GiftCard Partners Blog

86% of businesses use employee recognition programs. Rewards and incentives can spur sales, improve retention and employee loyalty, and raise productivity. The Incentive Research Foun­­dation (IRF) reports that incentives can attract and retain good employees, boost team performance by as much as 44% and increase individual productivity by an average of 22%.The right kind of recognition program can provide staggering benefits to an organization. In a recent WorldatWork survey 90% 0f businesses indicated that rewards and incentives improved length of service, 79% of respondents indicated rewards incented employees towards "above and beyond" performance, and 43% of respondents indicated that incentives led to peer to peer recognition. This kind of data reveals that creating programs for employee rewards, recognition and incentives is a small investment that reaps significant returns. Not only keeping employees happy, but creating a work environment where the employee appreciates the company can lead to longer and more prosperous employee employer relationships. Ensuring that these rewards are properly and often communicated from the employer to the employee using different modes of communication such as a company intranet, email, bulletin boards, and the like help to remind employees constantly of the appreciation of the company for their hard work and dedication. Measuring success and gauging satisfaction of recognition and rewards programs is another important way to ensure that as an employer you keep your employees engaged in these programs is important. Rewards do not have to be big, rewards can range from small spot rewards such as a gift card, and can extend all the way to more valuable incentives like a trip or extra time off.
For more tips on engaging employees in rewards programs that drive performance check out this Business Management Daily article.

Health care premiums are increasing at an unprecedented rate, said to reach around $10,000 per employee in 2012. As a result employers are looking to cut health care costs whenever possible. Here are 5 ways employers may need to cut health care costs this year.

Social health games have proven to be effective in the fight against obesity. Whether it is a friendly race, a push-up competition at the gym, or use of a health tracking application. These applications often provide rewards such as gift cards, and health tips to further the participants effort to live a healthy lifestyle. These games do not only provide a social component, which motivates individuals to continue with their healthy companions, but provides an easy opportunity to reward desired behavior. These games and mobile apps could be a great way for employers to engage their employees in a health and wellness program without having to invest the money to create the program. Encouraging a particular social health app or a particular regiment would bring employees camaraderie and shared motivation to work towards rewards, and a healthy lifestyle. These social health games could essentially act as a ready-made health and wellness program for your employees. The only cost that the company would incur would be small rewards such as gift cards to help maintain engagement in the program and promote ongoing healthy living. How does your company use social games to motivate employees to be healthy?
For more information on specific social health games and platforms check out this U.S. News and World Report article.

An effective safety rewards program can reduce injury and illness in an organization by 20-40%. Here are 6 ways to improve your safety reward program to ensure employees are being honest and using the safety reward program properly.

For small businesses, using efficient, low-cost marketing is essential to growing a brand and growing the business. Social media is a great way for small businesses to spread their brand. According to a recent survey, 81% of small businesses use social media in their marketing plan, and that number is constantly growing. Giving gift cards through social media outlets is a great way to handle customer service inquiries that are brought through social media. Gift cards are also a great way to reward and recognize loyal customers publicly. Social media provides inexpensive, effective ways to grow business and small businesses are catching on quickly. How is your small business using social media?  
For more information on how your business can utilize social media check out the abc-13 article.