Our December Monthly Rewards Recap is now available: Take a look back at top redeemers from 2016, see the biggest movers during the holiday season, and get a sneak peek at some new products recently added to our awards collection.
HR and management professionals just getting into the incentives and rewards game may not have had the formal training to prepare them to implement and execute these programs successfully. That’s why we’re thrilled to have been a sponsor of the new e-book just released, "The Art and Science of Engaging Rewards," which gives professionals a roadmap for creating their own programs in their organizations.
Hurricane Sandy, the superstorm that pummeled the Northeast late last October, left an incredible wake of destruction in its path. From massive power outages to fires to flattened buildings, Sandy showed no mercy – but she did create a perfect opportunity for local safety and recovery professionals and emergency response teams to shine.
Incentive Magazine covers this topic in its January/February 2013 issue. “A Safe Recovery” by Andrea Doyle talks about how safety incentives played an important role in East Coast efforts to rebuild after Sandy. Hinda relationship manager Linda Wodele offered some insight on the importance of safety incentives, both with regard to Sandy and in other facets.
“The most successful safety incentive programs have successful safety habits at their core,” she says. “People are creatures of habit and fall back on what they know. If their habits are strong, they will hold up in a crisis situation such as Hurricane Sandy and the groundwork for working safely will be in place.
“We have seen an uptick of at least 15 to 20 percent in safety incentives in the last year,” she continues. “[Hinda’s] safety solutions take a behavioral approach to remind people to do the right thing on a daily basis.”
Reinforcing behavior is a great way to spread a culture of safety and instill safe habits within employees’ daily lives. An effective method for reinforcing behavior is with spot recognition – one example of which is Hinda’s “Scratch and Win” cards, which are pre-loaded with points that can be redeemed for merchandise.
“These types of awards are particularly popular as they encourage companies to take a preventative, day-to-day approach to safety,” Wodele says.
Michael Kelleher, Director of Sales and Operations for Kelleher Enterprises (Ann Arbor, MI), and a partner of Hinda, agrees and confirms the importance of having a culture of safety in place.
“The firms that have successful safety programs in place will be at an advantage because their employees will have safety protocol engrained in their daily work,” he says. “Safety incentive programs can effectively complement the training and communication programs that firms use to influence the behaviors of their employees while on the job.”
What does your company do to ensure a culture of safety among its employees? Does your company recognize its employees for following a high standard of safety protocol? Talk to Hinda if you’d like to learn more about how we can help establish a safety incentives program at your company, and read more about this topic here.
The Incentive Research Foundation (IRF) recently released a new white paper titled “2012 Trends in Rewards & Recognition,” which highlights 12 key areas of focus in the incentives marketing arena for this year and what changes we as an industry can expect. The folks at IRF make several great points with regard to noncash incentives that we’d like to summarize here on Hinda Blog, and feel free to peruse the research for more information.
The report opens by explaining that change is in the air, and companies are starting to re-evaluate how they do business and utilize their human capital. “Fast HR” is a movement that the IRF points to that “encourages throwing out standard tools in favor of more expeditious methods to direct, focus, and energize employees.” The report goes on to add that non-cash is aligned with the Fast HR model and is becoming increasingly attractive to the C-suite, which it views as being one of the biggest trends to watch this year.
“Today,” reports the IRF, “a new wave of respected thought leaders that include McKinsey, Harvard Business Review, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Aberdeen acknowledge the effectiveness and/or strategic business value of noncash components.” In one example, the IRF points Aberdeen’s annual “Sales Performance Management Study,” in which it was uncovered that 21 percent of best in class companies – those that out-performed rivals across all major financial categories – utilized reward and recognition programs, while only 10 percent of non-best in class did.
Studies conducted by the other thought leaders named in IRF’s report realized similar outcomes. Noncash is on the rise, though it doesn’t come without its share of challenges, specifically that “noncash programs must complement other strategies and initiatives, the nomination/winning process must be clear and the evaluation/selection processes must be transparent” in order for noncash recognition to be effective, according to IRF’s research.
Incorporating another hot trend but staying within the realm of noncash, IRF explains that wellness programs are high on the list, and goes on to say that, if your company does not utilize a reward and recognition program currently, wellness is a great place to start. In 2009, the US spent about 17 percent of its GDP on healthcare, and yet America as a whole is not a healthy country, according to World Health Organization statistics.
Wellness programs can and should be worked into an organization’s current incentives bundle, according to the IRF. “Noncash incentive additions to wellness programs have been shown (Johnson & Johnson, for example) to increase voluntary participation by up to 90 [percent], a finding from ‘Big Fat Truth about Use of Incentives for Wellness Programs,’ published by the Incentive Federation.” Not only does this make for healthier people overall, but as we all know, fewer sick days makes for more productivity and lower health insurance premiums for companies – a winning situation all-around.
One final trend of note with regard to noncash – or any type of incentive, really – is retention and culture, which acknowledges, among other things, that “a lack of consistent recognition has impacted the ‘cooperative’ nature of some work environments,” according to the IRF report. “Recent research… show[s] that employees at ‘rewarder organizations’ generate ideas 250 [percent] more frequently than employees of organizations that are not rewarders.”
Whether your company has a stellar rewards and recognition program in place, a less-than-stellar one or none at all, the IRF has provided plenty for you and your employees to consider as we move along in 2012. Again, check out the full report and feel free to let us know your thoughts in the “Comments” section below.
We recently simplified and enhanced our award offer and are proud to introduce infinitE℠ powered by innergE® as one of the industry’s largest and most current award assortments. infinitE℠ (pronounced “infinity”) features millions of digital rewards and thousands of brand-name merchandise options. Going forward, the assortment will continue to expand and include the most popular and in-demand awards.
Our current online incentive system, innergE®, is designed to manage reward and recognition programs. As part of the launch of infinitE℠, innergE® has been updated with an enhanced user interface that features improved navigation and functionality. System upgrades also include expanded photos and details on award options. Functionality is available to allow for “on the spot” or discretionary point awards, as well as an on-line nomination system.
Our digital awards offering, Digital Awards HQ, is supported by Point Click Group. The newly launched digital awards store features millions of songs, music videos, movies, e-books and ringtones. Future offerings will include TV shows, apps and games. Having such a wide variety of digital award choices available from a single site is unique and a great enhancement, especially for programs where award values are smaller.
We introduced infinitE℠ at the Motivation Show last week in Chicago and received a positive response. If you're interested in a demo or would like more information, please contact Bill Termini, Vice President of Sales at btermini@hinda.com or 773-890-5900 x3383.
As consumers, we're well aware of the massive eruption of daily deal sites on the Internet. Companies like Groupon, Living Social and Scoutmob offer discounts on everything from food, merchandise, services and activities. Now, daily deal sites are emerging that cater to a new crowd. Instead of offering deals to consumers, these new sites search for deals that cater to business markets.
Market Share was recently featured in a Fast Company article. As a new type of daily deal site, they offer things like team-building activities, flower delivery and even in-office massages. While it's only available in New York right now, they have plans to open in more cities by the end of the year.
This new type of spontaneous reward offering allows employers a convenient, hassle-free way to reward, engage and motivate employees. Without having to research, employers are able to purchase great experiences, products and merchandise for their employees.
While these type of rewards shouldn't replace an incentive program, they can be beneficial as a spontaneous addition. What do you all think? Are they a good idea? Will they rise in popularity?
Yes, there are several benefits to an employee incentive program. Incentives are in place to reward, recognize and motivate employees. And, they do a good job at all three.
It's been a tough couple of years and it's no secret that several employees are feeling burnt out, stressed, under appreciated and strapped for cash. There appears to be light at the end of the tunnel and the economy is slowly coming back to life. But, what happens when we've fully recovered from the events of the past few years?
With high competition for skilled and talented employees, rewarding your employees is essential and makes business sense. Employee incentive programs are crucial to a business’ success and they enable better relationships between employees and managers.
Don’t lose your employees to competitors. Invest in them today through incentive programs and reap the benefits of those investments for years to come. What benefits, you ask? Here are a few.
Can you think of any others? Leave a comment and let us know.
