An Industry First: Purchasing Facebook Ads with Rewards Points

Tweet

I ran across an article on Colloquy's website the other day that immediately captured my attention. It announced that American Express Cardmembers were now able to purchase Facebook Ads with Membership Rewards points. This is an industry first. Never before has a program allowed rewards points to be used for advertising purposes.

An excellent idea for small business owners, the new partnership allows Cardmembers to pay for Facebook Ads with Membership Rewards points in an effort to build their business through the rapidly growing area of social advertising.

"The Membership Rewards program is a unique and core asset for American Express that is becoming even more relevant for our Cardmembers in the social media space," says Ed Gilligan, Vice Chairman at American Express.

This is a perfect example of how incentives have expanded in recent years. Whether you're vying for employee or customer loyalty, the message is the same: Those with an influence on your business are motivated through incentives and rewards.

Here at Hinda, we've seen the ways in which incentives have grown and improved over the years. Digital awards are rising, as well as experimental rewards. What are some other innovative ways you can use rewards points? Leave a comment and let us know.

Merch Monday: Must-Haves While Traveling

Tweet

With security constraints, packing can become a logisitical nightmare. And, with so many gadgets on the market, it's tough to decide what to leave behind and what you can't leave without. In order to fit all of our must-have within the confines of our suitcase, we must pick and choose the items most important to us. Luckily, Inc. Magazine recently published an article online revealing what Inc. readers can't live without during business travel. Here is a sampling of their list.

Apple® iPad®

The iPad® is even more amazing now, with two cameras for FaceTime® and HD video recording, a dual-core A5 chip and 10-hour battery life, all in a thinner, lighter design.

Apple® MacBook®

The notebook of choice for millions of users, the MacBook features a 13.3" glossy widescreen display, a 10-hour battery life, a glass multi-touch trackpad and a built-in webcam. It sports a 250GB hard disk drive and a 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor.

 
Digital Camera

To ensure you never miss a moment, pack your digital camera along. Try the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS8, a versatile camera with a 24mm ultra-wide angle and powerful 16x optical zoom. It features Intelligent Resolution Technology, which adds delicate detail that exceeds even optical image quality in both photo and move recording.

Neck Support Travel Pillow

By cushioning and supporting the neck and head, a travel pillow relaxes you and puts you at ease. Try the Ortho+Therapy™ Memory Foam Neck Pillow.


What are some items that you can't live without while traveling? Leave a comment. Maybe we'll use your suggestions in a future Merch Monday post!

Employee Spotlight: Kevin Joyce

Tweet

Personable. Dedicated. Passionate.

As the HR Administrator and an Administrative Assistant, Kevin Joyce has been able to learn many different functions of the business and contribute his skills to multiple departments at Hinda. Responsible for almost all of the HR functions at Hinda, he handles payroll, benefits and the 401(k) administration. Additionally, he is also the Administrative Assistant to our Vice President of Sales and our Chief Financial Officer.

Joyce joined Hinda as an Administrative Assistant immediately after graduating college from Eastern Illinois University in 2006. During college, he worked seasonally as a Cash Room Assistant, as well as a Merchandising Assistant at Coca-Cola.

Shortly after starting at Hinda, he began working under the HR Manager as an HR Assistant. In August 2008, he took over HR in its entirety. Now, as he approaches five years of service, he says he appreciates the people and interactions the most.

"I love being able to build relationships here," says Joyce. "I like the family atmosphere that we have here at Hinda. It's a great feeling to be able to know everyone in the organization."

Outside of work, you can find him playing baseball, golfing or cheering on his beloved Chicago White Sox.

This has been part of our Employee Spotlight series, which aims to put a face to our business. We hope to give you a glimpse of our operations as you learn more about our employees.

Gamification: Turning Work Into Play

Tweet

Gamification in the workplace is still in the early adoption phase, but we've talked about it before on our blog. As gamificiation in the consumer field is taking off, more people are talking about how it can be incorporated in the workplace.

According to research, only 10% of employees report an understanding of their company's mission statement. Couple that with the increase in the amount of time and money people spend playing online games, and one can begin to question whether or not leaders can apply gaming techniques in the workplace to create more engaged employees.

This chart, which was created by Socialcast and featured on their blog, tries to compare the relationship between disengaged employees and the increase of online games. With the explosive success of the billion dollar online gaming industry, it's no wonder why employers would be interested in incorporating gaming techniques at work.

One particular takeaway from this chart is the comparison and similarities between the gaming world and the job world. From aiming to higher levels to receiving rewards, the two have similar underlying mechanics.

Do you think gamification in the workplace is a feasible idea? In what ways do you think employers could utilize it? Or, as Socialcast put it, is there something to be learned from this phenomenon that leaders can apply to their organizations to create more engaged employees? Sound off in the comments section. We'd love to hear your opinions.

Merch Monday: Convenient & Compact

Tweet

Big and bulky is out. Consumers now seek devices and products that allow them to simplify and de-clutter their lives. Laptops are slimmer, cell phones are sleeker and space-saving designs are popular. Here are a few new convenient and compact products that are sure to simplify your life and save you some space.

It’s no longer considered cool to hoist a large, bulky boombox over one shoulder and strut down the street. These days it’s all about sleek and small audio devices. With the introduction of digital music, MP3 players and iPods® are a must-have for any music aficionado. Protect your iPod and take your music on-the-go with the i.Sound Audio Vault. It delivers crisp, clear sound from two built-in speaker drivers and bass boost. The high-impact carrying case protects your iPod from damage, while the battery-powered operation allows for easy portability.

The Photo Cube from VuPoint Solutions allows you to print photos directly from your iPhone®, iPod touch®, iPad® or Android™ phones – without the use of a computer. While charging your device, it prints 4” x 6” borderless photos with 300 dpi image resolution. Weighing three pounds and operating on an AC adapter, it’s perfect for travel and quickly printing quality photos at home.

What are some other new convenient and compact products that you're aware of?

Merch Monday: Grill with Emeril™

Tweet

Perfect your grilling passion with an Emeril™ grill. Renowned for his culinary abilities, enthusiastic personality and worldly successes, Emeril has become a household name. His charcoal and gas grills have raised the bar on backyard barbeques.

The Emeril Outdoor Charcoal Grill features a spacious 424-square-inch cooking area, giving it the flexibility and space to serve everything together hot off the grill. Made of heavy-gauge steel with a porcelain-coated firebox and high-temperature coated paint, this grill is built to last. It’s also easy to use thanks to the high-quality thermometer and hinged lid.

Far from any ordinary gas grill, the Emeril Outdoor Gas Grill delivers more power with four burners, each reaching a searing 48,000 BTUs. The porcelain coating conducts heat better and resists staining. With 589 square inches of cooking space, you can grill your meats and vegetables together. The seven stainless flavor-generator plates capture drippings, creating a pure smoky flavor

Why Millennials & Baby Boomers Differ in Recognition & Rewards

Tweet

We've discussed how Millennials will change the recognition scene, now let's take a look at why.

According to research from Inspiring Talent, a global survey of employee attitudes based on responses from more than 4,000 employees in 14 countries, Millennial workers are much less likely than Baby Boomers to believe that working harder and taking more responsibility will get them recognized and rewarded by an organization. Human Resource Executive Online recently posted an article online that nicely highlighted the findings of this research.

The research found that 38% of older workers (ages 56 to 60) believe they will be recognized and rewarded if they work harder or take extra responsibility. Only 19% of Millennial workers (ages 18 to 25) feel the same way.

This statisitic alone shows us there is a huge generational gap in the mindset of today's workforce when it comes to recognition and rewards. Realizing this is the first step toward effective incentive programs in the workforce. The research shows that Millenials believe they will be rewarded for results, not for how much time they spent on a task or what they did to produce those results.

Steve Langerud, a workplace consultant and director of professional oppotunities at DePauw University states that Millennials are motivated by the process of work, more than just completing the assignment.

Baby Boomers tend to have loyalty to a particular company or organization and feel as though their employers should reciprocate their loyalty by rewarding their achievements and providing job stability. Millennials expect more immediate rewards and are more inclined to move when they don't get what they want.

To accomodate the generation gap, employers should be flexible when creating their recognition programs and realize that one-size-fits-all will not be as effective as a tailored approach.

What do you think? Can you spot the differences between Millennials and Baby Boomers in your workplace? Do you agree with these findings?