Gift Cards Preferred Gift for Incentive Programs

In 2017, research by InComm, the market leader in new payment technologies and solutions, found that consumers turn to gift cards for many life events not just the holidays

For years the award industry judiciously fought the onslaught of gift cards as a reward in incentive or recognition programs.  They asserted that because they are cash like, they are the same as cash and should not be used for awards for the same reasons you really shouldn’t use cash for awards.  The real reason for that debate was that the traditional incentive award companies had profits exceeding 80% on merchandise awards and 10% or less on gift cards. 

Gift cards succeeded because they have become a way of life in our culture.  They are particularly suited for safety awards in behavior based safety systems, where the lower denominations of $10 or $25 are easy to use to reinforce positive safety behaviors on an ongoing basis.  It’s what many award winners want because they can get the award they really want in the most cost effective way.

Now, according to the research we find that gift cards are being used for 82% of birthdays, 39% for graduations and 52% as a thank you. 

In these instances the 92% of the survey respondents gave two or more gift cards and 54% gave five or more.

In addition, 82% said they would appreciate receiving a gift card for those occasions as well.

Younger consumers are finding even more occasions in which to give a gift card.  Millennia respondents between 25 and 34 noted they often give cards for things such as new babies and new home ownership.

Gift cards are appropriate for any number of occasions, alleviating much of the stress that can come with shopping for “just the right gift.”  This versatility benefits both the giver and the recipient. 

For more information on AwardSafety products or services or other white papers please contact us at awardsafetyinfo@cox.net

Two Truths for Creating Most Effective Safety-Incentive Program

When your objective is to establish a safety culture that rewards active involvement by all employees in the effective execution of safety related practices, keep your safety awards simple.  Two truths about safety incentives will help you do just that.

A small, positive, immediate consequence has more impact on behavior than a large, future and uncertain one. By consistently and continuously reinforcing behavior change with small amounts of awards, you will change behavior

People do things for their own reasons and needs – not yours.  If you want to motivate change, then offer awards that appeal to those needs.  Within reason, let them have what they want, not what you think they want and not what you want them to have.

When you keep it simple you can achieve sustainable operational improvement in safety, environment, health and wellness and subsequently reduce costs.

Many companies are finding that gift card award systems are ideally suited to these small consistent types of awards because they are easy to administer, provide tremendous choice and are very cost effective. 

For more information on AwardSafety products or services or other white papers please contact us at awardsafetyinfo@cox.net

Why Gift Cards Make Terrific Safety Awards

The simple answer is that they are easy for you to use with very little administration, they are very cost effective, with almost all of your award budget getting into the hands of your employees, and they provide more choice than virtually any other type of award (except maybe cash.)  And with gift cards you get the family involved.

Almost any report you see on retail buying patterns show consumers continuing to purchase gift cards for their flexibility, while the business embrace them as a way to recognize their employees. 

According to a survey from Market Watch:

·       “Nearly 60 percent of consumers say gift cards are the #1 item they plan to give this year.

·       Consumers named gift cards as the most desired gift to receive this year (5 years in a row)

·       Consumers spend an average of 80-90% more than the face value of the gift cards

·       Over 50% of US employers use gift cards to recognize employee’s contributions

·       Use of gift cards as employee incentives is forecast to increase 23% by 2018

·       15% of U.S. corporations have annual gift card budgets of more than $100K”

Gift cards are the safety awards that your employees want.

For more information on AwardSafety products or services or other white papers please contact us at awardsafetyinfo@cox.net

Customizable Gift Cards for Safety Awards

Have you ever purchased a customizable computer?  You may have decided to simplify your decision making process by opting for a popular brand with all the features you thought you needed. But the decision making process did not stop there, as you now had to customize your model by choosing from different product attributes (processing speed, hard drive capacity, screen size, etc.)

There are more gift cards used as safety awards than any other type of award.  The more

you can customize the presentation of the gift cards to match your specific safety award system, the more effective it will be.  Most users of safety awards will source only one or a handful of gift cards to issue to employees for safe work performance.  But there are some award companies that provide hundreds of gift card options for your employees.  These gift card systems have a great deal of flexibility and will free up your time and be very cost effective. 

You can find these systems online with a simple search. We would encourage you to compare what you find with our system, found on the pages of this blog.  If you would like us to do a comparison for you at no cost, just send us the vendor and we’ll be happy to help.

For more information on AwardSafety products or services or other white papers please contact us at awardsafetyinfo@cox.net

Gift cards Are Not “Valued Safety Awards”

I recently saw a blog post that stated that cash as an award is quickly forgotten after it is received, probably so.  The post then went on to say that 40% of all gift cards received were not “cashed” within the first year, and were therefore like cash thus adding to the premise that they have no value to the recipient as well.

Frankly that is quite a stretch of deductive reasoning, and the facts are not quite right either.  First, the non redemption for all consumer gift cards has been pegged at 7% according to a study by Consumer Reports.  Second, it doesn’t necessarily follow that non redemption of total gift cards in the consumer market equates to the same non redemption when the card is used as an award. 

In our gift card award systems, the average non redemption rate is far below consumer national averages, and often less than 1%.  This is mainly due to the fact that in our systems, award winners get to choose the gift card they want from the most extensive list of popular retailers in the country.  When they choose the one the want, they use it.

One of the biggest problems we see clients make with gift cards is to buy the ones that they think people want, give them a very limited selection and not let them have the one that truly meets their lifestyle needs at the time. 

If you want your employee award programs to be successful, let your participants choose the card they want, not what you think they want. 

The fact remains that gift cards are the most asked for and most used award in the incentive industry.  They are perfect for continuously presenting small awards to your employees for improving safety behaviors. They are #1 because they provide the best possible choice at the least cost to you.

For more information on AwardSafety products or services or other white papers please contact us at awardsafetyinfo@cox.net.

How Effective Are Gift Cards as Safety Awards?

According to recent research on gift cards published by Incentive Magazine 97.6% of all incentive users reporting felt that gift cards were effective, very effective or extremely effective.  Actual research results were:

The diversity of today’s workforce demands something different from the same traditional merchandise and logo company items that were used in safety programs for years. 

Total Effectiveness of Gift Cards as Employee Safety Awards	% of Responses
Effective	17.6%
Very Effective	48.85%
Extremely Effective	31.2%

By any measure, gift cards are the most effective safety award for two simple reasons:  

1. They provide the greatest choice and value for the award winner
2. Unquestionably they give the client the most cost effective means to recognize performance  

For more information on AwardSafety products or services or other white papers please contact us at awardsafetyinfo@cox.net