The report, compiled independently by consultants at Ernst & Young, shows just how significant the corporate sector has become to the gift card and voucher industry, with sales of £2.18bn, compared to that of £2bn in consumer sales. Furthermore, vouchers purchased online by the corporate sector increased by a staggering 231% during 2011, which also reflects the popularity of multichannel purchasing.

Andrew Johnson, director-general of the UKGCVA, comments:

“Recent corporate sales figures of £2.18bn demonstrate a real boost to the gift card and voucher market. Consumer sales have always previously outshone business sales, so it is great to see that corporates are engaging with the industry and as a result, engaging with their employees in the use of gift cards and vouchers to ensure company motivation and satisfaction.”

Coverage from www.themarketingblog.co.uk. Read the full article here: http://www.themarketingblog.co.uk/2012/04/b2b-gift-card-and-voucher-sales-exceed-b2c-for-the-first-time/

When it comes to employee incentive schemes, I am often asked what type of prizes work best. Equally so, we receive regular requests that are almost as far out as some of the ideas I mentioned. There is a common belief that in order to make an incentive scheme as high impact as possible, there must be headline-grabbing prizes on offer.

The problem arises, however, when you examine the employee profile across a workforce and realise just how few people would actually relish the opportunity for some naked surfing, or even a day at a spa, should they meet their goals and qualify for a reward. Selecting prizes such as this may work against the objectives of an incentive scheme by alienating a majority of employees, causing more of a ‘naked wipeout’ than helping the organisation to ‘catch a wave’.

The power of choice

While it is important to get staff on board (and I don’t mean the surfboard) by making incentive schemes exciting and interesting, the key objective must be to provide suitable incentives for the target audience. For this you need to know your people and give them as wide a choice as possible.

At P&MM we find that there will always be room for a few slightly more extravagant rewards that can aid in marketing a scheme. We receive requests for prizes in this category such as all-expenses paid holidays or an evening at a Michelin-starred restaurant. The vast majority, however, are after the less exciting and more useful benefits such as money-off and special discounts for their grocery or high street shopping.

Traditionally this has meant offering a voucher solution that can encapsulate all different tastes and requirements of a workforce and allow the recipient to have choice and freedom regarding exactly how to spend their reward. This might be used towards everyday living purposes or spent on treats, both of which can have a substantial impact on peoples’ everyday lives.  From the employer’s perspective, vouchers are an economically viable route to maintaining motivation due to being simple to administer, meaning they provide an instant reward in varying denominations to suit any budget.  The more modern equivalent is to offer a prepaid card, such as the Spree Card, which can be loaded with funds and will facilitate reward-savings for the employee, while the employer benefits from easy administration and branding opportunities.

The Solution

So when deciding on which rewards will work best for your workforce, you must either match the reward to an individual perfectly or allow them to do it themselves.

You can create headline prizes to generate interest and to drive exciting, engaging communications but attempting to second-guess your workforce’s choice will run the risk of getting it wrong; and there’s no point offering haute cuisine to someone who is happier with sausage and mash!

Coverage from www.ingeniousbritain.biz. To view the full article click here http://www.ingeniousbritain.biz/2012/02/avoid-naked-wipeout-selecting-rewards/

The New Generation

Generation Y, the iPod generation, echo boomers – this new wave of employees is steadily filtering into the workplace and replacing the baby boomers. Generation Y are widely defined as being aged around 18-30 years old, having been born to baby boomers, and many are recent graduates and students.

This generation will soon be at the heart of a company and will lead it forward into the future. Therefore, to ensure a business’s future success it is essential to attract and retain this group now.

There are many defining characteristics which differentiate them from generation X. They are more likely to put their careers first and are consequently having babies and marrying later. They are the social media generation, who like to be connected at all times and socialising is a top priority – actual or virtual.

Instant reward

A hunger for instant gratification and immediate information mean this generation often resent waiting, something applicable to both their professional and personal life. The potential consequence and challenge of this is low retention rates.

It is often the case with Generation Y that they choose to find jobs on a short-term basis, are keen to remain aware of new opportunities to improve their skill set, and will happily change jobs to achieve this. Thirty seven per cent have taken jobs they are unhappy with according to ‘the GfK International Engagement Survey’, across 30,556 adults in 29 countries. Furthermore, only one out five of those surveyed in the under 30 category (20 per cent) felt highly engaged with their employer, compared to 31 per cent of respondents in their 60s.

High levels of disengagement coupled with increased stress levels, make it unsurprising that only 39 per cent are happy with their work-life balance, whilst a third reported that stress was impacting on their health.

Retention Rates

These factors combined mean that retention rates are likely to be lower in this generation and employers may need to work harder to keep them. They need to feel valued, appreciated and see scope for future progression.

When it comes to motivating, engaging and inspiring people, naturally it will be important to apply different techniques and approaches depending on various aspects, such as age, sex, geographic location, likes and interests.

Reward and recognition schemes should be tailored to include the needs of generation Y. But what is it that will have the desired effect in terms of motivating them, and how can employers strive to ensure they get it right?

Defining Generation Y

Generation Y have a strong need for feedback and respond well to this. They are keen to learn new skills; therefore an excellent way to engage them is with training and development opportunities. Furthermore, the inclusion of games and an entertaining approach can also prove beneficial in obtaining and maintaining their interest.

The implementation of an employee engagement programme targeted at younger employees should consider these points and offer opportunities to regularly feedback on any activities undertaken.

The digital generation is accustomed to being able to access information via social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter on an anytime, anywhere basis and they are keen to communicate what they themselves are doing via the internet. This need for constant digital communication (indeed affirmation) can prove very appealing, and therefore successful when incorporated within an employee engagement scheme for this age group.

Attainable aims

Attainable goal setting helps to measure and assess performance and will support faster progression. Generation Y typically responds well to deadlines and smaller, but more frequent objectives as this helps to maintain their attention. Delivering praise and recognition throughout is also important.

While ensuring that goals are realistic, tasks should be stimulating. Growing up in a technologically dominated world, surrounded by television, and the fast pace of film and video games means that generation Y may have easily waning concentration spans, hence they often flourish when handling several projects simultaneously. Slower projects which lack variety may not be enough to challenge them.

Individually tailored

Managers also require a deeper understanding of the whole individual, their targets, performance and interests. One for all incentive programmes will no longer be effective and instead will be replaced by flexible incentive programmes, or micro motivation.

As with any successful employee motivation scheme, no matter what the targeted audience age, the programme should always be at the front of mind for those involved. Keeping the initiative fresh and exciting can be achieved through the integration of physical props which are effective at capturing the younger generation’s attention as they incorporate a fun game playing element.

Another important consideration is powerful branding which should be communicated offline throughout the workplace, using things such as posters and tent cards etc. Utilising technology is also invaluable. A bespoke website displaying weekly and monthly leagues encourages and drives performance and engagement. Real time, instant information is key to provide instant results (and hopefully gratification), so updating this regularly with the latest news and winner details, pictures, printable leagues and team posters is ideal. A custom Facebook page (or specifically designed variation of it) will be an engagement asset.

Communication

Communication must be personal, rather than simply standard messages which may be identified and ignored. Communication must engage by demonstrating an understanding of the recipient’s performance and behaviour, so that the message is richer. Therefore, dynamic, personalised weekly emails / page updates are fundamental; providing motivational messages and advising them of their league position propels interest and boosts performance.

High impact prizes awarded frequently on a two or three monthly basis, complemented by offering a range of much smaller prizes on a weekly or monthly basis is an excellent way to maintain momentum. Prizes that truly cater for these employees’ tastes will have the best desired effect.

Ensuring that these employees can identify clearly what’s in it for them through the delivery of regular, attractive prizes will help the drive to fully engage employees. This in turn will prove fruitful from a commercial perspective since engaged employees will be efficient in their approach to work, have strong work ethics and want to remain employed within the business and see it succeed.

Coverage from www.ingeniousbritain.biz. To view the full article click here http://www.ingeniousbritain.biz/2012/02/motivate-social-media-generation/

Employers are challenged with ensuring that their employees are engaged and motivated in their role and, ultimately, strive for the company’s overall success.

Whilst the annual pay rise or bonus might not be feasible, this does not mean staff need to miss out. Businesses, including smaller sized employers, can reward their team with valuable discounts that make a genuine difference to everyday living.

Convenient and flexible benefits

Employee benefits offer opportunities to give staff rewards which do not cost a company large sums and are therefore ideal for smaller businesses.

Most discount schemes offer substantial saving opportunities for thoughtful shoppers, with the better programmes able to deliver annual savings of well over £1,000 to individual employees – the equivalent of a valuable pay rise.

Employee discount schemes can provide a vital ‘hook’ for businesses to deliver a positive message to their workforce, can help support employees’ personal finances and can help retain a feel-good factor in the organisation despite the difficult circumstances.

Voluntary benefits schemes

Voluntary benefits schemes deliver unlimited access to offers and discounts. Employees are able to make major savings without any need to change normal spending patterns.

Voluntary benefits discounts are flexible and can be obtained both nationally and locally, whilst online cashback discounts add convenience. In short, they offer thousands of ways to save money, benefits that help everyone.

However, it is not only the big savings that make a difference. For many people, the opportunity to save £40 or £50 could mean being able to afford a babysitter for an evening out, buying a ‘treat’ take-away or a special luxury. Just a small financial difference can make a huge emotional impact in times of austerity.

Discounts on treats and luxuries

Receiving discounts on treats and luxuries can improve the lives of many, help to reduce stress, and ultimately, increase employee productivity.

Do not underestimate the power of these schemes as a focal point for discussion at work and outside – employees love telling their friends and family about how they have saved money courtesy of their employer.

This is an excellent loyalty message which delivers above and beyond the obvious advantages through creating positive PR for the employer.

Communicating benefits

Ensuring staff are aware of the benefits available is essential towards a programme’s success. I recommend that businesses ensure their provider offers numerous tools to support the communication of a benefits package.

Regular communication is vital, and employers may also choose to plan meetings when feasible to discuss the options available and offer employees the chance to fact find.

Amongst the daily media updates of price hikes and high unemployment rates, employers should announce positive news about employee benefits. Through this a company’s valued workforce will remain engaged and inspired.

Four tips for making the most out of employee benefits:

Do something today

Any positive reminder you can give immediately to your employees about their discount scheme will get staff talking and in turn will drive up use of the scheme.

Spread positivity

Take time to scan the discounts in your scheme and choose offers that you think will hold particular appeal to your employees – highlight them across the company and staff will be tempted into action. Look out for local store promotions which can link up with the scheme discount to create an extra special deal – this year the high street is full of in-store promotions, so give your employees tips on how to double-up their discount and it will create a genuine buzz around your workplace.

Offer an incentive

Often employees welcome a discount opportunity, but just need a gentle nudge to take advantage. Try using a small incentive such as a prize draw or a mini quiz about the discount scheme – a handful of £20 voucher prizes will do the trick. If you ask your scheme provider, it is likely they will help you with a prize – they will be equally keen to drive up the usage of your scheme.

Search out your ‘super-users’

You will no doubt have employees in your company that regularly use the scheme and make terrific savings as a result. Any such real-life examples are a great message to circulate – somehow employees feel more inclined to use the scheme if they see that their colleague has made a great saving…after all, they don’t want to be the one that misses out on a good deal!

Coverage from www.ingeniousbritain.biz. To view the full article click here: http://www.ingeniousbritain.biz/2012/02/override-gloom-give-employees-reason-optimism/

The various tax implications*

• Officially HMRC will treat any LSA’s awarded before a 20 year anniversary as a taxable benefit in kind.
• Once the 20 year anniversary is reached the award is tax free.
• Following the 20 year anniversary an employee can receive further tax free awards at 10 year intervals i.e. 20 years, 30 years, 40 years.
• All award prior to the 20 year anniversary would be liable to tax and NI and the same would apply to any awards in between the 20 – 30 – 40 intervals.
• The maximum amount that can be awarded as a tax free amount is now £50 ( previously the limit was £20 for each year of service) so potentially once an employee reaches 20 years service an award of £1,000 could be given and be exempt of Tax and NI should the employer wish – obviously the employer could award less or more.
• The employee must receive a tangible award i.e. gift vouchers, merchandise but not travel, holidays or alcohol.

What is Normal Practice?
Our experience and research of normal practice suggest that:

• Within the public sector awards are presented at 25 & 40 years.
• Outside of the public sector, awards vary and due to staff attrition many employers are now rewarding staff at 5 year intervals.
• The UK average for retention is approx 6-7 years, which has led to some employers with very high turnover looking at annual awards – however this is quite unusual.
• The first anniversary whether that be every 5 or 10 years triggers a “token” award somewhere between £25 - £100 and works upwards in increments.
• Please consider that any awards given outside of the HMRC guidelines should be taxed as a benefit in kind and this is usually met by the employer.

Whether purchasing or receiving gifts for special occasions or as corporate gifts, receiving a reward in a high street promotion or as part of a customer incentive scheme, or receiving a reward from an employer, most people in the UK will have encountered gift cards and vouchers in one form or another over the last year. And this is steadily on the rise. More so, it is the wider prepaid market (where funds are loaded and stored on a card or voucher) that is really taking off in the UK as the variety of applications diversifies across sectors that go far beyond the high street.

Areas of application

The number of applications suitable for prepaid products within the public sector is probably greater than you think. Vouchers and gift cards provide an effective vehicle for a number of fund distribution processes including employee rewards, expenses management, benefit payments, as part of government aid programmes and as incentives in public service initiatives, encouraging more people to recycle or quit smoking, for example. In line with the increasing number of public sector organisations adopting voucher and gift card programmes, these opportunities are also very present in the education sector…

Internal operations

Gift cards can be used in the education sector as an expense management tool to allow senior staff to manage localised budgets to buy specialist equipment or to book special trips out. While vouchers, if purchased in bulk at a discounted rate, will save money for the school and be used instead of cash to purchase school equipment such as books, stationery, catering materials and food.”
Student incentives

Vouchers can also be used to incentivise positive changes in students’ habits too. With truancy levels reported at around 63,000 children in England skipping school every day at the beginning of 2009, encouraging attendance is one key initiative that can be aided with the use of vouchers as incentives. Kuljit Kaur says: “Vouchers and gift cards are an efficient and effective way of rewarding attendance among students as well as the ideal reward for recognising achievements amongst both staff and students.”

Coverage from Education Business, to view the full article click here http://www.educationbusinessuk.net/supplier-focus/107/1107-showing-your-appreciation

http://www.johnsylvester.co.uk/uncategorized/should-you-%e2%80%98micro-motivate%e2%80%99-staff/

The first point to make is that a generic approach to motivation isn’t wrong. It can achieve great results in a well controlled way.  However, as ever, there is an argument to say that a more in-depth understanding of your target audience can potentially provide a better return. What’s important is to assess the results you are achieving with a generic campaign and project what percentage increase you might achieve through a micro approach. It might be that the costs of a micro approach outweigh the benefits, having said that, technology is now able to facilitate this in a cost effective manner. The use of web based platforms and automated, personalised communications can be driven from individual profiles.

Of course there is an appetite for such an approach. We are all far more savvy consumers these days, with an extensive choice of products, prices and service. So allowing individuals the same choices at an incentive level could be much more motivational. As ever, the mix of elements that influence each individual’s motivation is wide and varied. However, we will get far greater buy-in and performance, if we utilise an individual motivator for each individual user. Given that the manager – employee relationship is essential to an engaged workforce, it would also help generate understanding and aid performance discussions. Particularly given that 51% of middle managers feel they lack influence when offering discretionary rewards (Park’s Management Agenda Survey).

Despite technology providing an improved ability to personalise, should we bother? Is it cost effective when the additional time for each manager is considered? Of course, in one sense we are merely trying to widen a purely results based performance discussion between managers and employees into a fuller, more detailed conversation. These choices are then incorporated within the motivation programme. For some this might be an increased level of benefits, for others a specific type of travel reward and for others a training opportunity might be the motivation required to perform. Perhaps the correct approach is segmented micro motivation. A segmented approach could focus personalised micro motivation on the upper quartile, those who are likely to respond positively and will generate a better return. The remaining quartiles would receive a more generic programme and would be invited to qualify for the personalised, micro approach. Essentially we’d invest resource where the greater return is, allowing a highly measurable programme. This is an approach that we have often seen specifically within the automotive and pharmaceutical sectors, but there’s plenty of scope to expand elsewhere.
Read the article and more from John Sylvester (Voucher Shop Director) on HRZone: http://www.hrzone.co.uk/blogs/johnsylvester/motivation-matters/should-you-micro-motivate-staff#ixzz1pHEyuPTw

Paul McRae, business development manager at The Voucher Shop, said: “Consulting with employees on which vouchers they would like to receive is a key factor in ensuring an incentive or reward scheme is as effective as possible and it is encouraging to note over half of employers do so.

“Employers should not make a decision on voucher types based on their own perspective as the preferences of the target audience may differ markedly from what they assume will appeal. By obtaining good feedback from all potential recipients employers can ensure that they are happy when they receive their vouchers.”

Coverage by Employee Benefits Magazine. To view the article on the Magazine website click here http://www.employeebenefits.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=10632

How it works
The Voucher Shop upload an employee database detailing staff names and start date.
Once an employee reaches the 5, 10, 15 and 20 year continuous employment milestones, The Voucher Shop create a personalised Voucher Cheque detailing employees’ name and value of award. The manager’s signature is scanned onto the Cheque to add that extra touch. The Voucher Cheque is then despatched to the relevant individual with a personalised letter.

On receipt of the Voucher Cheque the individual selects the voucher(s) of their choice, completes the back of the Cheque and returns to The Voucher Shop for fulfilment, whereby the vouchers are picked, packed and despatched within 48 hours.

The Results
Voucher Cheques have been very popular with Monsoon staff. The Voucher Shop has sent out over £112,000 worth of vouchers to over 300 staff ranging from Argos, John Lewis and Thomas Cook.

Nowhere is this felt more keenly than at the very bottom end of the pay scale. Those on the national minimum wage (NMW) – prevalent in industries such as retail, catering and hospitality as well as low-skilled trades – will continue to feel the pressure. This is despite the increase in the minimum rate of pay scheduled to come into force in October. While this is bad news for staff, it can also have a damaging effect on employers.

“Research shows that if employees have money worries then they may be distracted from the task at hand when they’re at work,” says Charles Cotton, Reward Adviser at the CIPD. “There are also concerns about whether it could lead people into temptation, and then there’s the issue about people who the organisation needs looking for a new job.”

Against this backdrop, employers are looking for innovative means of helping those on the NMW make their cash go at least a little bit further. One option is to introduce an element of performance-related pay on top of base salary. In July, Sports Direct staff received a share bonus averaging £44,000 after the group hit profit targets for the second year in a row. The John Lewis partnership model saw staff effectively increase their base salaries by 18 per cent this year.

“Any sort of share or cash bonus is likely to have a positive impact. The question for the business is whether they can afford it and whether they get more or less value from that compared to doing something different,” says Rupert Hutton, Director of Employee Benefits in PricewaterhouseCoopers’ human resources practice.

Benefits boom

For many, an effective benefits policy will be a more realistic option in the current climate. Those on the NMW are not able to take part in salary sacrifice schemes, effectively ruling out innovative options that can stretch salary such as childcare vouchers or season-ticket loans. Unless, of course, they work in industries where they can earn additional elements of pay, such as overtime, at a higher rate.

Employers can, however, make good use of voluntary benefits, and there are signs that this is where many are putting a greater emphasis. The CIPD’s annual reward management survey found 47 per cent of employers had such a scheme in 2011, compared with just 27 per cent in 2007.

Kuljit Kaur is Head of Business Development at The Voucher Shop. She believes schemes where employees can set aside a certain proportion of their net pay each month to buy discounted retail vouchers for day-to-day items are proving popular, particularly in minimum-wage industries.
“This can result in substantial savings over the course of a year on regular supermarket and household shopping,” she says. “If an employee ‘flexed’ £200 of their net salary, they could receive up to £235 in retail gift vouchers.”

Coverage from www.payandbenefitsmagazine.co.uk, to view the full article click here:

http://www.payandbenefitsmagazine.co.uk/pab/article/national-minimum-wage-pound-stretchers-12321911