The key to inspiring and maintaining motivation - Employee incentives

As a business owner or manager, one of the most significant hurdles you will face is motivating your employees. Motivation within an individual or team will often rise and fall, making maintaining consistent motivation difficult. If you want your business to function efficiently and reach its true potential, understanding how to motivate your employees is essential. Gift cards are often overlooked as a way to motivate employees. When used as employee incentives, however, gift cards can make a significant impact. Below we explore how gift cards could be the key to inspiring and maintaining motivation in your workplace.

1. Employee recognition

While you may think you are doing your best to recognise the hard work of an employee, whether by sending them an email congratulating them on a project or awarding them 'employee of the month' many employees have become desensitised to these methods and require something more tangible. 

Giving a gift card, whether digital or physical, to an employee in recognition of their good work will provide them with a physical token of your gratitude. To take this one step further, you can purchase a digital or physical gift card for something that is considered a treat, such as a spa or gourmet dining experience, so they will feel truly appreciated and rewarded for their work.

If an employee feels recognised for their work, they will have a renewed sense of motivation and will continue to work hard for their employer. On the contrary, if an employee feels undervalued their motivation may slowly decrease or they will seek employment elsewhere.

2. Sales incentives

One simple yet effective way to encourage motivation amongst employees is with friendly competition. Staff rewards for the highest performing salespeople that month, or employees who received the best customer feedback, will inspire motivation amongst employees and encourage them to work harder than their peers. 

Digital and physical gift cards can be purchased to have any monetary value, which makes them ideal employee incentives. For example, gift cards with high monetary value can be given on a monthly or quarterly basis. To ensure motivation is consistent, however, smaller-value gift cards (for example for Uber, Spotify or Uber Eats) could be rewarded on a weekly or even daily basis to ensure employees are constantly pushing themselves to win awards. 

Digital gifting platforms such as True Rewards make sending e-Gifts and digital rewards from top retailers simple and easy, so you can easily source and send both small and large incentives for your employees.

3. Workplace wellness

When faced with large quantities of work or looming deadlines, it is easy for employees to become overwhelmed and stressed. This past year in particular has been stressful for many Australians as they faced lockdowns and restrictions on their usual lifestyles, causing many individuals to feel isolated in their social lives and burnout at work. Overworked and burnout employees are impossible to motivate and their quality of work typically declines as they become more frazzled and exhausted. 

Staff rewards that are focused on wellness, can help employees pause and recharge before entering the workplace again feeling refreshed and renewed. For example, you may wish to award employees with a physical or digital gift card for a beauty salon or movie theatre and encourage them to take a half-day off work to enjoy themselves and relax. If you truly want to stop employee burnout and improve employee wellbeing, give a gift card for a trip or hotel, and encourage them to use the gift card to take some time away from their work. 

While it may seem counterproductive to encourage employees to take time off work when you are trying to improve workplace motivation, often allowing employees to take a step back from their work role will renew their energy and determination, propelling their motivation forward significantly. Time away from their workplace can also help give employees a fresh perspective and they may return to the office filled with new ideas and solutions. 

4. Individual recognition

No employee likes to feel as though they are just a cog in a machine. If an employee feels easily replaceable and as though they are not valued for what they bring to your company as an individual, it is likely their motivation levels will fall consistently. Giving an employee a gift card that is personalised will ensure they feel recognised and appreciated.

For example, if you have an employee on your team who you wish to reward or improve their motivation and they are a keen gamer, an Xbox gift card will let them know that both their work and their personality is appreciated. Alternatively, if an employee has moved into a new home, a gift card for a local DIY store will show your support for them. While cash bonuses are appreciated by employees, gift cards go the extra mile and prove to your employees you know and appreciate them. If you manage a large number of employees, you could always delegate choosing gift cards to team leaders or department managers.

The iGo Group simplifies rewards and incentives and makes personalising gift cards simple and fun. They also offer gift cards that can be exchanged for cashback. If an employee is going through a financially difficult time, this allows them to swap their gift card for an alternative reward discreetly. 

Skyrocket motivation in your company today

Using gift cards as rewards, incentives and individual gifts for employees in your business will ensure they feel appreciated and valued in their role. This will help to inspire and maintain motivation, accelerating both individual performances and the performance of your company overall. Organising and personalising gift cards is easier than ever with True Rewards and other members of the iGo Group who use marketing insights to identify effective incentive and reward techniques. To learn more about how to supercharge motivation in your business, get in touch with the iGo Group today.