It’s a growing economy, and the labor pool is very tight. Keeping your employees motivated, productive, and loyal is critical because you know as well as I do that losing just one or two can have a significant impact on your operations. So, what to do?
There are many tactics, including having generous benefits and competitive compensation. But technology can help, too. Here are seven little — and not so little — apps and services that you can use to provide incentives to your people…and help keep them happy.
Motivosity
What’s a good way to get your team happily working together? Uh…money? Motivosity is a cool cloud-based and mobile app that all of your employees join. You can put “money” (it’s really just like points or it can be the real thing) into employee accounts and then they have the freedom to award this “cash” back and forth to each other. Employees can share comments about each other, projects, and customers. You can set goals and milestones. At the end of the period that you choose, the employees with the most cash can get…well…the cash. Or you can exchange the cash for prizes, gift cards, and other goodies.
Fond
Everyone loves free stuff, right? Fond takes that concept to a new level. Now you can offer both current and new employees a goodie bag of free coupons giving discounts to both local and national businesses that participate. How about a free month at a health club just for working at your company? Or a free entree at the local diner when another entree is purchased? Or 10% off an employee’s next rental? You choose the discounts and include them in your company’s goodie bag offerings.
Tuition.io
More than half of today’s workforce is made up of millennials — the generation of approximately 18- to 34-year-olds. If there’s one challenge that many in this generation share, it’s paying back student loans. Some employers are rising to this challenge and offering tuition reimbursement and loan repayment as part of their benefits package — and people love it. To administer all of this, try using Tuition.io. The service integrates with many loan processing services and payroll systems, so that all the accounting is handled seamlessly.
Citibank ThankYou Rewards
There are lots of great credit card programs for businesses and I’m not saying that Citibank’s ThankYou is the best. But the point here is to find a corporate card that offers points. Citibank’s points are earned for every dollar spent and you can even combine your personal and business cards together. I have some clients that exchange these points for gift cards, travel vouchers, and other items of appreciation and then give these treats out to employees for bonuses, incentives, and prizes. It’s an easy way to provide a little something extra to the people that matter most for your business.
Optimity
Optimity is a mobile and cloud-based application that helps your employees stay well. It tracks goals and life events, lists more than 3,000 health activities, syncs with wearables and other health apps, integrates with programs provided by health insurance companies, and generates loyalty points and rewards based on achieving milestones. Corporate wellness plans are a proven way to reduce a business’s health insurance costs, but one of the biggest challenges is tracking compliance. Optimity is a great way to help you and your employees meet that challenge.
Instant Financial
Do you have a lot of hourly workers? Are you running a franchise? A restaurant? Today’s younger employees want immediate gratification, and that’s exactly what Instant Financial provides. Instead of waiting to receive a paycheck every week or two, this service enables you to pay your employees every day. Using a mobile app, the employee can request up to 50% of their pay within an hour of their shift, which then gets transferred onto a debit card. Providing this benefit could make a big difference to those employees who are either short on cash or in need of meeting other financial obligations.
TripActions
If your people do a lot of travel, then using TripActions can not only save your business money, but also give cash back to your employees. The service is custom built and includes a wide selection of travel dates, times, providers, and rates for flights and hotels, while still remembering everyone’s loyalty programs, travel history, and preferences. When an employee chooses a less expensive travel option, he or she is rewarded with points that can be converted into gift cards for future personal travel.
You’ve heard it before, but it’s worth repeating: Your people are your most valuable asset. Keeping them happy, well-compensated, and motivated will increase your productivity and profits. Technologies like the ones I mentioned above can be a great tool in helping you achieve this goal.
I’m amazed, I must say. Seldom do I come across a blog that’s equally educative and engaging, and without a doubt, you have hit the nail on the head. The problem is an issue that too few men and women are speaking intelligently about. Now i’m very happy I came across this during my search for something relating to this.
Thank you, Mandi!
I think THE HARTFORD would benefit by offering financial retirement planning and savings accounts tailored to small business customers. I’ve never seen anything like that advertised on your emails. I assume you offer something, but not sure how it could help me build a retirement account.