Reward Hard Work with Pre-Paid Incentive Cards

By Janine Yancey, CEO, emTRAiN

With the economy still locked in a protracted “recovery mode,” companies of all sizes are looking for sincere and creative ways to reward employees for their hard work without excessive spending on desktop trinkets and other swag that mostly just collects dust.

Pre-paid corporate incentive cards are an excellent and affordable reward that allow employees to enjoy their hard-earned accolades in virtually any way they choose—a special dinner out with friends and family, adding the latest electronic gadget to their collection, or even taking care of basic necessities such as gas and groceries.

And unlike store-branded gift certificates that are rendered worthless if the store goes out of business, pre-paid incentive cards never lose their value. They’re available in any amount, making it easy and affordable to deliver rewards without breaking the bank—and they’re FDIC insured.

Rewards for Any Occasion

Corporate incentive cards can provide a unique and valuable reward in a variety of situations, for both employees and service vendors.

• Employee bonuses and incentives: Rewarding employees for their achievements and hard work is vitally important to maintain morale, engagement, and loyalty. Pre-paid incentive cards provide a tangible, yet flexible, gift of recognition that may prove more useful than a paperweight or other trinket. For example, Campus Apartments, Inc., one of the nation’s oldest and largest developers, owners, and managers of off-campus student housing for colleges and universities around the country, uses custom pre-paid Visa incentive cards to provide sales incentives and reward its leasing staff for meeting established goals for new leases and renewals. Some cards can be customized to carry the company’s brand message and/or logo, which offers the employee a reminder of the reward each time it is used, reinforcing the company’s appreciation and the employee’s loyalty. It also spreads the company’s message to the venue in which it is used—the restaurant server or store cashier will see the card, creating a valuable brand impression.

• Recognition for birthdays and anniversaries: Everyone likes to be remembered on their special day, and employees who have committed years of service to the company deserve recognition for their loyalty. At Balch & Bingham LLP, a Gulf Coast law firm with more than 250 attorneys in six offices, the company uses custom pre-paid Visa incentive cards as staff anniversary gifts to reward employees for their years of service. Each card can be custom-designed with the employees’ total number of years of service and delivered—either directly to the employee (at home or at work) or to the company for hand delivery—in a customized greeting card with a message of appreciation from the firm.

• Creative alternative to holiday bonuses or gifts: Pre-paid incentive cards also provide an alternative to traditional employee holiday bonuses and holiday gratuities for service vendors, such as custodial staff, courier services, doormen, and parking attendants.

Custom Cards Deliver a Personal Touch

For an added stroke of pizzazz to show your appreciation, some companies, such as GiftCardLab, will create unique, branded incentive cards that incorporate your company’s logo and a custom message. These special cards provide a more personal touch when given to employees, vendors, and service providers to reinforce loyalty and perpetuate the corporate brand. Once available only to large companies with equally large budgets, custom-branded incentive cards now are affordable enough to allow even small businesses the opportunity to “wow” employees with this unique reward.

With easy and convenient customization and delivery options, personalized pre-paid incentive cards provide a unique and memorable way to reward employees at an affordable price, suitable for nearly any size business or budget. Available in virtually any quantity and any denomination from $5 to $2,500, customized cards even can be delivered—in as few as two business days—inside a personalized greeting card.

In addition to rewarding employees’ for their performance and building morale, incentive cards work to reinforce loyalty with a repeated association with the company. As an added bonus, customized cards can do double duty as a marketing outreach program to create top-of-mind awareness for your brand each and every time the card is used.

Janine Yancey is the founder and CEO of emTRAiN, a company that provides employers with Web-based training and learning management systems. After 10 years in business, emTRAiN trains managers and employees in 2,000 organizations nationwide and globally. Yancey leads a team of staff attorneys and Content Advisory Board members in authoring and creating emTRAiN’s Web-based training courses.