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The HR Hot List

By Alison Golub

These Incentive Options are Enticing Employees and Human Resources Execs

When it comes to rewarding and recognizing employees, understanding your group's demographics is critical to launching a successful incentive program. Once this key piece of data is mined, however, human resource executives have a bounty of product options from which to choose. Incentive rewards popular in today's HR recognition programs include everything from cutting-edge electronics and classic heirloom items to uniquely branded gift cards—all boasting a personalized touch, of course.

"It is important to give recipients something where the perceived value is great and the memories associated with the gift are more lasting than money," notes Ira Almeas CITE, president of Impact Incentives & Meetings, Inc. headquartered in East Hanover, New Jersey."Rewarding employees with money just comes across as compensation. Human resource executives want the gift to focus on a genuine 'thank you.'"

Ally Kirchman, senior director of fulfillment for Pine Brook, New Jerseybased Rymax Marketing Services, Inc., agrees: "In order to successfully motivate the employee, the reward and/or experience should be geared towards the individual." A personalized touch, rather than a cookie-cutter presentation, makes the recipient feel like an individual.

Overwhelmed HR managers need not tread into incentive waters alone, however. Turning to an integrated incentive services provider can help produce maximum reward results. Consumer Benefit Services, Inc., based in Naperville, Illinois, for example, utilizes sales representatives, account managers, executive buyers and a design team to collaboratively develop incentive programs that grab attention and generate enthusiasm.

Keeping these points in mind, below are some of the popular options human resource executives use to reward, motivate and thank employees.

Get Carded

For most human resource recognition programs, gift cards are ideal because of the built-in flexibility these items offer recipients as well as the ease of inventory control presented to HR managers."Reward cards work well for human resource executives because there are no worries with housing the merchandise," Almeas points out. "Personalization is also doubly important when you're giving a reward card because this type of item should have what we call 'wallet share.' Every time a recipient opens their wallet they should see the name of the company they work for—it goes a long way."

Target Corporate GiftCards, for example, offer versatile rewarding options that come in volume discounts and can be personalized with signature images and emblazoned with statements like "Great Job" and "Thank You." Executives can even pick up a GiftCard Fast Pack, prepackaged bundles of 10, 20, and 50, all with the same design, at the Guest Service counter of their neighborhood Target store.

Like many major retailers, Lowe's design sales specialists assist HR managers with their gift card incentive program. The cards themselves are available in volume discounts, making it easy for managers to stockpile these items at their desks for instant rewards.

Similarly, TJX Gift Certificates are available with free personalization and messaging for each gift certificate, no expiration date and free shipping to individual recipients. Such a flexible reward option lets employees choose what they find memorable and desirable from a wide selection of merchandise.

Appealing to anyone with a home, apartment, lawn or garden, gift cards to outlets like The Home Depot (THD) are among the most customer-friendly available, with no service fees or expiration dates. All sales are supported by a dedicated gift card team and if the recipient loses their card, THD can track and replace it. These kinds of best practice redemption and fulfillment policies make corporations feel confident when using gift cards as employee rewards.

Some Experience Required

Experiential gifts are a making an impact on HR-based incentive programs; recipients are offered a unique or customized opportunity they are virtually guaranteed to enjoy. "Spa rewards are terrific, and travel rewards are great because people will always remember that the company awarded them a great getaway," Almeas says.

HR managers seeking a program in this arena need something both effective and flexible. With more than 2,600 properties worldwide, the portfolio of travel options available from Marriott Incentive Awards includes both domestic and international travel as well as weekend or weekday awards. There are even several non-stay awards that can satisfy recipients with a day at a luxurious spa or a romantic dinner for two.

For the uber-adventurous, Hallmark Insights offers Premiere Choice Awards that give recipients the option of redeeming from a group of exciting experiential adventures. Hot air balloon rides, a round of golf for one—even a NASCAR Racing Ridealong experience is available through the program.

It's particularly easy to say "thank you" or acknowledge a work-related anniversary with a night out of food and drink on the company. A manager can select from a variety of restaurant gift cards. Those from Darden Restaurants are redeemable at more than 1,300 restaurants nationwide, with one gift card offering four distinct dining options so that recipients can choose both where and when they'd like to dine.

Tech Savvy

"In terms of trendy incentives, electronics are always popular," Almeas notes. "I'm a big supporter of having perceived value when things are cutting-edge and trendy, so with electronics you always want to go with a hot name brand."

Thankfully, there is no shortage of state-of-the-art, aspirational gadgets entering the market. HR managers unsure where to focus their attention should turn to trusted names in the industry, which resonate not only with tech-savvy recipients but with techie neophytes well.

Managers who want to offer an array of up-to-the-minute electronics can offer employees a gift card to a leading electronics retailer, such as Best Buy. This option allows recipients to select from the latest must-have digital items, be it a plasma television or a point-and-shoot digital camera.

Selecting incentive rewards from a luxury brand-name electronics giant, like Bose, is also a good place to begin building an incentive program. Bose, as well as other electronics companies, works with executives to customize a program based on a company's specific needs and objectives. Recipients in a Bose incentive program have more than 30 items from which to choose, ranging from a cuttingedge digital music system for iPods to a dramatic home entertainment system.

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