Interesting new article from the Globe and Mail about employee rewards:

“As organizations being to recover from the recession, picking the right way to reward a job well done, and avoiding common pitfalls, will be critical to repairing wounds to morale and restoring staff confidence and loyalty”

Click here to read the full article.

Now that spring has sprung, people have one thing on their mind. Green. Green grass, green thumbs and trying to be greener at home and at work. But when it comes to going green, how green can you be? While some people are committed to a life of extreme green, many of us can make a difference even if we’re just a medium or light green. That being said, there are always ways to be greener.

So let’s start with the extreme green –the incredible hulks of the eco world. While these enviro-trailblazers used to be oddball survivalists who lived off the grid and swore off electricity and fossil fuels, this type of lifestyle has slowly become more mainstream. More and more people are now living lifestyles where they supply their own energy, grow all their own food and believe radical political change is the answer to our environmental problems.

What exactly would you see around the home of an extreme green? Well they use dirty bath water to water plants, run their cars on vegetables and it’s not entirely uncommon for darkest of greens to turn the refrigerator off and use the great outdoors to keep food cold. It’s a tough lifestyle that certainly isn’t for everyone.

If you happen to like electricity, and your fridge but still consider yourself somewhat environmentally friendly, you may be more of a medium green. What exactly happens in the life of a medium green? Well for starters something as simple as getting from point A to point B is a big deal to you. If you’re not driving a hybrid, you’re car-pooling – maybe even riding your bike to work. And when it comes to changes around the home, a medium green goes beyond the call of duty, buying locally grown organic food and energy efficient appliances and shutting down computers when they’re not in use. Medium greens understand the big picture and their role in it. If there’s a corporation out there that’s not doing their part for the earth, a medium green just might boycott them.

If you’re not quite as committed as a medium green but are still doing your part, you are likely a light green. The light greens have mastered the basics and are always looking for other small changes they can make. They use cloth grocery bags, recycle at home and use a stainless steel water bottle and recyclable lunch container. And when it’s vacation time, light green will likely use the same towels for a few days to conserve water. Regardless of light greens’ daily behavior, the important thing is they are making an effort. Besides, being light green is better than not being green at all.

So when it comes to your own shade of green, there are always opportunities to go darker. If you’re a medium green at home but work in a light green office, you can help make a few simple changes. Take a look at the suppliers you work with and choose ones that are introducing sustainability practices to their work. For example, Hbc offers Eco friendly gift cards that companies can incorporate into their own rewards and incentives program. The biodegradable, corn-based plastic Eco friendly gift cards are reloadable and come with a 100% recycled paper card carrier. It’s a simple way to go from a Pale Green to maybe a Lime Green. And who knows, employees just might use the cards towards energy efficient appliances or stainless steel water bottles. And that’s a good thing.

If you really want to create an environment that encourages personal development, rewards everyone and adds value to the company, here are a few tips to keep in mind.

Collaboration not cattiness
Competition should bring out the best in people not the worst. Try to encourage everyone to support colleagues in their own quest for the gold. And if you want to avoid any unnecessary infighting, create competitive goals between your company and other companies in your industry. It’s “us vs. them” in a good way.

Corporate Captain
While hockey teams honour a team leader with a “C” on the jersey, you can honour corporate leaders by having them lead new projects or initiatives within the company. If there is someone who has some value to add in Social Media, make them Captain for that task. The next thing you know you’ll have a whole crew of Social Media experts on your team.

No gold? Go plastic.
As an employer who encourages a little healthy competition, it’s important to recognize the work of everyone who steps foot on the field. And while bonuses and raises certainly are part of the corporate game, you can really keep everyone motivated with simple, convenient rewards, like Hbc Gift Cards.

When it comes to winter Canadiana, a few things come to mind. Toques. Hockey. All season tires. And yes, our favourite Canadian retailer, the Hudson’s Bay Company. While this shopping icon has long offered incredible year-round merchandise for everyone from Bonavista to Vancouver Island, it also offers something that will warm any cool Canadian heart – it offers history.

The Hudson’s Bay Company’s story is a rich tapestry spanning 339 years.  What started as a trading post has evolved into a 21st century retailer with a loyal following from coast-to-coast. Its major retail channels – the Bay, Zellers and Home Outfitters – together provide more than two-thirds of the retail needs of Canadians. With 1,000,000 products and over 400 stores across Canada, the Hudson’s Bay Company continues to dress, decorate, reward and incent Canadians during the spring, summer, fall, and yes Winter too.

When it comes to buying something for the home, most Canadians head to an Hbc family store location. But Hbc has a lot to offer Canadian businesses too: Same convenience, great service, and same great feeling of satisfaction knowing you’re promoting a true Canadian experience.  Hbc Gift Cards are really one of the simplest, most effective tools when it comes to building an effective rewards and incentives program, regardless of the size of your business.

So why not just reward recipients with a wad of cash this winter, you ask? Well you can, but there’s a certain emotional experience that recipients just can’t get from cash. It’s important to offer people tangible rewards that they can imagine themselves enjoying. With Hbc Gift Cards, they actually have an experience they then connect to. An emotional toast during the holidays is now associated with your company simply because the wine glasses were a redemption item. Or a child’s first bike ride without training wheels was a byproduct of an Hbc Gift Card. This psychological aspect of rewards and incentives programs can be just as important as the actual rewards themselves. And with its history and popularity among Canadians, Hbc has the potential to create more meaningful stories for hundreds of thousands of Canadians.

So this winter, lace up the skates, watch a little CBC, and don’t forget to warm up the office with Hbc gift cards. It’s really “aboot” being a good Canadian.

When it comes to productivity, one of the biggest challenges facing businesses during this time of the year is how to maintain a healthy workforce. While you can’t avoid every bug out there, you can certainly promote prevention. Here are a few wellness tips to keep the office full of healthy, happy, and yes, productive people.

Talk about it

It sounds simple, but just talking about health and wellness will encourage people to make it a priority. Maybe it’s a quick morning meeting to discuss tips or an email for people to read during their break.

Walk it off
Work related stress can quickly lead to other health problems. Encourage employees to take a brisk walk at lunch or mid afternoon. This simple activity burns calories, provides fresh air and reduces stress.

Roll with it
Bad posture can lead to chronic pain and reduced productivity. A good alternative to traditional office chairs is exercise balls, which force your body to use and correct postural muscles, abdominals, gluteals and leg muscles.

Home Sweet Home
With a tough cold and flu season ahead of us, it’s more important than ever to encourage people who are feeling slightly under the weather to work from home. With email, conference calling, and instant messaging capabilities, it will feel like they never left the office.

Make it official
It’s nice to talk about wellness, but the only way to see a difference is to implement a health program. Create a tiered plan, where basic participation will earn employees a $25 Hbc Gift Card, moderate involvement will earn them a $75 gift card and a wellness champion will earn a $100 gift card.

The more you know about rewards and incentives, the better your results will be. And that’s what our Rewarding Information section is all about. In every newsletter you’ll find tips, resources, advice and updates all designed to keep employees motivated and customers happy.

This month’s Rewarding Information section includes creative tips on how to fundraise money in the office. Here are a few ideas that will get everyone excited. Let us know if you have your own fundraising ideas.

Extreme Cubicle Makeover
Like the reality show where a home is made over, this event involves decorating workspaces. Bring in several boxes filled with Halloween or holiday decorations and then sell them back to the staff who will use them for their makeover. Then everybody take a step back and select a winner!

Swear it
Here is a unique twist on the traditional “swear box”.  Switch the focus so that it’s not necessarily for your standard swear words rather for overused words and phrases like ‘I’ll do it tomorrow’. Donate the funds collected to a not for profit charity selected by everyone at the office.

Going Once. Going Twice
Auction off products and services to staff, suppliers and clients. Try to solicit donations from local companies in exchange for advertising around the event. Get crazy with auction items too. Include things like bonus days off, pet sitting services and maybe even free parking for a month.

Take Me Away
Host a vacation themed fundraising event. Decorate the boardroom to look like a tropical island and ask participants to wear their favourite Hawaiian shirt. You can limbo, play bingo or even up the ante with a team trivia game to raise some cash.

Game On
Create a mini Olympics in the office using games like airplane toss, rock paper scissors and arm wrestling. Divide the competitors into countries and encourage them to get sponsored by friends and family. The country with the most medals and greatest sponsorship wins!

Eat Your Heart Out
Everyone in the office looks forward to lunch, so why not make this special time part of your fundraising initiative. Have everyone in the office submit a recipe and then auction off the lunches to all the staff. And if you’re hungry for another lunch idea, get the CEO to become a waiter for a day. Donate his or her tips to a soup kitchen or shelter.

Sweaters are coming out, leaves are changing and suntans are fading. While summer is slipping away, Fall Fever is in full affect - and if you take advantage of everything this exciting season has to offer, the rewards will be immense.

When it comes to building an effective rewards and incentives program, timing is key.  Though temperatures are starting to drop, productivity is certainly on the rise. Employees are returning to work rejuvenated, inspired and focused on reaching their professional goals by year’s end. With a little planning and the help of Hbc Gift Cards, you’ll be able to provide just the right gift at just the right time.

One group that has a serious case of Fall Fever is event planners.  This group is feverishly planning corporate holiday parties, attending trade shows and coordinating speaking events. Always looking for new and exciting ways to add dimension, value and creativity to their programs, event planners have discovered a powerful cure for Fall Fever -  Hbc Gift Cards. They love the fact that they can add sponsors’ logos and imagery, and personalize each attendee’s gift card with a “thank you” message. “It is a promotional tool with double impact,” says Andrew Noonan, Hbc Gift Card program manager, “in that it is a powerful way for event planners to reinforce the theme of an event, and for sponsors to have a billboard with their brand identity in each attendee’s wallet”.  With over 1,000,000 products to choose from, recipients can splurge on fall luxuries as well as necessities from any of our 400 Hudson’s Bay Company family of stores coast to coast.

Fall Fever is in full force, and everyone from event planners and HR managers to business owners of all stripes and sizes can create a memorable, well thought out rewards and incentives program. With a little planning ahead, creating a satisfying rewards program will result in greater productivity and stronger business relationships by the time the end of the year arrives.  This is one Fever that everyone should have!