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As the National Safety Council turns 100 years old this year, it is also preparing for National Safety Month in June. This year’s theme is “Safety Starts with Me,” and the NSC is providing free downloadable materials and resources to help increase safety in the workplace. There are 6 themes this year (preventing slips, trips and falls, employee wellness, emergency preparedness, ergonomics, summer and driver safety) that the NSC is focusing on, and this week I would like to take a look at how you can incorporate the NSC’s free resources into your employee safety incentive program.

Communicate Safety Topics via Email

With help from the NSC, you have access to many different one page pdfs that cover all 6 themes for National Safety Month. Converting these pdfs into emails for your employee incentive program participants would be a simple way to communicate about preventing slips, trips and falls, workplace emergency preparedness, ergonomics and other safety topics. At Awards Network, all of our incentive program clients enjoy unlimited, complimentary email blasts and direct access to automated emails 24/7 on our administrative dashboard. This makes it very easy to prepare and send out emails to all of your safety program participants.

Organize a Safety Meeting each Week in June

If your employees don’t have computer access at work, it probably makes more sense to hold a safety meeting to discuss the safety topics the NSC has prepared. If you are running a points-based employee incentive program, then you can give employees an incentive (points) for attending. If you don’t have a points-based program currently, then you could give employee safety awards to people who attend all the meetings and draw a winner for each meeting to help reward attendees and encourage more people to attend.

Invite Employees to Test their Safety Knowledge

After you have sent out your emails and scheduled your safety meetings, why not give employees safety awards for perfect quiz scores? Awards Network employee safety incentive programs include free quiz programming and many of our clients include a 10 question monthly quiz for employees to take. If you haven’t already started quizzing employees, you can turn to the NSC’s free resources and make up questions very easily. I’ve even created a sample 10 question safety quiz using many of the resources the NSC provided and you can download it for free. Your employees will enjoy testing their safety knowledge because it will be a new way for them to earn more points they can use to purchase brand name items, gift cards and travel experiences.

Plan a Special Wellness Event

Aren’t you excited that summer is almost here? With the warmer weather, there are so many wellness events that your employees will want to participate in. From bringing a brown bag lunch and biking to work to organizing a healthy company picnic and a company sponsored walk/run event, there is a lot of variety and levels of commitment for people to choose from. If you don’t already have an employee wellness program, use the tips from the NSC and do a test event this June.

Start a Pre-Work Stretch Group

Ergonomics is one of the safety themes the NSC is focusing on this year, and as a part of this theme, they are providing a free pdf with the basics of stretching and sample stretches to share with your employees. Many of our safety incentive program clients give points to employees who attend pre-shift stretching groups. Once employees start to attend, I have heard they are very happy with the results: more safety awards and less sprains and strains.

Celebrating National Safety Month is super easy this year with all of the free resources the National Safety Council is providing. You will be able to increase safety awareness and possibly even prevent accidents. Employees will be interested in your new safety incentives and help you spread the word about being safe. Let’s all take “Safety Starts with Me” seriously and see what a difference we can make.

Setting up an employee incentive program can take a lot of time and effort. You have to find a provider you think has the right software and rewards at the right price. You have to build your employee incentive website, setup your goals and budget. Once you have gotten through all of this, you probably wanted to breeze through the launch and move on to your next big project. Your work could really go to waste if you don’t take a couple more weeks to help see the incentive program through its initial launch. There are three key areas I would like to outline that most of our clients don’t anticipate working through. Our experience has shown that the clients who stick with the program through the kick off phase get better results.

Handing off the program to managers

Even though you were the person who evaluated incentive program providers, came up with the goals, got the higher ups to approve the budget and worked with the provider to get everything setup exactly the way you envisioned, you may not be actually administering the program after its inception. If this is the case, then getting managers involved early in the process is important so they understand the employee incentive program’s importance and are confident in their role in the program. If you have waited until after decisions were made, you can still ask managers for their feedback and work with them to make sure the incentive program is not a burden but rather an outlet for them to recognize deserving employees. Managers often know they should recognize employees outside of annual performance reviews, but often don’t have the tools to do it. By implementing an employee incentive program, you’ve given them employee recognition tools and need to make sure they know how to use them.

If your company’s managers are not on board with a program, and you don’t have buy-in from them, your program is likely to fail. I have worked on a couple of programs that languished and became stagnant a couple of months after it was implemented. When the manager in charge of the program was replaced, and a new person came in, all of a sudden our efforts to get the employee incentive program going started to pay off. During our weekly account manager meetings, we often like to joke that we have a point of contact who is a cheerleader, someone who will champion the incentive program and cheer it on to everyone else, making it so much more successful. By getting your managers involved and making the incentive program work for them, you can ensure the team will help the program succeed.

Communicating the program to employees

I tend to think of the proverbial philosophical question, “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?”, when I think about employee incentive program communication. If you setup your program and walk away, no one is going to know or care about it. At that point, it may as well not exist. I am assisting in the setup of a few incentive programs this month. As I meet with clients and help to keep the implementation moving along, I’ve been working hard to make sure we have a lot of options when it comes to employee communication. From emails and flyers that will help to promote the goals and let people know how to log in to kickoff cards that people can hold onto so they always have the website and login information in their wallet, we want to make sure people become aware of the program. Specifically we want employees to know how to access it, what they can do to earn points and what they can spend their points on. There are currently 7 different online and in print supplements we are creating for clients to ensure only people living under a rock with no access to Wi-Fi won’t get the message about the new employee incentive program.

Ensuring a follow up plan

After you’ve gotten managers involved and made a communication plan, your last step to ensure incentive program success is to develop a follow up plan. We like to monitor programs closely for the first 4 weeks, and then depending on the results, continue to look at the program weekly or move to monthly reports. Initially we are looking at login rates to find out if people got the message and started to check out the website. We are also looking at the number of points being awarded by administrators to make sure everyone is using the employee incentive program and recognizing employees with the tools available. Additionally, we are looking at what the most popular goals are and what sorts of items are being ordered. Although Awards Network includes this follow up in all of its incentive programs, depending on the provider you partner with, you may need to make sure someone is monitoring the program results and making changes when necessary.

By seeing the employee incentive program through its initial launch, you will help increase program awareness, manager buy-in, number of goals reached and the budget used. After all, you’ve worked so hard to set everything up, why not spend a little extra time before moving onto the next thing?

When companies decide to start an employee incentive program they always run into this question. Do we give a cash incentive or a merchandise incentive? While cash is easier to administer and most employees will say they want it, cash may not be the way to go. Which is better for your company?

If you give cash as your incentive program award, there is only cash value. The majority of people do not like to say how much money they make. While a cash incentive is not included as part of an employee’s salary, it can quickly become part of that category to an employee. Also, while you may look at it as the employee can use the cash for whatever they may want, most of the time it will go towards bills or other necessities. Tangible items, on the other hand, have a value beyond what they cost. The employee will not view their tangible item at cash value. They will view it at the value they get out of it or the value they feel it has. This value is often beyond what the item cost. Our employee incentive programs allow your employee to choose from up to 120 items in one catalog. All of our catalogs together hold 1400-1500 items at any given time. The value for the item will increase because they want it and chose it.

An employee incentive program that uses a merchandise incentive gives your employees an experience as well. Imagine getting a cash incentive. You check your bank account and the number increases or your handed a check. With a merchandise incentive program your employee gets to look at many different items and place their order. If you use Awards Network for your employee incentive program you can have a customized website that your employees can log into and chose an item. Overall, the gift and experience will give your employee’s more value than cash.

The growing Awards Network family looks forward to showing off at the upcoming SHRM conference in Chicago this June. The company has not only added fresh faces, but has also worked diligently to expand their already extensive line of employee rewards programs. Innovation, creativity, growth – how will Awards Network be able to effectively convey these distinguishing attributes without overwhelming the SHRM attendees? On that note, how can any company flaunt their incredible intangibles at a tradeshow, yet remain memorable and intriguing? Tradeshow marketing proves to be a promotional platform with several avenues for success. However, there are key steps to take to ensure tradeshow domination. I have discovered ten simple tips that, when combined with a sales incentive program, will dramatically increase the return on your company’s marketing efforts.

Top Ten Tips for Tradeshow Domination: Use a Sales Incentive Program for Best Results

1. Do your homework. Be aware! Companies running a tradeshow may not be upfront about their event! Talk to the businesses who have attended several trade shows. Ask the hosting company’s management team for statistics from their past shows. Take note of other tradeshows happening in the area/industry/timeframe of the show at which you are looking. Use this information to guide your trade show exhibit attendance decision. Give your sales team a reason to look forward to their homework assignment by assigning points to those who provide the results of their research!

2. Best foot forward. Leave the flip-flops at home and opt for dress shoes! Okay, please do dress the part, but also consider a little practice before the big day. Train staff attending the show and representing your company. Be sure staff feels comfortable addressing most situations/questions, or that an experienced staff member is present in case a curve-ball happens. Practice makes perfect, so set up a mini-tradeshow in your office to prep.

3. Set measurable goals. So often, businesses pursue a new venture without clear, measurable, or attainable objectives. Enourage staff to contribute their own goals to the list of company goals for the tradeshow!

4. Have a pick-up line. Get some digits! Offer incentives for tradeshow attendees to leave their contact information. Whether a piece of candy or just a sweet smile will suffice is up to your company.

5. Don’t be awkward. Sure, you feel out of your element. So does everyone else at a tradeshow! Forced networking can either be your worst nightmare or dream come true; it all just depends on your perspective. Look at tradeshow attendees as future work partners, which they are, and be yourself. You clearly work for a company that has something to offer (unless your display boards are blank, in which case you might want to pack up and leave) so share those great qualities with the people you meet!

6. Talk is cheap, listen up! When tradeshow attendees, a.k.a. potential new customers, stop by your booth, listen to them! After a warm greeting, ask a few questions to guide your sales pitch, or discount a lead altogether. There is no sense in wasting anyone’s time. Motivate your sales staff to listen by awarding points to the staff members with customer insight included in their notes (see Tip 9).

7. Razzle, dazzle ‘em. Even if you haven’t seen the musical, Chicago, you can still pull off the old “razzle dazzle” routine. Make your booth exciting (add a video, interactive element, music, etc.) and entice people to visit you (excited staff, raffle a gift, etc.). People will come to your booth for the razzle dazzle, but will stay because they want to know more about your company’s products/services! Encourage sales staff to contribute something to the “razzle dazzle” factor of the booth and pick a winner – the best contribution gets a reward!

8. Keep your hands free. Avoid eating, drinking, fidgeting, and nose-picking while hosting your company’s booth. Even holding a clip-board with crossed arms gives the wrong tone. Keeping an open demeanor that is welcoming and approachable to attendees proves to be the most difficult yet simplest task there is! Taking notes is one exception to the “hands free” rule…keep reading!

9. Take notes. Encourage your sales team to take notes on competitors at the tradeshow; list appealing things your company should try at the next tradeshow and mention things that your company needs to avoid. Take notes on your prospects; jot down key points from conversations that can be used in the follow-up process. Writing notes should take seconds and can be done quickly in a designated booth corner; be sure to have staff available to greet attendees if you are scribbling frantically!

10. Fast, fast follow-up! Okay, wait a few minutes! In all seriousness, you sales team should follow up with prospects met at a tradeshow as quickly as possible. Incentivize staff to follow up quickly, personally, and thoroughly (using the notes they took in the previous step, of course!). Follow-up protocol should be established well in advance so your sales team has the proper materials and conversation patterns ready.

While Awards Network prepares for the upcoming SHRM show, I will be sure to keep these ten tips in mind. I am looking forward to meeting with prospects in the Human Resources sector to share the exciting new features included in our superior employee recognition programs and exciting incentive programs. Which will be harder: condensing the plethora of exciting programs Awards Network has to offer into a short statement or listening to my own advice on Tip 5?

Incentivize your sales team to follow all of the tips listed for best results at your next tradeshow. You will be impressed at the response, not only internally among your sales team’s enthusiasm, but also by the promising leads generated. Awards Network can help your organization pursue effective tradeshow marketing, or any marketing endeavor, by assisting with your company’s sales incentive programs. Who knew incentive programs for employees could be your best friend in gaining new customers? Best of luck to you and your company as you prepare for a future tradeshow!

Photo Credit: Adriano Castelli / Shutterstock.com

Dealing with work related stress? You’re not alone! “More than one-third of American workers experience chronic work stress, with low salaries, lack of opportunity for advancement and heavy workloads,” according to the American Psychological Association’s new work stress study. With everyone stressed, there has to be a common denominator somewhere…it’s you! Your mood and perspective have 100 percent control over your stress level at work, but they can be some of the hardest things to change.  Here are a few tips to help you get back in the driver seat of your stress level.
 
Observe and be observed

Before you make any major changes, take a look around your office.  How do other employees deal with stress? Take notice of your coworkers’ efforts and motivate your staff when you have a chance.  Putting just a small amount of effort into improving your work environment could earn you some much needed brownie points and/or an ally when things get really stressful.
 
Make a game plan
 
Take time to recognize the biggest stress trigger for you.  How can you alleviate some pressure associated with those tasks? Prioritize! Don’t try to keep tasks organized in your stressed out brain.  Make a task list, prioritize it, and mark things off when they are completed.  It sounds like a simple process but it will do wonders for your psyche. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.  It is easy to get overwhelmed and feel like you have to bear all the weight of an issue to avoid losing credibility in the workplace.  This is a terrible misconception.  Your coworkers (and especially your superiors) like to see that you know your boundaries.  Get clarification on your goals and priorities.  Set due dates for yourself and break projects down into several milestones; eliminate the word procrastination from your vocabulary.
 
Keep an archive of positive feedback and compliments you have received

Criticism can be helpful (and hard to accept) sometimes.  Take it with a grain of salt and learn from it.  On the other hand, keep positive feedback in an archive somewhere forever! I have a folder in my email titled “Maggie Moments” where I keep emails from clients or colleagues complimenting me.  Sometimes positive feedback is hard to come by, but you just have to know how to interpret it.  You need to be offering positive feedback and encouragement to others in your office whenever possible.
 
A large percentage of people claim that their office does not provide enough support for stress management; you can be the one who changes this.  Don’t fall victim to your anxieties and workload, the power is in your hands.