Matching Personal Value Systems with Corporate Reward Solutions for the Next Generations of Workers

Yvon Chouinard, founder and owner of Patagonia, got it right over 40 years ago when he began his company under the unique human resource management principle: “Let my people go surfing”. Chouinard strongly believed then that work should be fun and that the workplace should be flexible to allow employees to pursue their own brand of fun including surfing, rock-climbing and other athletic, lifestyle passions. Today, Patagonia is an enormously successful company in the outdoor industry earning more than $230 million a year in sales. But one thing remains the same; Patagonia continues to be a way of life for its employees, many of them long-time workers, who still catch waves in Ventura when the conditions are perfect for surfing.
Besides packing up and heading for the California coast, how can companies incorporate this experiential lifestyle idea through their own human resources practices? At its core, Chouinard’s philosophy addresses the desire of most employees to lead a rich, authentic lifestyle with their children, families and friends. This desire is even more relevant to today’s workforce that is rapidly filling with Generation X and Y employees. It is well documented that the new workforce generations place high value on quality time, family and freedom. Traditional incentives such as titles, raises and corner offices, while still important, are somewhat less important than the motivation of “relationships” and “experiences”.
Like Patagonia, GiveFun.com was started as a business experiment of sorts. Yvon Chouinard started his first company, Chouinard Equipment, based on a deep love of climbing and adventure. And, the founders of GiveFun.com, started their company inspired by a commitment to work/life balance, a love of travel and their desire to spend quality time with their families with an emphasis on fun, not “more stuff”. They sought to apply their personal philosophy to a corporate environment.
GiveFun.com was incorporated in 2003 with headquarters in each of the founder’s home cities: Miami, Florida and Los Angeles, California. With a healthy growth rate of 300% in 2005, and a projected rate of 600% in 2006, the owners are focusing their efforts of the rapidly growing industry of corporate incentive programs.
“As members of Generation X, we inherently understand the desire for freedom and time,” said Tamara Kay Sloboda, Chief Executive Officer. “What differentiates GiveFun.com is our ability to match corporate reward solutions with the value systems of today’s workforce. We understand that no two workers will value the same experience and, in fact, it’s a disincentive to homogenize employee rewards. Personalization is key to the success of a Gen X/Y incentive program.”
Generation X (those born between 1965 and 1979) may be relieved to know, they’re not turning into their mothers and fathers after all. In fact, the social and attitudinal differences are so great, it has some employers scratching their heads when it comes to rewarding their employees. Corporate incentive specialists at GiveFun.com recommend that businesses adjust workplace policies, incentive programs and reward solutions to retain and incent their valued workers as the Gen X moves toward filling middle and senior level management positions in the next decade.
“The most valuable incentive to Generation X employee is time,” continued Sloboda. “In fact, studies show that Gen X parents actually value both quantity as well as quality of time with their children. The workplace policy change may reflect a flexible working schedule. The corporate incentive may be airline tickets, hotel vouchers or gift certificates for other family and leisure time activities. This group also loves autonomy, unique experiences and authenticity of place and time, all of which we refer to as “the art of living. Successful incentive programs will allow for choice and flexibility while offering life-enhancing opportunities. It’s vital that companies get it right as this generation moves in to fill management positions.”
Generation Y (those born between 1978 and 2000) poses a different human resources issue. For this generation, “change” is the accepted culture. Employment positions are thought of as temporary stopping points on their career paths with little or no incentive to achieve longevity at any one company. While “freedom” is the motivation of Gen X, “flexibility” is the battle cry of Gen Y.
“Gen Y, the babies of the boomers, also value time but in a very different way, explained Sloboda. “As a generation of workers, they tend to be impatient and have an expectation of immediacy. Often referred to as the “generation of entitlement”, employers must understand this trend and work it to their own advantage to achieve retention. In addition, we need to be aware that Gen Y grew up in the information age and the World Wide Web is their genre of choice. ONE advantage of using gift cards as an incentive for Gen Y is that they can be delivered and redeemed instantly.”
Numerous studies point to the efficacy of gift certificates in achieving business results. Among others, gift certificates have shown to increase sales, improve employee performance, build loyalty, foster teamwork and create new markets. Research also revealed that 92% of Gen X workers stated they achieved their goals because of the incentive given and that there was a discernable shift in preferences for “experience” related gifts rather than more stuff.
Vital to Gen Y workers is the need for frequent evaluation (as often as every two months) with reasonable, progressive rewards built in. While it is unreasonable to assume a salary hike every two months, an experiential gift card has been found to be highly effective. As well, these workers “collect experiences” and so gift card incentive programs that allow unique experiences such as adventure touring or exotic cooking classes holds a certain amount of cache.
Consistent with the current shift of focus from “the art of consuming” to “the art of living” and the proven benefits of gift certificates as an effective incentive, a Givefun.com gift certificate makes it simple to implement a statistically sound incentive program that achieves goals and results in employees who are recharged and even more loyal.
According to a recent study conducted by the Sloan Work and Family Research Network of Boston College, a survey of 4500 Generation X workers showed that members of this generation place a much higher priority on personal and family related goals than on career-related goals. In fact, 84% of the respondents said that a loving family is extremely important while 72% indicated that it was extremely important to “enjoy life”.
The high versatility of Givefun.com gift certificates, redeemable for 100’s of merchants for their original gift card or service, is a way for employers to recognize that their employees are best rewarded by the ability to enjoy life to the fullest with their loved ones and families. Available in any increment, GiveFun.com certificates are effective incentives for employee rewards, sales contests and incentives, customer acquisition, retention, promotions and loyalty programs. In addition, the perceived value of a Givefun.com certificate can be perceived higher than the actual cost due to discount travel merchants.
For employers who are trying to match value systems of Generation X/Y with incentive programs, Givefun.com certificates take the guesswork out of gift giving. Recipients select the gift that fits his/her lifestyle and personal or family needs insuring widespread appeal and effectiveness.
Resurgens Orthopaedics, one of the largest single specialty orthopaedic groups in the U.S., have been using GiveFun.com’s corporate incentive program for nearly a year after spending many years of guesswork with searching for the perfeect incentives for employees.
“We attempted over the years to develop an employee appreciation program with Employee of the Month, Above & Beyond, etc., giving movie tickets, plaques, pins, and gift checks,” said Kathy Scott, Director of Marketing, Resurgens Orthopaedics. “What we found with the programs were our employees were diverse, some wanted money, others did not go to the movies, comments from some were, ‘Where am I going to hang this plague and oh, another pin.’ We decided to try a different approach and acknowledge all employees by having an appreciation day for each job description. After much research, I came across the GiveFun website. The variety, denominations of the certificates and just giving the employee the ability to choose what they wanted seemed to fit in to what we were looking for. We have been with GiveFun going on a year. The service is excellent and our staff loves the variety and often you will hear them tell each other, ‘I went for Italian or I'm going for a massage, what did you get?’ It reminds me of Christmas morning when you look in your stocking to see what you have. I am completely satisfied and highly recommend GiveFun.com.”
Universum Communications utilizes GiveFun.com gift certificates to encourage thousands of students nationwide to participate in surveys - proving that GiveFun.com certificates are a great way to motivate our future workforce as well.
"As the Global Leader in Employer Branding we survey hundreds of thousand of students worldwide each year. Because we work with the top companies around the world, we have to be quick and efficient when it comes to our financial incentive program to the students who participate in our surveys, said Debbie Roth, University Relations Manager, Universum. Working with GiveFun.com has saved us a lot of time and a lot of effort, and the students really seem to love the value and the variety of the certificates. GiveFun.com has always been extremely accommodating and beneficial to us as a company, allowing us to complete our projects quicker and therefore offer added value to all of our clients around the world."
For the Gen X founders of GiveFun.com, what started as an experiment has grown into a booming business that has successfully tapped into the human resource trends with today’s emerging workforce. The team behind GiveFun.com, are personally gratified that they have achieved that rather elusive but precious work-life balance that allows each to spend time with their growing families. Each employee is given the flexibility to work virtually from home and when it comes time for incentives, GiveFun.com practices what they preach and rewards employees with travel and experiences.
Headquartered in Miami, Florida and Los Angeles, California, GiveFun.com is founded on a fresh and more meaningful, approach to gift giving. Our guiding principle is to enrich lives and relationships with the simplicity of giving employees, family and friends the rejuvenating gift of fun. GiveFun.com offers gift giving and gift registry services that reflect company values and encourage people to make time - for a good time. For more information, visit www.givefun.com.