We help our clients take all the different pieces of employee benefits and then build an umbrella that cohesively fills any gaps and measures results.
Here is where we see the industry going regarding AI, travel, and the expanding definition of employee wellness.
AI: From Suggesting Rewards to Coaching Leaders
We are already using tools to help make sure the communications we send out to programs suggest items that are within their point budget and are popular for their program or their job type. AI tools can be utilized a lot for that type of reward personalization.
Where AI could really shine:
- Recognition reminders – Help leaders remember when to recognize team members
- Thought starters – Provide examples and inspiration for meaningful recognition moments
- Personalized suggestions – Recommend rewards that match participant preferences and budgets
The End of “One-Size-Fits-All” Travel
The bottom line: You can’t just throw something that is “one-size-fits-all” to groups for reward travel.
Travel for us and our platform has taken a bit of a pivot in recent years. Expectations for participants are for a more personalized experience – somewhere that they really want to go, and timing that really fits with their family.
What this means in practice:
| ✖Old Approach | ✔New Approach |
|---|---|
| Taking an order and sending participants to a specific resort | Pulling together a full proposal with different options |
| Generic group trips | Curated experiences meaningful to the individual participant |
We find that those types of curated travel experiences, as opposed to the one-size-fits-all group trips, have a really high return on our clients’ investment.
Filling the Gaps in Employee Wellness
How we think of employee wellness is changing a bit. In recent years, the health insurance companies themselves have their own incentives for checkups or using a fitness tracker. We are not trying to compete with those other benefits that organizations have worked really hard to identify and launch.
Where recognition programs fit into wellness:
- Mental well-being – Supporting emotional health beyond physical metrics
- Sense of belonging – Creating connection and community at work
- Camaraderie – Building relationships through recognition moments
While it is not necessarily wellness-focused in how we have traditionally thought of it, we find that creating a platform that allows your employees to recognize each other and give thanks for those small moments in the day to day creates a more holistic and better corporate culture that can complement more traditional wellness programs.
Examples: Maybe a client had a big corporate participation at a 5K, or maybe they have aspects of their employee well-being program that don’t fit in the specific health insurance incentive box – that is where our platform can come in.
Building the “Total Rewards” Umbrella
Where we fit in
We help our clients take all of these pieces and build an umbrella that they can communicate to individuals, can cohesively fill in any gaps, and will have measurable results.
You can’t measure the results of a pizza party or handing out one gift at the end of the year.
But you do have data points if you are going to use a comprehensive solution. We want to be a resource to help pull them all together.
