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Gallup is an employee engagement researcher that carries out extensive surveys of U.S. companies. They consider one of their most important findings to be the outsized role that managers play when it comes to keeping employees engaged. They claim that the manager or team leader alone accounts for 70% of the variance in team engagement. […]

What does culture mean within the context of an organization, and why is it so important? Culture is hard to define, which is why many will hold up their hands and simply say that culture amounts to how things are done around here. You can’t necessarily say what it is, but you can feel it, […]

Say you have an employee well-being program. Great! How do you get your employees to make the most of it? A Gartner survey shows that while many employees have access to well-being programs at work, they don’t always use them. Here are a few tips on driving engagement. Increase Awareness Employees can’t take advantage of […]

Over the past few weeks, we’ve done a deep dive on safety in the workplace, but in the next two posts we’ll shift our focus to a related concept: well-being. Many companies have expanded their well-being programs in response to rising pressures on their employee’s mental and physical health. Among companies with 1,000 employees or […]

In the last two posts, we looked at the benefits of incentivizing your safety program. In this post, we’ll look at how a recognition program can make your workplace safer, and this is by creating what professor Amy Edmonson at the Harvard Business School dubbed psychological safety. Psychological safety is the ability to express oneself […]

One way to super-charge your safety program is by incentivizing good performance through a gift program. Managers and employees are more likely to adhere to good practice if they know that safe behavior will be rewarded. This makes incentive programs a great way to minimize the costs associated with workplace safety incidents. What should you […]

What follows is the first part in a two-part series on safety in the workplace. Workplace safety programs can support your business on two fronts. On the one hand, they help control loss, and on the other, they increase employee productivity. It’s worth noting that robust safety programs aren’t just for large corporations with deep […]

How do you get the most out of your employee recognition program? It’s important to consider not only what kind of gifts you award but also how you award them. Studies have shown that public recognition events like banquets or ceremonies can enhance the effectiveness of your award program. Awards granted in a public setting can feel more […]

Do you have an upcoming employee recognition speech to give? Are you presenting at your organization’s next recognition event or banquet? Download our handy Award Presentation Worksheet! Simply print and fill out a worksheet for each employee you are recognizing. Be sure to show your appreciation with meaningful, relevant facts and stories of your employees. Give each individual’s worksheet special thought and consideration. Your employees will love what you have to say about them!

When a company presents their employee with a cash award, the Internal Revenue Service requires that the cash amount must be treated as ordinary income by the employer. What are the implications of this?

For the employee, ordinary income is subject to Federal and State payroll withholding taxes, and FICA Social Security and Medicare withholding. For the employer, ordinary income is subject to the employer’s contribution toward FICA Social Security and Medicare, and State and Federal Unemployment Insurance. In addition, the employer usually has insurance costs for Workers Compensation and Short/Long Term Disability as an obligation based upon employee earnegend wages.

June 3, 2015 – Award Concepts, a leader in employee recognition programs and manufactured jewelry, celebrates its 30th anniversary. In 1985 co-founders Gordon Campbell and Bob La Frenier set out to develop cost-effective recognition programs for clients to demonstrate employee appreciation, enhance their corporate culture and produce successful return on investment. Over the last 30 years, Award Concepts has pioneered many new products and services, evolving into a leader for workplace recognition and organizational jewelry.