Employee Discount Programs

Employee Discount Programs

What Are Employee Discount Programs And What To Consider When Choosing Them

Employee Discount Programs

An employee discount program traditionally provides employees with a variety of products and services at a discounted rate. These services can include, sporting events, Broadway shows, personal services (such as spa and beauty treatments) and electronics. Employee discount programs are becoming increasingly popular among large corporations and organizations as these programs often result in a win-win situation for all parties involved. As employees utilize these discount programs it generates business for third party vendors and increases overall employee work satisfaction and loyalty to the employers. The only caveat is that the service can be a distraction from work.

Employee Discount Programs Are Affordable To The Employer

Employee discount programs are often great value for corporations and organizations as most employee discount programs cost very little to implement and administer and are sometimes free. According to a poll conducted by Corporatewellnessmagazine.com, 67% of corporate employees take advantage of an employee discount program offered through an employee portal. This high rate of employee engagement and utilization drives corporations to implement such programs to be included in their benefits package.

Employee Discount Programs Versus Daily Deal Websites

Employee discount programs are usually a private “employees only” benefit. These are distinguished from public daily deal services such as Groupon, Living Social, Gilt, Goldstar or any of the other daily-deal websites, which this article does not discuss, as these are not employer-sponsored programs. The offers on daily-deal services should never eclipse those of employee perk and discount programs. The daily-deal websites are, however, a good bar to use to compare the value of an employee perk program. If an employee can get the same (or even better) deal at the daily-deal website on an item, then the employee perk program service would have failed in its mission to deliver the very best pricing model. The whole idea behind employee pricing is that it is the very best pricing that can be arranged, and that employees could not get such a low price without the employer. Some employee perk programs will actually remove an offer if a comparable offer becomes available on a daily-deal website. Daily-deal websites are great for vendors to make a fast buck or launch a brand, but they are notorious for destroying a brand in the long term, something that the protected model of the “employees only” access will not do.

Discount Programs As An Employment Tool

Although the unique and exclusive employee benefits that a firm offers can be compelling, it tends not to motivate prospective employees in their choice of working for a particular organization over another. Well-balanced employee discount programs can however, keep employees from leaving as the program allows them to find what truly matches their personal interests. Discounts on local services such as theater and sporting events comforts employees that are new to an area, who may need recommendations and encouragement to visit local attractions. Other employees may simply seek a means of entertainment and stress-relief from their long days at the office.

Paid Versus Free Employee Discount Programs

Free employee discount programs and services are great for the bottom line, as they do not cost the organization anything, but the downsides are that the client often cannot dictate the content of the product or service lines that appear on the free service. They may also have to use multiple free services to provide a good basis of offers for their employees, because no vendor offers every service they will need. There can be a lot of chaff offers with free services, which do not connect with the employees at all, and a poor choice of free service means that it could go completely unused by employees. Free services also do not usually allow the organization to put up their own offers. Paid services are great for customization, where the organization can brand the service, use an API to deliver content to their own Intranet page, put up their own offers, decide what things should appear and integrate the service into their corporate culture. One problem that exists for the paid service is that if it does not offer a certain product or service, while they can put pressure on the employee perks program service provider (EPPSP) to offer it, if they are unable to do so, then they may well have to end up using a free service to backfill in order to provide comprehensive service to their employees. It’s down to the organization to ask themselves: if they pay for the service, will it provide everything the employees will need? Most often, it does not cover all bases because they are limiting their options to just one provider, and no provider does it all. The most common solution is to select either one paid service and one free service, or two free services.

Employee Discount Programs and Employee Wellness

Basic benefits such as health coverage and paid-time-off are traditional methods of increasing employee health and wellness. However, in today’s stressful business world , many employers seek alternative benefits such as employee discount programs that will likely energize the workforce. Discounts to leisure activities such as theme parks, hotels, and sporting events lets the employee feel taken care of by their employer, thus promoting satisfaction and employee wellness.

The Best Employee Discount Programs

A Corporation, or an HR professional, in charge of handling employee discount programs for the first time can be easily overwhelmed. They might often find themselves analyzing and comparing the various programs available for months. There are a few questions to keep in mind during the employee discount program evaluation process. Which program is best suited to meet the needs of your employees? What are the factors to consider? Why are some employee discount programs free while others aren't? At what point is the program a distraction from work, rather than an asset to work?

The best employee discount program is one that delivers the most value to the employees without providing a work distraction. Employers tend to make the mistake of selecting employee discount programs that bring in as many discounts as they can, which is a rookie mistake. HR stalwarts often know that sometimes less is more. Employers should know what offers their employees will value and engage with and ditch the ones that they do not use. Most employee discount programs offer discounts that are publicly available and call them "benefits". These types of programs result in low perceived value, do not provide much of a service to the employees, and will quickly lead to low-engagement. Ideally, HR professionals should select an employee discount program that offers deals local to the office, and some others that are national. Local offers may include hotels, parking, and local gyms. National offers include well-known sports team discounts, and Broadway shows.

Pricing options for employee discount programs can vary from no-cost programs to upfront payments. Free discount programs are great for the bottom line since they do not cost the corporation anything. However, free services do not allow the organization to control the offers or the product lines available. Paid services tend to be better for customizing, where the organization has the ability to decide which offers will be integrated into the program. Ultimately, an organization must decide whether they want to invest on a paid service, or offer multiple free services that will cover all employee needs.

Employee Discount Programs And Daily Deal Websites

Daily deal websites such as Groupon, Yipit, and Living Social offer public discounts and online coupon to almost anything. These websites often work with new brands and products with little consumer awareness, allowing them to discount the product or service so deeply. Well-known brands rarely find their way into such websites. In regards to short-term sales, daily deal websites sell coupons at a rapid pace, however, the impact on long-term sales tend to be negative as these one-time deals bring in disloyal customers and lead to brand damage.

These kinds of services do not lend well as employee discount program solutions for many reasons. The offers are often of a temporary nature. The discounts offered on daily deal websites are also not exclusive to employees as they are available to the general public. However, daily deal websites can be used as a way of comparing the value of an employee discount program. If an employee can find an equal or even better discount through the employee discount program provided to them, it will confirm that the program is living up to its best pricing model.

The Employee Discount Program At Corporate Offers

The employee discount program at Corporate Offers is filled with exclusive offers and discounts that provide corporate employees with savings to attractive events and theme-parks. Corporate Offers allows organizations to meet employee needs by providing unbeatable offers to local attractions around then New York City area.