Can being charitable and “giving back” attract and retain employees and increase customer loyalty? Research suggests that it does. Charitable giving also plays a role in employee reward and recognition programs.

Technology has made parity achievable. Small and large companies can take comfort in knowing that, when it comes to worker safety, company size need not matter.

Distractions are the same for all workers, whether they are part of an organization with 50 employees or 50,000. And so it would only seem right to assume that the business world has provided all entities, no matter their size, with the solutions they need to keep workers safe on the job. The truth, however, is that larger companies have always enjoyed many advantages over their smaller brethren. The kind of advantages that come naturally as a result of simply being bigger, such as:

For years we’ve understood that tangible merchandise rewards are the most effective method to motivate employee performance improvement, and the latest Trend report from The Incentive Research Foundation confirms it yet again. This is the fifth straight year that the rewards and recognition market has shown 20-30% growth in experience-related rewards including merchandise – and the more meaningful the merchandise reward, the more effective.

It should have been easy to see, but somehow the waters were muddied decades ago and they are just now clearing up.  It is well understood that placing an incentive at the right place at the right time is a great method of creating positive behavior change.  Anyone working at OSHA would know this (as would any other American) in that we all participate in a wide variety of customer loyalty programs that incent us and affect our behavior.  As a result of doing so, we get rewarded for our loyalty to brands we already believe in, and everyone wins.

When sales and marketing leaders are looking to boost sales, discounts and buy-one-get-one-free (BOGO) offers often come to mind. While these may be effective some of the time, they are expensive and cut into profit margins. A gift-with-purchase program is affordable and can boost your sales.

It may come as a surprise to some, but summer is the most dangerous time to drive for both businesses and families. Summer is the time to pile the family into the car and head off to vacation destinations, and it is also the time where heat and exhaustion lead to less safe driving. July and August are the most dangerous months, especially on Saturday, between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Taking some extra precautions can ensure that you, your family, and your co-workers don’t become a statistic. Here are some tips that can help everyone stay safe on the road this summer.