Archived Red Card incentive ideas?

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If it was late morning & we hadn't gotten a single redcard, I'd get a call from leadership asking what we could do to get things rolling.
I'd tell them that combos, Starbux, a small giftcard were good incentives.
I then had to listen to a lecture why we weren't going to do that & cashiers needed to be reminded that it was part of their job.
We then would go several hrs longer without a redcard before the ETL would call & suggest a prize.
If I was lucky, I got one JUST before the end of my shift.
 
redeye58 said:
I then had to listen to a lecture why we weren't going to do that & cashiers needed to be reminded that it was part of their job.
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My ex used to work at Sears, and a bunch of her coworkers got fired because they didn't get enough customers to open charge cards. She quit not long after.
 
Mr Quickart said:
Something that was a big hit for us was a punch board similar to punch a bunch on the price is right. We used some poster board and glued small dixie cups to it. We then put tissue paper between the poster board layers with prizes in the cups that ranged from a candy bar all the way up to a $10 DVD. We spilt up the prizes based on their value so that there were more lower value ones to make it more exciting when you got the DVD.
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I don't really like the idea of contests for redcards, at least not on a regular basis, but my love of the Price is Right may seriously lead to me doing this one.

If only I could build a Plinko board in the breakroom....
 
redandkhaki said:
why no love for contests?
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Makes your team think they have to get rewarded in order to get redcards when its a part of their core roles and all cashiers at my store are told before they're hired that will be one of their major responsibilities

I'm not saying you shouldn't reward exceptional performance, but rewards shouldn't be expected. If someone on my team goes above and beyond you best bet they will be recognized and rewarded in some way even if its out of my pocket.
 
oh yeah, i totally agree on that. In the past the contests that we've done has just been based on getting a red card or whoever gets the most red cards etc.. I want to do something more based on conversion scores to reward those people who are consistently getting a green score. I realize it's in their core roles but i don't think it's very "fun" to hound cashiers all the time about it even if it is in their core roles.
 
redandkhaki said:
oh yeah, i totally agree on that. In the past the contests that we've done has just been based on getting a red card or whoever gets the most red cards etc.. I want to do something more based on conversion scores to reward those people who are consistently getting a green score. I realize it's in their core roles but i don't think it's very "fun" to hound cashiers all the time about it even if it is in their core roles.
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That's like saying its not very "fun" to hound salefloor to ask cihyfs. Its one of the most important parts of their position.

I don't think "hounding" is the right term though. Checking in with those who have low conversions on a weekly basis and trying to find the problem and help them do their job better, that's just training and development.
 
My job in training and development includes motivation which i like to use in a fun way. I don't think cashiers should have to come to work every day and hear about how low our score is and that they aren't preforming their core roles by not getting red cards. Do i think that providing fun and contests is the only way to go about it? Absolutely not.. it's just one aspect. When i am speed weaving i am constantly paying attention to what my cashiers are saying to guests especially related to red cards. I have so many cashiers that are amazing at getting red cards who have consistently been in the red for the past 3 months. Our store in general has hit rock bottom with red cards and we need a way to get people excited again about asking because right now they are all burned out by getting rejected over and over. Quite frankly i'm tired of it. I totally understand the need for red cards and that it is very important that cashiers do this but I would rather my team come to work energized and ready to have fun. (which doesn't just mean a red card contest)
Last closing weekend i had was a terrible night with call-ins and we were crazy busy. SL TL and i ended up blasting the music at close, dancing in the aisles, and had a surprise water balloon fight in the parking lot after close. It's been two weeks and the team is still talking about it.
Honestly it gets old hearing that "it's their core roles". Ok, good.. most of there people aren't getting paid enough to REALLY care and just saying to them DO IT, it's your core roles is NOT going to work.
 
redandkhaki said:
. Ok, good.. most of there people aren't getting paid enough to REALLY care and just saying to them DO IT, it's your core roles is NOT going to work.
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Agreed, I wouldn't go about it at all that way. You don't have to go to the extremes of bribing your tm's to do their job or being a hard ass. There's a nice middle. I don't mind rewarding hard work I just don't like "Sell this many RCs get this prize!". I don't think its effective leadership. Your example of motivation was a good one and you didn't have to spend a dime. It was smart leadership that did it.
 
StateofTarget said:
I spent a year as a GSTL.

I would definitely *not* recommend candy or anything like that if you have older cashiers. (read: 25 years or older) The reason is - they see it as patronizing them, (form of harassment) basically like you are treating them like a kid. I made the mistake of giving a 50 something year old cashier a few times (because she kept getting red cards), and ended up on a counseling for harassment. She had an attorney come to the store and was ready to sue us. Basically they had to write me up to prevent a lawsuit.
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:huh::mega_shok: WHAT???? REALLY??? That's just nuts. I'm a 50 something cashier and I love to get candy for getting a red card. Chocolate is my friend and gummies bears are the perfect food. Does this person still work there? At our store the prize is usually a target dog, or T-shirt. Candy would make me smile for sure.
:laugh3:
 
I believe that red card success starts in the interview. During the interview process it needs to be discussed and that's when people should know it is part of what is expected. Then it continues with your team trainer. If during training they simply gloss over the proper way to ask and how important their takeaway is that it is not that important. Once they are onboard, make sure you assign their lanes so that you have someone who has trouble next to someone who is good at it. They will actually hear how the other cashier is asking and what is working. Contests for bragging rights are pretty successful. Pair the team up during their shifts. Let them name their teams (we had Thelma and Louise versus Fred and Wilma) I don't think it always have to be a physical prize sometimes bragging rights is just as good.
 
redandkhaki said:
why no love for contests?
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There are multiple issues with contests and rewards for RC performance. The core role issue is valid. Getting RC's is part of their job. Every two weeks we get a reward for doing our job well, a paycheck.

Having said that, I have no problem rewarding TM's for doing a GREAT job at whatever their job is. I carry a giftcard in my wallet just so that I can reward/recognize people without hearing management ***** about overspending 549.

That leads to my personal issue with RC recognition and rewards. If I am going to reward people that cashier for getting RC, what am I doing to recognize people that do not cashier but do an amazing job at their job. I have seen so many RC contests but have never once heard of anything to recognize great zoning, unloading truck, shooting out, etc.
 
mrknownothing said:
I agree, but try telling the ETL-GE that.
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Let the ETL deal with guests who say "no" when asked. If the guests are being asked and rejecting the offer, then there's nothing the TMs can do. There's a fine line between asking and badgering.
 
I wish that we could have scores based on the number of guests that use their RC on a specific day.
We have info on our guest experience board that lists the number of RC we are asked to get for the week. It is compared to the week before so that we can at least get an idea of how we are doing.

Also, we have an info sheet that tells us week to week what percentage of our sales is done with RC. The number there typically lists 9% up to 12% of our sales. That's a lot of money being generated with the RC. So as long as that number remains at this percentage then the sales are good.

RC can be difficult to get. Today we were supposed to get 12 RC. That's quite a laugh. Usually we get around 3 to 7. To me that is pretty good.

Maybe adding a special incentive to guests would help, too.......like open a card and save 15% and then 5% all other times. The problem of opening a RC at 5% is that it is a small amount as a start-up.

One thing that has been helpful for me is the way that Target lists the amount of savings for the day and then the total since the beginning of the year. I try to tell my guests how much they've saved so far this year....and twice I've had the next guest apply for a RC because they heard how much the guest in front of them saved.
 
Avepico said:
There are multiple issues with contests and rewards for RC performance. The core role issue is valid. Getting RC's is part of their job. Every two weeks we get a reward for doing our job well, a paycheck

My paycheck is in no way enough to compensate me for the work that I do. Give me extra money in my paycheck for each RC and perhaps you'll see more RC apps.
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pellinore said:
Avepico said:
There are multiple issues with contests and rewards for RC performance. The core role issue is valid. Getting RC's is part of their job. Every two weeks we get a reward for doing our job well, a paycheck

My paycheck is in no way enough to compensate me for the work that I do. Give me extra money in my paycheck for each RC and perhaps you'll see more RC apps.
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When I first started nearly 10 years ago we use to get a $10 gift card if you got more than 10 RC in a week. They stopped doing that, why??? I don't know. It was a great incentive if you ask me and I think that Target could well afford them. Nothing like free money to motivate tms I always say.
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They've pretty much done away with giving gift cards in general because the IRS wanted them to start taxing them.
Now they are doing product and have to make sure it's under $25 for the same reason.
 
So I just want to bounce another idea off you guys. Recently our ETL-GE looked at our 549 budget and realized we were over (to put it nicely). She encouraged us to come up with non-requisitioned prizes. With her help we were able to come up with our current incentive of an extra 15 minute break on a day of your choosing if you get 3 cards in one day. This seems to be working pretty well so I was wondering if you guys had any other non-requistion prize ideas...

I am beginning to draw a blank
 
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