Articles by Anna Straus, CEO at Sparck

Mar 6, 2024 1:39:05 PM

How to Improve Your Workplace Experience: Actionable Tips

If you’re a business leader, it’s vital to know that employees want their experience to be more than a communal coffee pot and once-a-year gift cards. A good workpla...

Author: Anna Straus, CEO at Sparck

Did you know that we're offering our statistically valid #BeHeard Employee Engagement Report for FREE? Get a pulse on how engaged and equipped your employees are today!

Employee Experience

Jan 30, 2024 11:11:41 AM

4 Types of Employee Experience Tools Leaders Need in 2024

It’s no secret that employee experience is vital to the bottom line of any business. There’s a reason employee turnover rates are called “the trillion-dollar problem...

Author: Anna Straus, CEO at Sparck

Employee Experience

Dec 28, 2023 7:30:15 AM

How to Improve Your Employee Experience in 2024

Any business leader knows that an employee recognition program isn’t a luxury - it’s a necessity. High employee turnover costs much more than investing in employee r...

Author: Anna Straus, CEO at Sparck

Employee Experience

Nov 29, 2023 6:25:35 AM

4 Ways Leaders Are Measuring Employee Experience

Measuring the employee experience seems like an unsolvable mystery for even the most seasoned HR leaders in 2023. The kicker is, if you can’t effectively measure emp...

Author: Anna Straus, CEO at Sparck

Employee Experience

Oct 31, 2023 8:29:49 AM

What is a Workplace Experience & Why You Should Care

Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the idea of the traditional workplace has transformed. The average employee might not have to go into their office every day of the week...

Author: Anna Straus, CEO at Sparck

Employee Experience

Oct 4, 2023 10:32:37 AM

The Difference Between Employee Engagement vs. Employee Experience

In the aftermath of COVID-19, the workplace landscape has transformed. These changes pose new challenges for employers. As workplaces evolve to include remote, hybri...

Author: Anna Straus, CEO at Sparck

Employee Experience

Sep 6, 2023 5:44:49 AM

How Do You Measure Employee Experience? 5 Tips and Tricks

Your employees’ workplace experience matters. And unfortunately, in the workforce, a lot of employees aren’t having a positive experience. In 2021, almost half (48%)...

Author: Anna Straus, CEO at Sparck

Employee Experience

Jul 27, 2023 10:51:20 AM

Why You Need a Personalized Workplace Experience Platform

Historically, workplaces have used a traditional siloed approach. This means that they had a lack of tools, lack of training, and a lack of employee motivation. In r...

Author: Anna Straus, CEO at Sparck

Personalized Recognition Employee Experience

Sep 29, 2022 11:10:09 AM

7 Questions to Ask Employees About Rewards and Recognition

Did you know that U.S. businesses spent $176 billion on recognition rewards in 2022? That number was almost half that at the before of the pandemic. These programs a...

Author: Anna Straus, CEO at Sparck

Aug 31, 2022 10:24:41 AM

The Top 6 Reasons Why Employee Recognition Programs Fail

Editor’s Note: This article has been updated for 2023 to include new data. In 2019, the World Health Organization defined burnout as “a syndrome conceptualized as re...

Author: Anna Straus, CEO at Sparck

Personalized Recognition

Jul 19, 2022 4:14:50 PM

How to Implement an Employee Recognition Program in 3 Simple Steps

Editor's Note: This article has been updated with the latest trends and insights in the industry, as well as more recent sources to support the information presented...

Author: Anna Straus, CEO at Sparck

Personalized Recognition

Jun 2, 2022 1:37:48 PM

3 Steps To Building An Effective Employee Recognition Framework

*Editor's Note: This article has been updated with the latest trends and insights in the industry, as well as more recent sources to support the information present....

Author: Anna Straus, CEO at Sparck

Apr 11, 2022 4:44:42 PM

Optimize Your Recognition Strategy in 4 Easy Steps to Ignite Employee Retention

Did you know that the number one reason why employees are leaving is that they don’t feel valued by their organization and manager? All the more reason to get to the...

Author: Anna Straus, CEO at Sparck

Feb 28, 2022 8:04:24 AM

6 Sparck Appreciation Styles: How to Show Employee Appreciation

If you’ve been following our content, you likely already know the importance of recognizing employees and the major impact it has on building a positive company cult...

Author: Anna Straus, CEO at Sparck

Dec 21, 2021 1:46:37 PM

Sparck’s Unique Employee Holiday Gift Guide

It’s that time of year again… Twinkling lights hanging in store windows, the smell of pine fills the air, and Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas” is played on ...

Author: Anna Straus, CEO at Sparck

Personalized Recognition Employee Engagement

Jun 10, 2021 9:41:53 AM

6 Employee Recognition Tips to Fix Employee Burnout

Editor's Note: This article has been updated with the latest trends and insights in the industry, as well as more recent sources to support the information presented...

Author: Anna Straus, CEO at Sparck

Personalized Recognition Employee Experience HR

Mar 26, 2021 1:15:00 PM

How to Navigate the Human Side of HR Tech

We may have taken for granted how on-trend the Jetsons were with their predictions nearly 60 years ago. Over the years we’ve seen and heard of dynamic changes in Art...

Author: Anna Straus, CEO at Sparck

Personalized Recognition Employee Experience

Dec 16, 2020 11:30:00 AM

Recognition: The Holiday Gift Your Employees Will Love

What's the gift your employees will love this holiday season? You might be surprised! Employees want the gift of your genuine interest and care for them, especially ...

Author: Anna Straus, CEO at Sparck

Employee Engagement Employee Experience

Nov 19, 2020 11:13:00 AM

Employee Engagement Surveys: An Essential Tool During COVID-19

Today we’re navigating a completely different world than ever imagined. In June, employee engagement fell to an all-time record low. No other national crisis has imp...

Author: Anna Straus, CEO at Sparck

Employee Engagement Employee Experience Company Culture and Wellness

Jul 27, 2020 9:00:00 AM

Virtual is the New Vogue: Keep Your Employees Healthy and Productive

Lunch with coworkers and Friday happy hours…remember those? Heck, right now many of us would probably relish the chance to converse in the break room as we drink bur...

Author: Anna Straus, CEO at Sparck

Personalized Recognition

May 26, 2020 3:47:46 PM

Personalized Recognition: How to Ask the Right Questions

In our blog post How to Successfully Recognize your Generationally Diverse Workforce, we broke down the differences between generations in the workforce to help you ...

Author: Anna Straus, CEO at Sparck

Teams Leadership

Mar 20, 2020 6:39:36 PM

The Madness in March: 5 Ways to Coach Remote Teams During COVID-19

Today we are all facing a new reality both personally and professionally. As you might guess from the title of this blog, we originally intended March Madness to be ...

Author: Anna Straus, CEO at Sparck

Personalized Recognition Employee Engagement

Jan 21, 2020 11:03:12 AM

5 Key Characteristics of the Best Employee Recognition Programs

If you have an Employee Recognition Program in place, now is the time to ask yourself “how can we improve? What worked and what didn’t? What can we do better?” If yo...

Author: Anna Straus, CEO at Sparck

Dec 16, 2019 5:05:33 PM

“Ho...Ho...Oh…” - Employee Holiday Gifts Gone Wrong

With the holiday season in full swing, you’re probably starting to think about what gifts to get your employees. But what to buy? Ah yes, the annual conundrum! Let’s...

Author: Anna Straus, CEO at Sparck

Personalized Recognition Employee Engagement

Nov 25, 2019 12:35:11 PM

Values-Based Recognition - It's All in the Design

By now you probably know how important it is to recognize your employees in a meaningful way and it’s no secret that many of the world’s most successful companies ha...

Author: Anna Straus, CEO at Sparck

Teams Employee Experience

Sep 20, 2019 10:15:20 AM

Enhance Your Employee Experience with Social Wellness

Chances are if you’ve lived above ground over the past several years, you’re familiar with the growing trend that the workplace isn’t all about work…work and more wo...

Author: Anna Straus, CEO at Sparck

Personalized Recognition Employee Engagement

Aug 14, 2019 12:17:02 PM

Traditional Employee Recognition is Increasing Turnover

The Scene: Jack has been a dedicated employee with your company for 5 years! This is his first job out of college and you appreciate the hard work and loyalty he has...

Author: Anna Straus, CEO at Sparck

Leadership Employee Engagement

Jul 21, 2019 11:20:40 PM

Not just a TV Show - 4 Ways to Give Your Employees a Voice

Today, more than half of all employees are actively looking for a new job according to Gallup - yikes. They’re disengaged, and IF they decide to leave, it costs comp...

Author: Anna Straus, CEO at Sparck

Sparck and Dark Stories

Apr 19, 2019 3:32:07 PM

Sparck and Dark Stories: Ignite a Thriving Workplace

At Sparck, we have a saying - “Avoid the dark and ignite the Sparck.” Okay, so you’re probably wondering what that’s all about. “Dark” moments are the times where em...

Author: Anna Straus, CEO at Sparck

Personalized Recognition Employee Engagement

Mar 27, 2019 2:17:08 PM

Personalized Recognition Eats Perks for Breakfast

“Wow, is there anything that I can do to change your mind?” “Is there something we can do on our end to make you happy?” “What would it take for us to keep you?” Why...

Author: Anna Straus, CEO at Sparck

Employee Engagement

Jun 25, 2018 1:48:35 PM

Where is your talent going?

What is your company actively doing to avoid losing talent? Get a pulse on turnover and employee engagement with our FREE #BeHeard Employee Engagement Survey!

Author: Anna Straus, CEO at Sparck

Leadership

Jun 24, 2018 6:09:10 PM

Take Time off for Health and Wellnesss

Taking time off has long been stigmatized in U.S. business culture. Kimble, a professional services automation company based in Boston, found that 47 percent of work...

Author: Anna Straus, CEO at Sparck