Employee Discounts with Andrew Graft, Access Perks

Our guest this time is Andrew Graft, Vice President of Corporate Marketing at Access Development and Access Perks, a company committed to making the workplace a better place through its network of exclusive discounts from over 1 million of the world’s best brands.

Andrew's responsibilities include overseeing the company's B2B, B2C, and loyalty marketing efforts, growing company revenue and generating new business leads, driving product sales and web traffic, and providing marketing support services to client companies.

Questions For Andrew Include:

• How can an employee discount network improve recruiting, retention and morale? 
• You lead a team of graphic designers and marketing managers to execute an extensive campaign calendar of electronic, print and tradeshow marketing initiatives. What do you believe are some of the key characteristics of effective leaders? 
• For those who may not be as familiar, what exactly is an employee discount program?
• What should an employer look for if they’re considering such a program for their own employees?
• What problems do employee discount programs try to solve for employers?
• Let's talk about the brands your team works with. Who are some of the discount providers in your program?
• How much can employees save using your program? Do you have any examples or stories you can share?
• How can listeners connect with you and learn more about Access Perks?

About Access Perks and Access Development

Access Perks – America’s largest employee discount network – helps employers boost the value of their benefits by stretching employee paychecks on the purchases they make every day – from restaurants and retailers to entertainment and travel providers. Through its direct relationships with over 1 million local businesses and national brands, no other employee discount program delivers more savings in more communities throughout America. 

For over 30 years, its parent organization Access Development has provided high-value, high-impact engagement and loyalty programs for organizations, employer groups, businesses and associations worldwide. The company is an award-winning employer and has been recognized nationally for its commitment to healthy, happy workplaces. 

To download the ebook referenced in this episode, click here (accessperks.com/ebook

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:02

Welcome to the HR Chat Show, one of the world's most downloaded and shared podcasts designed for HR pros, talent execs, tech enthusiasts, and business leaders for hundreds more episodes and what's new in the world of work, subscribe to the show, follow us on social media, and visit hr gazette.com.

Speaker 2: 0:25

Welcome to another episode of the HR Chat Show. I'm your host today, bill Banham. Joining me on this episode is Andrew grt, vice President of Corporate Marketing over at Access Development and Access Perks, a firm that helps organizations to inspire the audiences they care about with exclusive savings from the world's best brands. Andrew's responsibilities include overseeing the company's b2b, b2c and loyalty marketing efforts, growing company revenue, and generating new business leads, including pro driving product sales, web traffic, and providing marketing support services to client companies. So he is a pretty busy guys. Listeners,<laugh>. Hey, Andrew, it's my pleasure to welcome you to the show.

Speaker 3: 1:09

Hi, bill. It's delighted to be here. Thank you.

Speaker 2: 1:14

And, uh, I should just add that Andrew and I have had a few conversations in the buildup to this interview today. He's a lovely guy, so checking out on the socials and whatnot, connect with him. I'm sure he'll be open to that. He's a very nice man. Hey, Andrew, beyond my reintroduction there, though, why don't you start by telling our listeners about yourself. Don't tell them too much about access just yet. We'll get into that shortly, but a bit about yourself, your career background, and what you get up to.

Speaker 3: 1:37

Okay. All right, great. And, uh, thank you. That's very, a very kind introduction, bill. Um, like I said, I'm Andrew. Uh, I, I've been with Access, access Development, access Perks for going on 20 years now. Uh, in terms of my, my current role, excuse me, I'm, I'm kind of a mix depending on what time of day you catch me, uh, you know, as you, as you mentioned in your, your lead up. But most of the day I'm a marketer and, and an even an educator. But when I'm consulting with our employers, they just generally know me as their, their chief savings officer. You know, that's, that's when I'm working with them to help their employees save as much money as possible when they're using our discount program. Um, from our earlier conversations, bill, maybe you picked up on it, I, I have a real passion about employee engagement. Uh, probably in large part due to my wife, uh, who's, who's been in HR for over 25 years. Um, through her, I get to hear a lot of the stories and a lot of the challenges that impact the HR occupation and really employers in general. Um, that's, that's really about it, at least, at least the things that are, uh, uh, most relevant today.

Speaker 1: 2:54

Thanks for tuning in to the HR Chat podcast. If you're enjoying this episode, we'd really appreciate it if you could subscribe and leave a five star review on your podcast platform of choice. And now back to the conversation.

Speaker 2: 3:12

Okay, wonderful. Thank you very much. So, let's now focus a little bit on Access Perk. Shall we tell us about Access Perks, what is it and how did it come about?

Speaker 3: 3:23

Well, uh, okay, great. So, well, access Perks, um, is America's largest employee discount network. And our mission is simple. We help employers create happier workplaces by helping their employees stretch their paychecks on the purchases they make every day. And the beginning of our story actually goes back almost 40 years, and that's when our parent company Access Development was founded. And at the time, our North Star was to create the largest private network of discount providers that large organizations could offer to their customers as an exclusive membership benefit. Um, good example, or roadside assistance programs, right? You know, you'd sign up for the Motor club and during the times when you're not calling for help after your car breaks down, you get access to special discounts. And that's frequently us in the background, quietly providing that service, you know, negotiating the offers and managing the merchant relationships. Um, same with teachers, you know, here in America, um, we are the discount program provider for over half of America's state education associations. You know, these are the state labor unions that teachers join to get the benefit of collective bargaining and professional training and networking and those sorts of things. But, you know, in addition, if you a member of, say, the, the California Teachers Association, you get special discounts to help you stretch your frequently limited budget. That, again, is us behind the scenes branded for the organization so that they're getting the maximum credit and goodwill from the audiences they serve in the face of all of that. Where does access Perks come in? Well, over the years, especially during the last decade, we started to receive requests after requests from employers and HR professionals looking for ways to boost the value of their company benefits. But at the time, you know, our programs were set up to serve really large organizations. We're talking tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of members, not small and medium sized businesses with a hundred employees, 500 employees, a thousand employees, right? So we decided to resize and reprice our program to fit the needs and budget budget of employers, which is where Access Perks comes in. It's a discount program specifically designed for the needs of the workplace. And now, you know, after really having a very positive reaction from the employer market, we serve over 1000 employers, both large and small, from healthcare and high tech to nonprofits, uh, even local and state governments, places where that extra purchasing power makes a real difference.

Speaker 2: 6:16

So maybe you can share now, how can an employee discount network improve recruiting, retention, and morale? You know, what, what are, what are the, what are those big benefits of, of having such a discount network, uh, to, to one's employees?

Speaker 3: 6:32

Well, I'll tell you that's, that's really the key. I mean, when we, when we talk about it from a business perspective, I mean, we, we frequently say, you know, what employee discount programs accomplish for the, for the business side. You know, for those businesses who are at risk for losing employees, especially when they can't afford to compete on salary alone, employee discount programs allow them to increase the buying power of their payroll without the subsequent increase in wage costs. Now that, that's the business explanation, right? But really the complete answer is more nuanced than that. You know, a key reason that employee discount programs are growing in popularity has to do with changing attitudes about the employee experience, employee engagement, retention culture, right? Take financial wellness, for example. It has become a hot button topic in the workplace, not just because of what's going on in the economy today, but because financial wellness itself, or the lack thereof, is one of the biggest factors in determining how engaged and productive an employee is. Let's face it, if, if you're worried about money, it's hard to think about anything else, let alone do your job. And for employees, making ends meet is all about the purchasing power of their paychecks. Uh, employee discount programs help address a number of issues like these around financial anxiety. By providing a happier work environment and helping people save money, they can help offset rising costs of healthcare. They can help struggling families make ends meet on, you know, basic needs like food and clothing. Um, they can provide opportunities for memorable experiences like vacations or entertainment, things that maybe, you know, employees couldn't do otherwise without that extra help from an employer sponsored program. Um, and the, you know, and again, from a strictly business perspective, it makes it harder for other companies to poach employees because they then have to come in and match the extra savings people are otherwise giving up by leaving. So, and at the end of the day, I mean, it's these experiences that the employees have and that feeling that the employee or that the employer has their back. I mean, that's kind of goodwill that it's, is really hard to buy otherwise.

Speaker 2: 8:57

My understanding is that you lead a team of graphic designers and marketing managers to, to execute an extensive campaign calendar of electronic print and trade show marketing initiatives. Uh, Andrew and I, we first spoke at the end of 2022 when he was planning out a bunch of cool activities for 2023. My goodness, he, he's a busy guy, and he's got, he's got a big team around him as a leader of, uh, of a big team, Andrew, um, a team doing lots of different things with, with, uh, you know, lots of balls in the air at once, I'm sure. What, what do you believe are some of the key characteristics of an effective leader?

Speaker 3: 9:33

I think there are probably lots of schools of thought around this. I will share with you mine, I believe probably the most important characteristic of a successful leader is someone who is well connected with the people who work in their sphere. Um, I'm a big believer in, in servant leadership, basically, where my role is to help, uh, you know, first to identify really talented smart people and then get out of their way and let them do their job, but be there to help clear the path, to help, uh, maximize their effectiveness in terms of what they do, um, to really be, uh, empathetic and, and authentic, um, with them in the fact that we're all, we're all in this together. And, you know, I'm also a big believer that, you know, a lot of the most, to take a sports analogy, a lot of the most popular or the most, uh, uh, uh, successful coaches in sports are those people, not necessarily, who just went out and had all of the best people on their team. They were the people who helped get the most out of the talents of those who are on their team, and basically helping to form a strategy around the strengths of the people they work with. And so that's, that's a big believer. I I feel like that is my job as a leader is, is not to direct people and point this and point over there. It's instead to ask myself, how can I help my people be as successful as they can in what we're trying to accomplish together?

Speaker 2: 11:12

Okay. Thanks, Andrew. Now, I don't imagine that all employee discount programs are created equal<laugh>. Um, in, in, in your experience, what should an employer look for if they're considering such a program for their own employees?

Speaker 3: 11:26

Well, that is a great question, bill. Um, in fact, we at Access Perks, we've written an ebook on this very subject so that HR and benefits professionals have a place to start when their first out looking for discount programs for their employees. And the ebook includes, among other educational details, a checklist of 10 questions every employer should ask a prospective discount provider. So, I mean, whether that's, that's us at Access Perks or anywhere else for that matter, strongly suggest you ask every provider these 10 questions to really dig in and understand whether this program is appropriate for your workforce. Uh, it's called the Ultimate Guide to Employee Discount Programs, uh, to your audience, uh, at access perks.com/ebook. But to answer your question, I I'm not gonna walk through all 10 questions. We'll be here forever, but I will touch on a couple of the most relevant, um, starting with, I feel like really is the first and most important question you can ask is, are your discounts relevant to my workforce? And that seems obvious enough. I know, but you'd be surprised. Not every program offers savings on the kinds of purchases people make every day. You know, for example, people eat three times a day, so your discount program better have a healthy selection of nearby restaurants. Uh, car owners, they get their oil changed four times a year. So you need nearby auto service centers. They can go to, many people go to the gym a few times a week. I mean, not me personally, of course, you know, but I, but I understand there are other more healthy individuals who do such a thing. Um, it's a good idea to have savings on, you know, at fitness centers. In contrast to that, how often do people benefit from the occasional discount on, say, windshield repair, right? It's the daily relevance we're talking about here. You know, are there savings on food, clothing, enter entertainment? And so on Question number two, I would say, again, pretty obvious, how deep are the discounts? I mean, are we talking three to 4% discounts or are we talking 20 to 25% discounts? And the reason that's important is that some programs, they curate lists of what are called in the business affiliate links. And these links are generally commission-based offers that are readily available to largely the general public that people redeem online, where the discount is less than 5%, uh, a portion of which the discount program itself keeps as a way of making their money. Uh, at Access Perks, you know, we negotiate directly with our merchant partners to offer discounts of no less than 10%, but more typically 25 to 50%. Um, in fact, across our va our various savings categories, we see typical savings per restaurant offer around 34%, and home and garden 25%, and automotive 29%. So that's a good, that's a good follow up question to ask. What is your typical discount in each savings category? Uh, question number three, how many of your discounts are available in and around the communities I serve? Now, this is important because even with all of the online purchasing that takes place today, a full 85% of all disposable consumer spending takes place locally in store within driving distance from home. Now, surprising as that may be, it makes total sense when you consider how much people spend at grocery stores, restaurants, auto shops, dry cleaning services, you generally can't buy online. They are by their nature in person and in store. Um, and access perks, you know, we've expanded our provider network into pretty much every neighborhood in America, whether it's big cities or, or small towns. And that's, that's kind of one of our claims to fame, is we, we serve, you know, the entire country. Um, the last one I'll, at least I'll touch on, it's an important question to ask. Are these actually private discounts or are they deals that are widely available to the general public? Um, is maybe you picked up before. Some providers take a shortcut when it comes to their discount programs. Um, instead of investing, you know, in, in building direct relationships with merchant providers, they, they go out and scrape the internet for many, you know, as many publicly posted offers as they can find online. Now, I probably don't need to say this, but I mean, there are issues that come with this. I mean, you know, as we like to say, there's nothing worse than, you know, telling someone you're special only to find out. They really say that to everyone. And the true is, is the same when it comes to benefits. If, if these are offers that anyone can get, say it like retail me not, um, then it's not really a benefit of being a member of your, your workforce. And employees can figure that out pretty quickly, and they can backfire. So those are, those are just some of the few, I mean, you know, I, I can tell you there at a high level, there are others, like, you know, uh, uh, which providers and brands participate in your program? Can I redeem discounts straight from my mobile phone? Do you offer toll-free customer service? Uh, uh, very importantly, given, you know, today's, uh, uh, needs. Is my data kept private or is it sold to other entities? These are all important questions, but you can find the answers in our ebook, which again is available for free to today's listeners@accessperks.com slash ebook.

Speaker 2: 17:17

Obviously, we are living through, uh, extraordinary times, Andrew, and there is a war for talent, certainly still, when we are looking at, say, contingent workers, hourly workers, perhaps not the knowledge workers so much in 2023. Um, we have seen, uh, many knowledge workers being laid off over the last few months, of course, but in, in most jobs. Cause most jobs are hourly paid jobs or, uh, they are less, uh, uh, knowledge based. There is still huge demand for these people. So my question for you is, how are demographics impacting programs like these?

Speaker 3: 17:51

Oh, great question. I mean, if you just, you can just look at the labor pool, right? And the answer is right there. This is probably very, uh, familiar to your audience. On one hand, we have over 10,000 baby boomers who are retiring from the job market every single day in America. And yet, on the flip side, our birth rates are lower than they've been in over a century. So you, you know, you combine that with these robust levels of job growth that we've been seeing over time. It, it's no wonder that our employment rate is at low, as we haven't seen in 50 years. There is simply a labor shortage, and it's one that's going to be around a while. And in that environment, employees are increasingly aware their skills and talents are in demand elsewhere. Um, so it's sort of this perfect storm for employers who are trying to compete in the marketplace for the best talent, or in some cases just have enough staff on hand to just keep their doors open, right? And so employee discount programs, they can help with this by basically providing a happier work environment where there's less financial anxiety, where people are less likely to go out and look for work elsewhere. Not that they don't leave the reas their, their, their places of work for a lot of reasons, but from a, from a monetary perspective and a business perspective, it makes it harder for people to leave and other companies to poach employees because those extra savings are very important to them on their day-to-day budget.

Speaker 2: 19:19

Excellent. And there will of course be links in the show notes listeners, so if you didn't catch that, don't worry about it. There'll be a URL that you can easily click on and, and learn lots more. Hey, Andrew, let's talk a little bit about the brands that your teams work with then. Uh, there are some pretty impressive brands that I've seen. Who are some of the, the discount providers in your program?

Speaker 3: 19:41

Well, you know, at Access Perks, I mean, I, I gotta say we're really fortunate. Um, you know, we have relationships with, I believe some of the best partners in the world. Um, you know, so in addition to the tens of thousands of individual mom and pop stores and restaurants that we have throughout America, names that maybe you wouldn't recognize, we are also partnered with hundreds of global brands. Uh, for example, we're talking, uh, apple, uh, Disneyland, Disney World, uh, Papa John's Pizza, Samsung, Costco, uh, in the auto space. We, we work with Advanced Auto Parts and Jiffy Lube, uh, another, uh, another theme park, universal Studios. And in terms of, of travel, I mean, we work with basically every hotel and car rental provider there is out there, uh, total of, um, total locations, about 850,000 of them. So, I mean, it's, it's, it's pretty, it's pretty broad.

Speaker 2: 20:40

How much can employees save using your program then, Andrew? Uh, do you have any examples or, or stories use cases that you're able to share with us?

Speaker 3: 20:51

Oh, sure. Well, you know, with Access Perks there, there's really no limit to how much employees can save because nearly all of our discounts are unlimited use, so they can be redeemed again and again and again. And employees, they're all different in how they use it, right? I mean, some people accumulate their savings, you know, day after day throughout the year on smaller purchases, like, you know, like on their lunch break near the office. Others, you know, they see the bulk of their savings on big ticket items. Vacations being a good example. Our travel engine features savings on hotel stays that are 10 to 50% lower than what employees can find on public sites like Expedia. So in those cases, if you book a vacation for just a week, I mean, that could easily be a thousand dollars in savings and one fell swoop. Um, on a, on a related note there, we actually, we actually have employees who like booking stays at mid-level to luxury resorts, you know, places that clearly they, they couldn't afford otherwise, and in some of those cases, they have literally paid$3,000 less than they would have by booking online elsewhere. Now, that said, as, as fun as it is to talk about, you know, money saved, a program like this is, is not just about the dollars and cents as, as great as that is, it's, it's about the impact this kind of a program has on on lives. Um, you know, for example, we hear all the time from young married couples who describe how Access Perks help them afford a bigger, better, more unforgettable honeymoon. Um, I heard just this week from one employee who says that he, he loves Access Perks because it allows him to plan more togetherness trips with his family. You know, he said there, there's six of us, and saving money is really the only way we can maximize the amount of fun we can have without breaking the bank. Last summer, I had one, uh, mother say that because of Access Perks, she was able to give her son the college graduation that he wanted. Uh, you know, I mean, it's, it's, it's, these are the kinds of stories that we hear all the time, which is really the most rewarding part of what I do. Um, you know, we're talking about quality of life, talking about experiences that maybe people can't otherwise afford and don't ever forget, you know, that, that the, the feeling that someone's out there looking out for their financial wellbeing and that someone is their employer, and, you know, and that's, that's goodwill that you, you just can't buy.

Speaker 2: 23:41

Andrew, you're not gonna believe this, but we are already coming towards the end of this particular conversation. We'll just have to get you on again in the near future, sir<laugh>, um, that sounds great. Before we do. Absolutely. Uh, before we do wrap up though, how can our listeners connect with you? So maybe do you wanna share your email address? Maybe you are on LinkedIn, maybe your super cool and your all over TikTok and Instagram and places, and of course, how can they learn more about all the cool things happening over at Access Perks?

Speaker 3: 24:09

Oh, great. Well, they can certainly just search Andrew Graft on LinkedIn, you know, uh, you know, hard to miss. Uh, please feel free to connect with me there. Um, one of the best, my, my, my email address is andrew dot graft access development.com. So, so feel free to reach out to me there. Um, in terms of learning about the program, uh, I just wanna let you know, bill, that in celebration of today's podcast, we have a special offer for any of the HR professionals or business owners out there who would like to request a free trial membership to check out the program. To get that, all you need to do is go to access perks.com/hr chat, shout out to you, bill, and complete the request form to receive a membership. Someone will contact you, get it set up, show you how the program works, but at the end of the day, it's going to give you access to all of the same discounts that our employers offer to their own people.

Speaker 2: 25:06

We love a shout out on this show. We're, uh,<laugh> ne never, uh, never scared to, uh, do a bit of, uh, self-promotion and promotion of our community. Of course, why the heck not? That's why we're here to spread the love. Hey, Andrew, before we do say goodbye to you, it's my pleasure to say to you that, uh, I have had a lovely time recording this. I've had a lovely time working with you so far long. May it continue. Thank you very much for being my guest on this episode of the HR Chat Show.

Speaker 3: 25:34

Thank you, bill

Speaker 2: 25:35

And listeners, as always. Until next time, happy working.

Speaker 1: 25:42

Thanks for listening to the HR Chat show. If you enjoyed this episode, why not subscribe and listen to some of the hundreds of episodes published by HR Gazette and remember for what's new in the world of work, subscribe to the show, follow us on social media, and visit hr gazette.com.