Bonuses Soar With Barter Trade Exchange of America Members Giving Year End Bonuses
Many members of Trade Exchange of America (TEA), one of the nationÂ’s oldest and largest privately held trade exchanges, have turned to barter to reward their employees, increase their business through advertising and marketing programs, free up cash resources and to thank their customers.
(PRWEB) December 20, 2002
Oak Park, Mich.,– The employees of Troy, Mich. based Quality Metal Images not only had a holiday party this year, but will be receiving holiday gifts. The party, employee gifts and even customer gifts were paid for using Trade Exchange of America’s Barter Dollars. Many members of Trade Exchange of America (TEA), one of the nation’s oldest and largest privately held trade exchanges, have turned to barter to reward their employees, increase their business through advertising and marketing programs, free up cash resources and to thank their customers.
Across the nation, many businesses have been forced to tighten their belts, reducing employee incentives, marketing budgets and business expenditures due to the economy. A study by Hewitt Associates showed that year-end bonuses are dwindling, down to forty-nine percent of the business population in 2002. Mercer Human Resource Consulting announced that forty percent of businesses that gave annual bonuses will not be doing so this year.
TEA members faced with the prospect of not having the cash flow to reward employees have found a solution by using trade their TEA dollars. Companies can even set up debit accounts for their employees to use the trade dollars as they see fit. If a business gives an employee a trade bonus, the employee can spend the dollars on health costs such as optical or dental, contracting, gifts, travel, dining, or any of the thousands of products and services offered through TEA. Members use trade to pay employee bonuses, commissions, raises, incentives, health costs and more.
A year and a half ago, Paul and Chris Hayes of Warren, Mich. based P&C Landscape initiated a Trade Dollar bonus program as a sales incentive for their employees. "Our employees love the flexibility of using their bonus dollars. The program allows us to reward our employees in an economy where every dollar counts. Trade Exchange of AmericaÂ’s barter system has enabled us to not only sustain our business despite the economy, but also reward our employees for their hard work, develop advertising programs and purchase job materials." States co-owner, Paul Hayes.
Each year the Arbor Brewing Company of Ann Arbor, Mich. uses their TEA Trade Dollars to fund their employee outing. According to co-owner, Renee Greff, "Our participation with Trade Exchange of America allows us to do things we might normally not spend cash on, such as our yearly employee outing. Additionally, TEA has enabled us to offset historical cash business expenditures such as hood cleaning and printing needs, not to mention that TEA has been instrumental in helping us grow our business."
Barter could very well be the boon for steadying the unsettled economy. Trade Exchange of America reports a 20% increase in new members over the past year. Many TEA members are reporting a record year of business growth despite the slow economy.
The New York Times recently reported that barter arrangements have been gaining in popularity, especially in weaker economies and that nearly a third of all global transactions can be defined as barter. Nearly a third of all businesses are involved in some form of barter and more than 65 percent of the corporations listed with the New York Stock Exchange are using it to reduce surplus inventory, bolster sales or ensure that production facilities run at near capacity.
"Through both solid and precarious economies, many of our members creatively reward their employees and customers with barter bonuses. We wanted to make it easy for our members to initiate these programs, the ease of the employee accounts has helped a record number of our members implement incentive and bonus programs," cites TEA founder and president, Frederick Detwiler. "Since cash flow is usually tighter during a soft economy, innovative business minds turn to barter. By accruing trade dollars, our members are able to conserve their hard cash reserves and increase their bottom lines. With trade dollars they are able to purchase business equipment, contract for business services, advertise and reward their employees for jobs well done."
TEA was one of the first trade exchanges in the country to introduce a successful Internet based business model, www. tradefirst. com. Its more than 5000 members are promoted within the exchange via proactive brokering by its staff, targeted e-mails, banner ads on its Web Site, newsletters, faxes, a membership directory and sponsorship of trade expositions. Local and global organizations belong to TEA and members find that the benefits of barter are as varied and creative as they choose. TEA members cite increased cash flows, expanded customer bases, expanded utilization of inventories and manufacturing facilities, improved employee benefits, increased profits, and the attainment of tangibles and luxury items that may have seemed unattainable in the past.
Trade dollars are the parallel of cash dollars. Many companies who actively barter analyze their cash expenditures and convert many of those cash transactions to trade dollar transactions. Unlike one-on-one trade transactions that force participants to be dependent on one another to provide the exact goods and services needed by each of the respective participating companies, membership in exchanges such as TEA offer members the opportunity to trade for what they need, when they need it. Much like a bank, TEA tracks deposits and withdrawals, assists in brokering deals and provides the availability of lines of credit to its members. The International Reciprocal Trade Association (IRTA) cited that trade volume has surged in North America. It is estimated that more than $16 billion was bartered last year in the U. S. alone, with barter becoming one of the fastest-growing segments of the world's economy.
About Trade Exchange of America:
Trade Exchange of America (TEA) is a nationwide e-commerce network of businesses that work together, trading their goods and services in order to generate new business, offset cash expenses, and increase profits by utilizing excess capacity and inventory.
TEA has been an innovative leader in the rapidly growing e-commerce business-to-business model of computerized barter. Since opening in 1978, TEA has become one of the largest independently-owned trade exchanges in the country, with over 5,000 member companies providing thousands of different products and services. Through its Web Site, www. tradefirst. com, TEA effectively brings the benefits of barter to companies throughout the country, with the added ability of being able to provide current members with full account and listing information, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Trade Exchange of America has operated multiple regional trading centers in Michigan, Ohio, and Florida, and has strong relationships with the most prominent barter companies throughout the U. S. and the world.
