Incentive 103: The What (is the ROI?)
Humans are social beings, who crave recognition for our accomplishments from our peers. Whether it be in the form of a pat on the back or an incentive reward, the recognition makes us feel good and motivated to perform and be flexible. This means an incentive program is a win-win for everyone involved if done right.
An incentive plan is a great motivational tool for managers to help meet or exceed goals or objectives. But why does it have this effect on people? The answer is to be found in our needs as social beings. One of our needs is the need to satisfy our esteem through recognition, achievement, attention, respect and etc.. The study “Anatomy Of A Successful Incentive Travel Program” funded by the Incentive Research Foundation clearly shows “…that employees are motivated by both the incentive travel award they can earn and the recognition afforded to them by the corporate leaders when they participate in the travel event.”
Incentive 101: The Why
Incentive 102: The How
Reward and recognition are both motivators, but they affect incentive earners differently. A travel reward may give earners opportunities to go to a special travel destination they would never have. Recognition can give earners the feeling that they are a part of the elite group, their hard work paid off, or a personal satisfaction and growth. The combination of these factors as individual motivation phenomena will in increase motivation from employees several times.
The ROI results
The Return on Investment is an important part of an incentive plan. The ROI can be divided into tangible and intangible benefits. Financial metrics are considered tangible benefits because there is a direct correlation between incentive earners and non-earners. Intangible benefits are:
- Improved retention – may influence quality employees to stay
- Attracts quality – can attract and retain higher quality workers
- Positive organizational culture – performance and contributions are appreciated
- Drive desired behavior – incentives give employees and managers a common goal
- Provides networking opportunities – knowledge and best practice sharing
- Builds motivation – motivating them to do more
- Provides employee recognition – serves as a long-lasting motivator
Having an incentive program is important if you want your business to develop and grow long-term through good times and bad times. Hadler DMC Scandinavia knows the value of well-designed incentives, therefore let us help you show your appreciation to your employees through a great travel and experience incentive that surely will leave a long-lasting memory and motivation.
“There’s nothing greater in the world than when somebody on the team does something good, and everybody gathers around to pat him on the back.” – Billy Martin, baseball manager of New York Yankees.
