Finding the Right Incentive Company and Programs that Work

Despite a challenging economy, the incentive industry is booming. U.S. organizations spend over $100 billion annually on developing programs that attract, retain and motivate their employees. Reason being, incentive programs really work. Organizations now fully realize and appreciate the need to include or increase their budget for successful, long-term incentives in the workplace.

How and why they work

Incentive programs improve performance.
Carefully selected and implemented incentive programs, using rewards - whether in the form of gift cards, travel/vacations, cash or time off increase performance by an average of 22%. Team incentives can increase productivity as much as 44%.

Incentive programs engage participants.
Employees are motivated by being rewarded. When a program is initially offered, employers see a spike in the level of interest and motivation among employees. As the program continues an even greater performance level and job satisfaction can be achieved.

Incentive programs attract quality employees.
Organizations that offer incentive programs with the right mix of benefits, training rewards and recognition have the ability to attract higher quality workers than other organizations.

Long-term programs outperform short-term programs.
Be in it for the long haul. Studies prove that programs that run longer than a year produced a higher percentage of performance and met the goals of the program.

Executives and Employees value being rewarded.
Both executives and employees report they value incentive programs. Employees come to work with a new attitude and executives see a healthier and happier work environment.

Quota-based rewards programs work best.
Programs that give everyone a chance to be rewarded based on meeting or exceeding goals typically generate the best results. Least effective are tournament based programs,
closed-ended programs that only reward a certain number of winners.

Types of Incentive Companies

Full-service performance improvement companies.
Using a solutions-based approach, the full-service performance improvement company develops an analysis its core business issues to offer a wide variety of communications, training, measurement and rewards services. By conducting research on the company and determining which groups of people can affect it business goals, they can recommend targeted applications to motivate those groups of people.

Full-service incentive companies.
The full-service incentive company can provide incentive programs from design through operation, including promotions, administration and awards. They can offer a variety of less sophisticated and cost effective "off-the-shelf" programs. These companies typically work with current users of incentive programs and assist with developing marketing campaigns, terms and conditions of incentive travel and/or non-travel rewards such as merchandise, certificates, gift cards, etc.

Incentive fulfillment companies.
Incentive fulfillment companies typically provide programs in the form of incentive travel and merchandise awards. They generally provide only the reward and marketing components of an incentive program which may be a catalog featuring the travel offers featured. Incentive fulfillment companies operate with lower overhead and often consist of smaller units dedicated to a specific aspect of the fulfillment business.

Designing a Successful Incentive Program

An incentive program represents a substantial investment to most organizations. Engaging all employees to participate in the program will help them receive a sufficient return on their investment. Based on the concept of quality performance, incentive programs will increase an employee's perception of themselves in achieving their program goals. In order to properly motivate, programs must be designed to offer a variety of products and services to employees based on their interests and needs. The programs need to have carefully determined their rewards methodology in order to maintain an employee's motivation. In addition, successful campaigns require clearly defined rules, aligned rewards, efficient communication strategies and measurable success metrics. By combining each of these elements into the program, companies are better able to engage program participants and enhance the overall program effectiveness.

In order to create an effective incentive program, an organization must keep the overall objective in mind when considering program design and implementation. Objectives should be clearly defined based on the company's goals and need to be specific so employees understand their expectations. Objectives can vary depending on the needs of each organization and they should be challenging, yet achievable. If objectives are viewed as unattainable, the program will not be successful. Once the program goals have been defined, all aspects of the program should be measured against this goal in order to ensure the program's success.

The number of online programs has almost doubled in size every year. At present, nearly every traditional incentive company offers an online component in programs including employee motivation and recognition, sales performance, channel programs and consumer promotions. Online incentive programs pose an attractive alternative to traditional offline programs since online programs save money and time while allowing organizations to have much greater control.

Types of Incentive Programs

Points Program: Points-based incentive programs collect and redeem points for rewards. Depending on the program type and the organizational objectives, points can be awarded on a number of criteria including positive employee behavior, the demonstration of organizational values, repeat customer purchases, the sale of new products or increased overall sales. The levels at which points can be redeemed may be customized by the organization and set at virtually any level. Points programs are a way for organizations to motivate behavior over time while improving the organizations' overall performance.

Employee: Employee incentive programs can increase overall employee performance. These programs often reduce turnover, boost morale and loyalty, improve employee wellness, increase retention and drive daily employee performance.

Consumer: Consumer incentive programs target the customers and consumers of an organization. Consumer programs are becoming more widely used as more companies realize that existing customers cost less to reach, cost less to sell, are less vulnerable to attacks from the competition and buy more over the long term.

Dealer/Channel: Dealer incentive programs improve performance for dealer and channel resellers using sales incentive programs. These programs help companies capture market share, launch new products, reduce cost of sales, increase product adoption and ultimately drive sales.

Sales: Sales incentive programs motivate salespeople to achieve sales goals over a period of time. These programs are primarily used to drive sales, reduce sales costs, increase profitability, develop new territories and enhance margins. Sales incentive programs have the clearest connection directly to outcomes.

While there are many important factors to consider when creating an incentive program, selecting the most engaging rewards are critical to a programs success. The goal in choosing the perfect rewards is to select items that will spark the participant's interest or emotions and support the program's objectives. Effective rewards will both motivate short-term behavior and extend motivation over time. Below are some common types of rewards:

Cash: Employees participating in a company wide incentive program often state that they prefer cash to non-cash rewards. However, recent studies have shown that cash can be less motivating than non-cash rewards. Most employees agree that a cash payment is perceived to be part of an employee's total compensation package and not part of an incentive program. Additionally, cash is quickly forgotten as many participants tend to spend it on everyday items or use it to pay bills.

Non-Cash Rewards: Gift cards, travel and other non-cash rewards are more often perceived as separate from compensation. Accordingly, non-cash rewards tend to stand out as rewards for performance, enhancing their long-term effect. Branded merchandise and other non-cash rewards have a higher perceived value, bringing greater recognition to the recipient at the time of the award and producing a lasting effect that can result in increased engagement in the organization's goals.

• Gift cards/Certificates - Gift cards or certificates are prepaid cards or certificates that are redeemed at a later time. They are generally offered as either a major credit card brand and are redeemable at all merchants accepting the card, or brand specific cards, issued by retail, restaurant or travel merchants and redeemable only through that merchant. Gift cards are typically the most frequently used corporate reward.
• Travel/Experiential Travel - Travel rewards have proven to be the most memorable. Giving the gift of travel creates memories that last well beyond the incentive program. Experiential Travel Rewards give an employee an innovative, rewarding "experience" such as a hot air balloon ride or a helicopter ride in the mountains.
• Merchandise - Merchandise rewards can range anywhere from small branded key chains to high-end electronics. Many employees agree that stimulating, memorable incentive programs can be built around merchandise as opposed to cash rewards.

Travel Rewards Incentive Programs

As an employer it's easy to understand why travel incentives are so alluring. Leading up to the actual award, employees can imagine themselves and their partners or families on a trip and look forward to the possibility of earning it.

The nation's largest companies regularly use travel rewards for every critical audience. If you give them something that they want, it will also create a memorable experience and company loyalty that goes beyond the incentive period. Travel gets you away and gives you a break from work while simultaneously rewarding you for your efforts. Recent studies have shown that employees strongly agreed that travel incentive programs have encouraged them to increase their efforts in the program.

Connexions Loyalty Travel Solutions
Connexions Loyalty Travel Solutions is the largest U.S. based provider of travel solutions for loyalty and incentive programs. We have strong support from travel industry suppliers, strong economies of scale and a focus on quality service delivery.  

As part of a $7 billion travel sales organization, we leverage the knowledge, supplier relationships and technologies developed for multiple verticals to create market leading solutions for our clients. Solutions include unique travel products, creative redemption solutions, multi-point bank connectivity, contact center and market leading online travel redemption solutions. Simply stated, we are the best provider of loyalty and incentive travel solutions in the industry.

We have the expertise and products to ignite and sustain performance for incentive, loyalty and recognition programs. We service leisure travel reward redemptions for more

than 20 million active members of rewards programs of financial services organizations, credit card companies and affinity groups.

Distinctive Departures - The Travel Reward of Distinction.
Employees are your most valued asset. They contribute to your vision, mission, business and bottom line. Engage, motivate and reward them with Distinctive Departures, the travel rewards program of distinction. Distinctive Departures has created customized travel award programs for organizations seeking discount, value, and moderate to luxury travel options specific to their program requirements and budget constraints.

Our turnkey programs offer a high perceived value and a myriad of options. We offer a wide variety of programs including:

• The Jewel Collection, our online prepaid hotel program, features over 25,000 hotels worldwide with multiple price levels.
• The Classic Collection, our universally-priced travel packages, includes airfare, hotel, breakfast and taxes.
• The Customizable Collection offers tailored awards for individual or small groups as well as promotions or events.

Or create an incentive program that awards your employees with Distinctive Departures gift cards. Travel where they want, when they want, and how they want! Participants may redeem cards for vacation packages, hotel stays, car rentals or over 5,000 events, tours and activities worldwide.

Getaway Points is a scaleable solution that provides a point database, online reward delivery and segmented marketing capabilities.  An ideal solution where the ability to fund rewards is low, Getaway Points offers clients zero accrued reward liabilities - as the rewards are funded by our suppliers. A uniquely dynamic reward solution, Getaway Points translates daily discounts that are generally available as well as a high value, short life-cycle opportunities into easily obtainable rewards by utilizing points plus cash redemption.

Getaway Points is a turnkey solution that drives results from inception while creating long term synergy between client and end user by offering a full array of travel and merchandise discounts. If you can track and communicate the customer activity performed, Getaway Points can be applied as a valuable incentive vehicle to enhance performance and/or engagement.  

Whatever your travel incentive or company loyalty needs may be, Connections Loyalty Travel Solutions can create a program that meets your specific needs. For more information, contact John Miller at 952.914.6539.

Connexions is a leading provider of loyalty, incentive, travel, and fulfillment solutions. Based in Minneapolis, MN, its brand portfolio includes; Connexions Loyalty Travel Solutions ® which delivers the industry's highest quality standards for developing, launching, and servicing loyalty programs, Connexions Travel Solutions ® , which is ranked in the top 15 of all U.S.-based travel agency companies, and Connexions Fulfillment Services ® which delivers fulfillment management programs that offer best-in-class quality, market leading tools, and talented personnel services. With wholly owned subsidiaries including Loyalty Travel Agency ®, Fly4Less.com ®, Distinctive Departures ®, and Insignia Personalized Products, Connexions Solutions currently employs nearly 575 talented team members with offices in Boise, and St. Louis. Connexions Solutions is on the web at www.cltsloyalty.com.