Archive for the 'points based award systems' Category
Top Ten Reasons Why Incentive Programs Fail
Author: Ley
Are all incentive programs successful? No! In fact there are some studies that show that as many as 66% don’t produce results or in fact have negative results. Why?
An incentive program is not a panacea for all employee performance issues. It is not a substitute for all the right things you know to change employee behavior. It is not a substitute for poor leadership or unfair compensation. But when used in the right context, it will definitely highlight all the other programs that you implement and can motivate your employees to improve performance.
Like the proverbial story of making the horse drink at the trough, you can avail your employees of all the programs necessary to make them successful, but with some of them you will not be able to make them “drink.”
An incentive program is nothing more than a tool to motivate your employees to want to take that first sip. Once they do, the vast majority will want to continue the experience for the simple reason that there is something in it for them.
Incentive program can fail for a variety of reasons. Following are some of the more typical things that will negatively affect them: Read the rest of this entry »
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For a client to know what kind of system is best suited to their needs, they must spend some time prior to investigating potential suppliers, and attempt to understand the fundamental types of systems that exist, and some of the basic features. Web-based incentive and reward systems range from simple online “redemption engines” used mainly to showcase and distribute awards to winning participants, to complete turnkey enterprise solutions that will manage workplace performance throughout the organization. At first glance, and depending on the proficiency of the salesperson you’re asking, most systems will appear very similar. But looks in this arena are very deceiving. While similarities exist between all systems, there can also be vast differences. Choosing which one is best suited to your needs will depend on several factors. In the beginning of your search, ask yourself these questions about the system you think you need. The answers to these alone could immediately eliminate several potential suppliers:
Today it seems that it’s almost de rigueur for us “experienced” incentive sales types to say to a client that we are completely “Award Neutral” when it comes to recommending the right award solution for their incentive program. But what does that really mean? And are we being totally honest with the client?
In the “old days”
Back in the early 1970’s I was pounding the pavement of the San Francisco bay area looking for unsuspecting prospects to listen to my well rehearsed presentation on the merits of sales incentives. When the motto of the company back then was “Motivating Men to Sell Your Product,” do you think it was a different time? How do you think that motto would fit into our world today??
At that early time in my career, I was taught never to approach a client initially about awards. It was drilled into me never to take our beautiful hard bound deluxe book of merchandise awards to the first meeting, and often not the second or even the third. My job was to learn as much about the client as I could. The theory was that if I learned about their company, organization, products, distribution, pricing etc. I would be in the best position to recommend a program that would produce results. And, my teachers were right. Approaching the business from this perspective allowed me to concentrate our resources on building the best solution for the client before we discussed what they should use to award the participants for results. We didn’t have to worry about being “award neutral” because in fact we were. Of course it helped that at that time all the industry had to sell were two rewards, merchandise, and group travel. Read the rest of this entry »
What Incentive or Recognition Award to Use?
Author: Ley
Whether it’s old age setting in or just a little nostalgia, I often find myself thinking back to my early days in the industry and contemplating how things have or haven’t changed. I see articles written on subjects that aren’t really different from what was said many years ago. It’s almost as if we just dust off old philosophies and restate them in today’s terms and for today’s audience. One thing’s for certain, the philosophy of why and how to motivate performance hasn’t changed much. The tenets and rules we used in the 60’s and 70’s are just as valid today as they were then…and in some cases even more so. Have generational changes brought us back to the future? Read the rest of this entry »
The Value of Online Incentive Programs
Author: Ley