Nieuwe webshop voor tafel- en bedlinnen

NEDERLAND, 25-04-2009 — Op 1 Mei 2009 zal de online webshop van Textielwereld.nl haar deuren openen. Deze nieuwe webshop zal een diversiteit aan scherp geprijsde artikelen aanbieden aan zowel de Nederlandse particuliere als zakelijke markt. Textielwereld.nl zal dessins aanbieden van onder andere Cinderella, Black & White, Cucito, D’sign all over, Dynasty, Yvon en vele anderen. Tevens heeft men ook een diversiteit aan tafelmode in het assortiment zoals: Tafelvinyl en Smyrna kleden.

In de nieuwe webshop Textielwereld.nl kan betaald worden doormiddel van een reguliere bankoverschrijving en natuurlijk IDEAL. Tevens streeft Textielwereld.nl ervoor om alle goederen binnen 24 uur na ontvangst van betaling te leveren in geheel Nederland!

Dus komt u gerust eens kijken op www.textielwereld.nl

James Feldman and Diane L. Landsman

Incentives have been defined as “what companies put in place — above and beyond straight salary — to get people to do their jobs.” The definition is only partly tongue-in-cheek. The most successful and progressive businesses in the world increasingly are embracing performance-based compensation and incentive programs. Why? Because most of the time, they meet a need and offer tangible benefits.

The need might be strategic: to attract and retain high-caliber talent, manage risk from rising competitive pressures or lift the levels of productivity and performance across the enterprise. Other objectives for implementing employee incentive programs are more tactical, such as shoring up sagging customer service, boosting sales or addressing a shift in the balance sheet. Often, they are short-term efforts focused on driving employee behavior toward achievement of a specific productivity or profit initiative, sales target or service goal.

Incentive programs are equally as effective in either an “up” or “down” business climate. When demand softens, the best competitors recognize the advantage of increasing their share of the market to weather the storm. During an “up” swing, incentives can help accelerate new product introductions, expand distribution and increase market penetration.

Cash or Noncash?
The incentives organizations offer employees might take the form of bonuses, or they can be noncash rewards. More than three-fourths of the Fortune 500 companies prefer to use noncash incentives. Expenditures for these programs exceed billions of dollars annually, as companies supplement their employee compensation plans (straight, salaried, or commissions and bonuses) with noncash incentive programs.

The Incentive Federation’s “2005 Survey of Motivation and Incentive Applications” examined incentive users’ objectives, practices, costs and results across all levels of American business. Results of the study revealed several trends in noncash incentive use:

•    83 percent use merchandise and/or incentive travel in their sales incentive programs.
•    72 percent use merchandise and/or incentive travel in their nonsales recognition/motivation programs.
•    Four out of five survey respondents (80 percent) think travel awards and merchandise awards are remembered longer by program participants than cash awards.

Characteristics of a Good Incentive Program

Whatever form of incentive a company selects, for the program to work well and achieve the desired results, the first order of business must be understanding the target employee group, what motivates that group and what it considers valuable. Otherwise, the program won’t be personal or productive.

Identifying exactly what employees are likely to do without being paid to do it, or what their true interests are, is a complicated process. Many incentive managers make the mistake of assuming that what motivates them will motivate everyone.

For instance, employees with large disposable incomes find free travel and merchandise very exciting. Those with less overall income, however, might find “free” still costs too much. For them, the tax implication alone can be a deterrent to winning a “free” trip, let alone the costs associated with enjoying the experience. Therefore, it is important to keep these differences in mind when planning any incentive strategy.

Public recognition, on the other hand, is generally a universal motivator. Most employees rate “regular recognition of my contribution” as one of the top drivers of employee engagement. To get employees excited about the program, first implement a system for recognizing the top achievers and then make recognition a part of every program within the company. The size or value of the reward is a secondary factor, as long as the company is diligent in giving recognition where it is due.

To ensure the program is structured for success, it pays to begin by segmenting the target audience, grouping employees according to their levels and interests. Defining the participants makes it easier to develop an awards program that is appropriate, with rewards that are suitable for each group. If there is uncertainty about what motivates employees, the easiest recourse is to ask them.

The actual segments used for any incentive program are based on the character of each corporation. But in general, it is helpful to organize employees into several categories, determine what appeals most to each group and then tailor the incentive rewards accordingly. A fairly typical employee segmentation might look like this:

LEVEL A: The first group consists of hourly workers, clerical positions and entry-level employees. They generally are not motivated by travel or luxury merchandise — their main concern is trying to pay the monthly bills. The incentive program for this group should be geared to their needs and interests.

For the Level A employee who is trying to make ends meet, extra cash is a good motivator. Gift certificates or vouchers to restaurants, movie theaters and other leisure activities, however, often motivate better than cash, and they are free from guilt. They allow the winners to indulge themselves and their families with entertainment they might have denied themselves because of budget constraints.

If travel is selected as a reward, a fully hosted travel group would be preferable for the Level A employees. A travel package that includes airline, hotel, some meals and some activities, along with the opportunity to enjoy these perks with peers, can turn this reward into a desirable incentive.

LEVEL B: The second employee group consists of middle managers, salespeople or sales managers. These employees have some equity in their homes, their cars and their careers, along with significant disposable income. Travel rewards might have greater appeal than merchandise for members of this group because they might be more flexible with their time and income.

This group contains a wide range of individuals. Therefore, incentive programs must address their incomes, education, interests and other evaluation criteria. Level B employees put a premium on flexibility and convenience, and they are attracted to vacation travel.

Management-level employees are typically upwardly mobile, competitive individuals. They like to be in the forefront, and they like recognition. Individual travel is their preferred award — group trips are less appealing to these employees.

LEVEL C: This group of employees is made up of executive level managers, owners and distributors. These individuals have free time and significant disposable income. Many travel first-class, indulge themselves in fine foods and expect the best for themselves. They have participated in many incentive programs and understand the “rules.”

Their major interest is the multiplicity of choices and the prestige associated with the awards offered. Noncash incentives must be very upscale with brand recognition. Travel must be first-class, paying special attention to the personalized treatment of their “status.” To entice these employees, the reward should be something they would pay for on their own.

The word “free” is very compelling to Level C employees. These potential winners earn in excess of mid-six to seven figures a year, so money is not a motivator. They can afford to make their own vacation plans. Recognition sets them apart from others, however. They love to travel for free to expensive places and be treated like royalty. They respond to “ego” trips to places and events not normally available, at any cost, to the general public. 

A round of golf in Augusta, Ga., (home of the Masters Golf Tournament), dinner at Palace of Versailles or VIP seating at the Academy Awards will grab the attention of these employees. These incentives have “bragging rights,” and nothing is more important to the Level C employee than to be able to say “I was there.”

Developing the Right Program

The excitement and challenge of all business activity center on motivation. With a properly run incentive program, you can motivate your employees to outperform expectations. But that’s also where the challenge is: to run a measurable, effective motivation program specifically designed to achieve stated business goals.

Too often, an incentive program is created in a vacuum. Many sales incentive programs provide a good example. The program might be developed out of a desperate need to boost sales dramatically or to meet year-end sales goals in a “now-or-never” time frame. Managers, thus, rush to put together an incentive program with too little forethought. When the results don’t meet expectations, few see the construction of the incentive program as the problem. Sometimes, the incentive plan might be blamed as the culprit.

Creating a program that motivates performance in a cost-effective manner doesn’t just happen — it is a multistep process that involves planning and research. Following these steps (see sidebar) increases the likelihood the employee-incentive program meets not only its identified organizational need but also the needs of the participants for recognition, appreciation and a sense of working toward a common goal. It also provides a template for future engagement efforts that can be repeated in other departments, to meet alternate goals, to address new challenges and motivate different segments of the workforce.

By Amy Johannes

Rewarding employees with incentives is a top priority for many companies. Research has shown that companies that keep their employees happy, whether through free trips or experiential rewards, have improved performance.

PROMO P&I talked to Anne Hamilton-Chehab, VP-Resort Sales & Services for the Orlando, FL-based Walt Disney Parks & Resorts about Disney Incentive Rewards to learn how companies use Disney-themed incentives and programs to keep employees motivated and what Disney is doing with its incentive offerings to keep up with industry trends.

Hamilton-Chehab is in charge of the team responsible for all marketing, sales and service efforts related to meetings, conventions and incentive programs at the Walt Disney World Resort and on Disney Cruise Line ships.

PROMO: What types of employee incentives does Walt Disney Parks & Resorts offer companies?
HAMILTON-CHEHAB: We offer a variety of incentive opportunities in our resorts, theme parks and aboard our Disney Cruise Line ships. All of these can be customized to fit the group’s needs. What makes Disney incentives even more special is that they’re typically experiences that participants could never have on their own. Private events in the Disney Theme Parks are a great example. Nothing says “special” like have a signature Disney attraction or a part of a Theme Park for your group’s exclusive use. We also offer individual incentives through our Disney Incentive Rewards, a certificate program that provides complete vacation experiences at the Walt Disney World Resort and aboard our Disney Cruise Line ships.

PROMO: What are the most popular types of incentives that Disney offers?
HAMILTON-CHEHAB: You can’t put your finger on just one. Organizations have different goals and objectives, and we create experiences specifically tailored to each organization’s need and the preferences of their award winners. We’ve created memorable experiences such as a full-scale Hollywood movie premiere at the Disney-MGM Studios—complete with red carpet arrival and screaming fans — or a private sunset safari at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park followed by dinner in an exotic African village.

PROMO: How have the incentive programs changed over the last few years based on the needs of the industry?
HAMILTON-CHEHAB: We continue to see more and more organizations looking to add professional development content to their agendas. Organizations not only want to reward top performers, but they want to enhance their professional skills and convey important messages. This makes our Disney Institute programs very popular with incentive groups.

PROMO: Disney is a popular employee-motivating award. Are clients asking for anything new or different with the award?
HAMILTON-CHEHAB: Training is a big part of the incentive business, and companies are always interested in how Disney operates. Our Disney Institute programs are very popular in fulfilling that need. These innovative programs take participants behind the scenes of Disney to benchmark our best practices and strategies. Topics areas include customer service, leadership and organizational creativity.

PROMO: How has the changing demographics in the workforce (i.e. the aging baby boomers) affected the types of incentives awards you offer?
HAMILTON-CHEHAB: Our resorts, theme parks and cruise ships have always appealed to a broad demographic, which is one of the reasons we think Disney is a perennially popular incentive destination. However, over the years the incentive planners and participants have grown more sophisticated in their tastes. Today we have a lot more nightlife, golf and spa options than we had ten years ago—not to mention the addition of Disney Cruise Line. Another change over the years has been demand for greater product flexibility. That reflects how the fundamentals of incentives have changed. Flexibility of product is as important to clients as is the quality of the product. We offer land-based rewards, sea-based rewards, combinations of the two, as well as group programs and individual incentives. That kind of diversity and a constantly changing portfolio of products adds to our popularity as an incentive destination.

PROMO: What are some of the challenges in selling incentives today?
HAMILTON-CHEHAB: The biggest challenge is continuing to showcase unique and creative ideas to the market. As a destination, you always have to keep your offerings fresh and exciting.

PROMO: What are some tips you can offer others in the field to run a successful incentive program or employees?
HAMILTON-CHEHAB: Know your employees, understand what motivates them, and be creative. Don’t just reward for the job well done, but for the job they are about to do.

By Izabella Iizuka

A properly designed incentive plan starts with the company’s desired business outcomes, because that’s what determines the structure of the program itself—its duration, the type of reward, the time of year it is conducted, etc. So the first step in any program is to ask yourself, “What do I want this program to achieve?”

Do you want to increase total sales or sales in a specific sector or for a specific product? Do you want to incentivize a certain layer of your sales force? Do you want to promote teamwork or individual performance?
Once you are clear on what you want to do for the company, you should focus on what you want to do to incentivize your team. One thing’s for sure: Money shouldn’t be the reward. According to a May 2005 study from the Incentive Federation entitled “Survey of Motivation and Incentive Applications,” 65% of executives believe incentive programs featuring travel and merchandise rewards are more memorable than those using cash, while 57% think bonus payments are often regarded by employees as something they are “owed.”

While merchandise is a perfectly legitimate reward option in an incentive program, travel rewards are among the most popular choices, both for the manager creating the program and the people competing in it. To minimize the financial impact, companies can pay for the incentive travel program with a percentage of incremental sales rather than through a fixed budget.
In addition, travel rewards generate excitement among many different groups of people—from the winner, to the colleagues the winner tells about the experience, to the ones who almost made the award and need to continue believing they can get it next time.

That’s key to a good travel-based incentive program, according to Ira Ozer, vice president of business development for Meridian Enterprises. “Ideally, the program structure should be ‘open ended,’” he says, “so that everyone who achieves their stated ‘stretch’ objective—such as increasing sales X% above their quota—gets to go on the trip.”

If it’s financially impractical to send everyone who hits the goal, it’s important to avoid having the same people always win the reward time after time. “If the same people always win, the reward becomes an entitlement, not an incentive,” says Bob Dawson, chairman of the Incentive Research Foundation and vice president of sales and marketing for Custom Design Marketing. “That can create problems with retention, since ‘the middle’ will be turned off after repeated frustrated efforts and will eventually look for other opportunities.

“The efforts of candidates who almost made it should be acknowledged, and the program should make it possible for them to make it next,” he continues. “Tiered incentive programs may help incentivize the middle because it makes some kind of award achievable. However you tailor your program, it all must be within reach.”

Ozer agrees. “If the middle 60% think they won’t make [the reward], they won’t engage in the incentive program at all,” he says.

So now that the program goals are established and the structure is set, it’s time for the next decision—do you reward your top performers singly or as a group? The following list of advantages and disadvantages should make your choice easier:

Group Travel Pros

-     Properly structured programs can have a high impact on morale and loyalty for those who receive them.

-     They offer top management an exceptional way to mingle with key audiences in a relaxed way.

-     They can become an important recruitment tool.

-     They have particular value with channel partner programs because of the ability to meet and get to know dealer/distributor salespeople, as well as company principals.

Group Travel Cons

-     They require getting people out of their offices at the same time.

-     They require expert planning using travel suppliers and venues with demonstrated experience in creating or hosting motivational events. In other words, this is a job for an experienced meeting planner, not a beginner.

-     They carry the highest cost of most award categories.

-     Safety and security issues have to be considered.

Individual Travel Pros

-     Thanks to the advent of gift certificates and cards, individual travel awards have become almost a staple in the award portfolio of many organizations.

-     Individual travel rewards have high appeal and perceived value among almost any demographic group.

-     Dozens of travel suppliers and incentive companies offer different types of individual travel programs—some including only the airline or the hotel, others including nearly complete packages.

-     Some programs offer special enhancements that add to the sense of personal touch, such as in-room amenities, notes from management, pillow gifts, etc. Some of the suppliers can offer personalized communications and gift certificate packaging to maximize presentation.

Individual Travel Cons

-     There is no real opportunity for team building and developing camaraderie.

-     After returning to the office, team members are less likely to talk about their individual experiences than they would be if they were shared with co-workers. This results in a shorter and less intense “buzz factor” in the office.

-     Individual travel is more likely to be remembered as “vacation time” and thus is less likely to evoke memories of the corporate and personal goals achieved.

The Bottom Line

There are a variety of ways to determine the effectiveness of an incentive program, and many of them work for any type of program (even if they aren’t travel-oriented). But don’t wait until the end of the program to think about it; the key to calculating ROI is to establish objectives that are highly focused and can be measured. In other words, the program should be set up with an eventual ROI process in mind.

“The more targeted the incentive travel program, the easier it will be to measure,” Dawson says. “It should be possible to develop specific goals for hard measures such as sales, revenue, market share and productivity.

“It’s also important to support the incentive program on an ongoing basis if the effectiveness of the program is to be demonstrated. Programs that are in effect during a single sales cycle miss the opportunity to incentivize the middle for next time, and may result in the perception that the company is not serious about it.”

One of the challenges of calculating ROI is placing a value on “soft returns” such as customer loyalty, customer satisfaction, and employee loyalty and satisfaction. Even within the company, perceptions vary as to what incentive travel programs actually accomplish. Corporate planners tend to believe more than winners that incentive programs can increase revenue and sales, identify top performers or induce loyalty.

Even where ROI cannot be objectively measured, there are ways to guarantee that your investment will have a positive effect on your company. “Consider integrating training within the incentive program,” Ozer suggests. “Most companies have difficulty getting people to go through training and measuring the ROI of training.”

Training is an expense that can be mitigated if it is shared with a well-planned travel incentive program. “Fundamentally, training is a leading indicator of success, not a result,” Ozer adds. “Training leads to increased sales, more profit.” Since those are the main goals of any incentive program, you can reap double benefits from your program.

On that subject, you may want to check out a report from the Incentive Research Foundation entitled “Determining the Return on Investment of Incentive Travel Programs.” It presents an excellent, easy-to-use calculating tool for measuring the ROI of incentive travel programs.

Among the bottom-line oriented and motivational attributes are increases in revenue and sales for a company as well as identification of top performers. The goals of strengthening the company’s reputation and fostering both customer and employee loyalty can also be measured numerically, as are other accomplishments—such as shifting effort to a specific product or service, directing business to a specific sector within the company or reducing absenteeism.

Measuring softer, intangible objectives is much more difficult and may require surveys. These include excitement to keep salespeople motivated, providing networking opportunities for successful people and allowing winners to provide feedback.

“That’s why it is important that corporations first determine the objectives that are truly important,” Dawson says, “then review the specific attributes that compose that objective and finally determine the appropriate tool for measuring the degree to which the objective is being achieved,” Dawson says.

“If designed and implemented with creativity and excellence, incentive trips provide memories that last for a long time,” says Ozer, “therefore delivering continuous performance improvement benefits for the sponsoring company well past the program earnings period—and thus, significantly boosting the return-on-investment of this type of incentive program.”
As important as analyzing the positive results, however, is the ability to detect where your program failed. If you didn’t retain your best salespeople and the program didn’t incentivize some people, you might have to make some adjustments for the next sales cycle.

By Izabella Iizuka

With the ghost of a recession lurking around the corner, there’s no shortage of stress clouding your top performer’s mind. Just when you need your best people to be playing their best game, research indicates that fewer than 24% of American workers are working at full potential, 50% of workers do no more than they are directly asked to do and 75% of employees admit they could be more effective in their jobs.

Today, the biggest challenge companies face when it comes to their much-needed incentive programs is not breaking the bank, while also providing a program that’s good enough to create an emotional engagement with employees. Considering that a sales incentive program can be one of the lowest-risk investments a company can make—with the potential for the highest return—the current economic situation should not matter, says Bob Dawson, chairman of the Incentive Research Foundation (IRF) Research Committee, and vice president of sales and marketing for Custom Design Marketing.

Surprisingly, the economic situation might make travel an especially interesting reward, since traveling is a treat employees might not consider getting themselves when the budget is tight.

The first step for any sales manager is to ensure his company understands the value provided by sales incentive programs. That’s an especially important consideration when the reward is a trip to somewhere exotic, which might be viewed even more skeptically by some bottom-line-minded executives.

“Procurement and purchasing professionals need to have a better understanding of what the incentive program really is all about,” Dawson says. “Generally, any department that is on the outside looking in at an incentive program only sees the sizzle. They hear about the exotic trips, but they do not see what that did for the company.”

“Many incentive travel programs are not designed to be properly measured, so they are considered ‘discretionary’ and, therefore, ripe for cutting,” adds Ira Ozer, vice president of business development for Meridian Enterprises, a full-service performance improvement company specializing in incentive programs. “It is critical to include ROI planning and projections as part of the strategic program design process, so that we can help them and their ‘internal client’—our true customer—to determine the financial benefits of incentive programs.”

Keep Your Eyes on the Prize

Even before you consider your audience, you must decide which problems you want to combat within the company, such as low sales, low quality, low productivity, poor customer service, turnover or absenteeism. “Incentive travel planning is not about how to buy hotel rooms, airline tickets or cruise cabins,” Dawson says. “It’s about how to change behavior that will impact your financial outcome. In companies where incentive programs are well developed, properly planned and implemented, these programs are seen as investments, not just an expense.”

In fact, a good incentive program won’t cost the company anything if the award is earned based on incremental improvement. “In order to maximize their potential for ROI, sales leaders need to spend the time upfront to properly plan their program,” Dawson says. He adds that the recipe for success consists of structuring rules that are viable and can demonstrate an ROI, and monitoring the program throughout.

“It is important to first ensure that the program has been designed to pay for itself from incremental profits and provide an ROI,” Ozer says. “It has to do with the extra dollar the employee made. You spend 10 cents on setting up the program, 60 cents goes to the award, the company keeps 40 cents and you’re all set.”

Companies that look at incentive programs based on cost alone might change their prize destinations because of budget trims, inflation or the weak dollar. But they would be wise to think carefully about their employees first, including their personalities, income level and lifestyles. That’s because, according to Dawson, the reward you provide must be something that the target audience could not (or would not) buy on their own. “Perceived value is very important,” he says. “Any reward choice that is made without first performing a complete analysis of the intended audience is a mistake.”

Seeking concessions on travel components or removing aspects of a program due to budget will only serve to create a less-than-memorable experience for the participant, he adds. Indeed, an unknown resort somewhere in the Caribbean might provide the lowest cost for the trip, but it may lack the quality that well-seasoned travelers would expect. Such a destination would work for a young, entry-level sales audience, but not for older principals.

With increasing fuel costs making airlines cut seats and raise prices, travel rewards can be among the most expensive incentive programs. Besides, if what your employees really need is cash, why offer travel instead?

The key is “separability,” Ozer says. “People tend to mentally separate cash from non-cash items. Cash is grouped with compensation—money for spending, saving and investing. Even if you give a significant cash award, it will probably be spent on day-to-day stuff.”

“Cash is compensation, especially for top-performing employees,” Dawson adds. “It has a real value (the dollar amount), but little perceived value. Cash rewards will disappear amid the employee’s bills, and it might be hard to take away since it might be unconsciously taken for granted.”

“Money is probably not going to solve whatever the person’s problem is,” Ozer says. “A trip will really enhance their life, and it will be memorable. As long as the person remembers, he feels incentivized. In addition, people talk about their trip, making it very promotable. No one likes to talk about money, or they talk it down, whereas they brag about trips.”

In short, travel is a tangible reward that works more effectively as a motivator than cash or cash substitutes. “This is true except where compensation is not adequate for the job, in which case, an improved cash bonus system delivered via paycheck, stored value card or gift cards should be considered,” Ozer says. “An incentive program should be layered on top of compensation that’s already adequate. If all that people need is money, no incentive program will work.”

By Bob Nelson, Ph.D.

How can we add meaning and thus value to an incentive, regardless of the cost that is spent? I’ve seen employees who were thrilled with a nod and a smile from the right person, while others were chagrined when the CEO handed them a check with the words, “Here’s your bonus. Do you think you deserve it?” What guidelines exist that can help enhance value in the selection, presentation and memory of any incentive? Richard Clark, a professor at the University of Southern California, has suggested three criteria that can help to determine the value of an incentive to an employee: 4

-     Interest—Is it something the employee has interest in receiving?

-     Importance—Does it represent an honor deemed important to the recipient?

-     Utility—Does the incentive have usefulness to the recipient?

Rabindra Kanungo, a professor at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, offers four elements to consider:

-     Salience or “Top of Mind”—Does it stand out and become memorable?

-     Valued by the Recipient—Is it something they feel has value?

-     Performance Contingent—Is it an earned award, based on achievement? 4Performance Sensitive—Does it increase in value with the level of achievement?

For my part, I’ve found three dimensions that can help make any incentive more meaningful to a recipient: origin, choice and context.

Origin: Did you start with what is important to the person you are trying to motivate? There’s no use offering a travel incentive to someone who doesn’t want to travel or a nice watch to someone who already has four or five.By asking employees what things they would value, you increase the odds of being on target.

Lesson: Don’t have the recognition committee select items from a catalog that employees can choose from. Ask your employees directly what things they’d most value.

Choice: Is there variety and choice, so that the person has a say in what he or she gets? Whenever you provide choice to the recipient of an incentive, you increase its value. Having a say in what she receives is empowering, and allows the individual to select something that best aligns with her interests, family situation or personality. This applies to activities as well as merchandise. Giving someone additional time off increasingly is a more cherished incentive than a simple cash substitute, such as a gift certificate.

Lesson: Add choice points for employees whenever possible to make recognition and rewards more meaningful to those you are trying to motivate. Context.

Context: Is the incentive presented in a way that adds to its value, making it truly an honor? It’s the sizzle more than the steak that sets the tone and enhances the memorability of any award. Who presents the incentive? Is it someone the recipient holds in high esteem (it often can be a colleague as much as the person’s manager or someone higher in the organization)? Whom is the incentive presented in front of? As a rule of thumb, public recognition in front of one’s colleagues tends to be powerful—but this is not always the case. (Check with the person!) What words are said in the presentation? Is the achievement tied to a company value or larger goal everyone is working toward? Is a story told to show the obstacles that were overcome or creativity the honoree displayed?

Lesson: If done well, recognition sends a message to everyone who is present, and is not just about the person being honored. It says through your actions that: “These are the things that get noticed around here,” and causes others to want to emulate those being honored.

Meaningful incentives are much more than the money that is spent. Think through the elements that can most add value to the overall experience, and strive to make those a part of your recognition plan.

How to Present an Award

Regardless of what forms of incentive, recognition or rewards you are using in your organization, you will achieve higher value if you are mindful of how such items are delivered.

Take, for example, a five-year service award. I contend the activity of personally recognizing that employee milestone is many times more meaningful than the specific token gift that may be received. Instead of receiving a five-year pin, logoed jewelry or a choice of gift delivered to your desk with a form letter several months after your anniversary, most employees would be far more touched to get a personal call or visit from their manager on the day of their anniversary. Their manager could say something like: “I noticed it was your five-year anniversary today. Can you believe how fast the time has gone? I can still remember your first day of work!I was excited about having you on the team then and I’m excited about having you with us today. Thanks for confirming my good judgment in hiring you!”

Of course, the manager would have to take some initiative to mark his calendar in advance and take a few minutes to connect with the employee on that day (or get a reminder from Human Resources!), but it’s exactly those personal actions that give the interaction so much meaning for the typical employee. The thoughtful, personal touch tells the employee that although you are busy, you are not too busy when it comes to taking time for him or her.

In another example, I know someone who had been a part of a project team that lasted for quite some time. The team members worked hard and they achieved significant results. Many weeks after their last meeting, coffee mugs imprinted with the name of the project mysteriously appeared on each member’s desk. My friend’s reaction was “I guess this is for all the overtime I worked on that project. Some thanks!”

Needless to say, the lack of context given to this recognition item undermined what otherwise might have been a very thoughtful gesture of thanks and teamwork. Whoever went through the effort and expense to provide the coffee mugs could have pulled the group together—perhaps for a celebration lunch—and distributed the mugs at that time as a memento of the team project with individual words of thanks for the contribution of each team member.In that instance the coffee mugs would have been more likely to serve as a symbolic reminder of the shared team effort for years to come.

Besides making recognition more meaningful, providing a context adds a practical element to the activity as well. It gives you a chance to: 1) specifically identify the desired performance, thus eliminating any guessing on the part of the employee and creating a strong link between the desired performance and the reward; 2) generalize the specific performance to a larger category of desired behavior such as teamwork, a company value or organizational initiative, and 3) set a public example for other employees as to what things get noticed and rewarded in your work environment. Taking the time to personalize the delivery of any achievement award adds to its value for everyone. It creates an emotional impact that seems rarely felt today in the workplace.

By Brian Martenis

An incentive travel program is really like couturier. It must be one of a kind, personal and must fit the client perfectly. Here are my 10 steps to make sure your program is just that:

Step 1: Know your audience. The wise planner always sizes up the group and designs for the group as a whole as best as he can. What is the group’s background? How experienced are they with travel? What is their median age? Active or passive? Will they do well on their own or require a lot of hand-holding? Who is picking up the tab? What do they envision? Do they have a vision? Do you?

Step 2: Choosing the destination. This is one of the most difficult decisions in the building process. You are now responsible to choose a place that “sizzles.” It must be a destination that will hit them right between the eyes with little explanation. Very similar to the advertising business, an incentive program must be understood with little explanation. It must scream, “I know you want this!” But there are really awesome destinations in the world that might not be good incentive destinations if too much education is involved. Your job is not to provide your own knowledge of travel: It is to sell merchandise or motivate positive behavior and develop customer relationships. Is a Caribbean destination the answer? European? Asian? Not everyone has the same dream. Romance to some is Hawaii; to others, Paris; to another, romance is a roaring fire in the Canadian Rockies. Make sure you pick the right one.

Step 3: Choosing the right transportation. This one is truly painful. In the “old days,” airline travel was glamorous and somewhat luxurious. I remember men in suits and ties and ladies in hats and gloves. It was special, and no one minded driving to a centrally located airport for one chartered plane. Now, everyone is more travel savvy today and most flights have the glamour of herding cattle. Everyone wants to depart from the airport closest to home and have a first-class experience. It is now your job to accomplish this as closely to the customer’s wishes as possible. Which carrier provides the best service out of your best gates? You may have to deal with several depending on where the bulk of the customers come from.

Step 4: Ground transportation. Do you need transfers to the airport? Do you need transfers to the hotel upon landing in your carefully chosen destination? Can a motor coach be used? Limos? Horse and carriage? Sleighs? Try to be special, memorable and unforgettable. Every aspect of the program should be looked upon as an opportunity to shine. Be different to create that “wow” factor. Can fun be incorporated with transportation? A jeep rally or rafting perhaps? If the group is athletic perhaps hiking, strolling or even skiing. Always be creative if you can. Build your program like the artist that you are. Think out of the box.

Step 5: Dealing with the 21st Century. Back in the day, I remember people selling airline tickets in the newspaper as the name on it did not matter. I ran onto many planes with a second to spare and it was “welcome aboard.” A $15 to $25 charge for bags? Are you kidding me? Not to mention no liquids, taking your shoes off and dealing with the “power trip” of some security people.

All of these factors can damage your perfectly built program. Don’t “own” the inconvenience to your guests, but don’t hide from it either. You must carefully document what you can and cannot do for your group. Always remember that many people are not as well travelled as you. After a couple of years now, I still see people having more than three-ounce liquid containers confiscated! You might have to budget airline baggage charges. Provide a tasty boxed lunch at check-in and a beverage after security. There is not much you can do about the creepy security “I’m just doing my job” guard, but lend a sympathetic ear. With a lack of service and food, you can get creative and come out a winner. Another opportunity to shine!

Step 6: Choosing the right hotel/resort/convention center. This is probably one of the most challenging choices you will have to make. It really encompasses most of your program’s personality. It is where your group will sleep—and either really enjoy, or really dislike, their experience. It needs to be well-positioned, comfortable, safe and right for the group. A mistake many planners make is thinking that the more costly, the better. It does not need to be the most expensive. Sometimes five-star equals “stuffy” and uncomfortable. Go back to Step One and determine what makes the most sense.

Being very fond of walking, I once chose a resort once that was very spread out. Some of the older guests complained that it was a problem for them. Some single women feel more comfortable in a smaller self-contained atmosphere. I always look for a good lobby area where your guests can congregate easily. It is also good to choose a hotel that fits the size of your group. I am currently planning a program in Paris for about 75 people. Very high-end and it must dazzle. I am choosing from the intimate four-star properties to create a feeling of intimacy and quiet reserve. It doesn’t “shout” luxury, but it’s refined and well-positioned with a feeling of quality. It will not be the most expensive one. It will be the right one.

Step 7: Choosing the right DMC. Are we having fun yet? I love the “experts” that know the destination like the “back of their hand” because they did a program there 10 years ago. Or who know the perfect place to stay or the perfect restaurant from their trip five years ago. Unless you worked in the destination last week after a year or so of research, you do not know the destination. You need guidance and you need to know what is available. Management can change and so will quality. A venue that was once unacceptable could have changed significantly for the better. In the hospitality business, things can go downhill fast. A great hotel in 1990 could now be a dump. I have also seen a mediocre hotel or restaurant dazzle after a good expensive refurbishment. A good DMC knows these things. A good DMC knows when the shops are closed and when and where traffic will be heavy.

In Europe, holidays are very plentiful. A good DMC knows when to schedule what. You could not possibly know all you need to know in order to build a great incentive travel program there. I personally will interview several prospects. Perhaps I have used them before, perhaps not. New ones can open and be better, more energetic and have fresher ideas than those in business for a very long time. I choose the one that has the right ideas, who listens to me and gives me what I want. When I get a bunch of canned literature used for past groups, I forget about it. When a proposal arrives with new ideas, new venues and reasons why my thoughts might not work, I’m interested. I will then sit and speak with the individual I will be working with and my gut does the rest. Frankly, you either have it or you don’t. A majority of good planning comes from instinct.

Step 8: Choosing the right venues. Again, your choice of venue should not be price driven. Do you really want to go through the bother of a beach Olympics or team-building-type exercises if it is really not appropriate? A beach party is. Optional activities are. Cooking classes, scotch tastings and “green” explorations are all excellent ideas, but not for the whole group. Will the entire group want to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower? Probably. Will they all want to go kayaking in the Caribbean? Doubtful. Unless it is The Louvre or the Leaning Tower of Pisa, you really have to site inspect and make sure you are offering the correct choices for your group.

Step 9: Choosing the right menu. Imagine my shock many years ago when I discovered that not everyone loved bologna and strawberry jelly sandwiches as much as I did. The mere thought of veal to some, a moral outrage! Seared frois gras (my favorite) unacceptable! Over the years I have learned to keep menus as simple as possible and abundant. In general, American groups equate quality with quantity. Accept it. And while there is nothing more succulent than spring lamb in London. red snapper on St. Martin, venison with raspberry sauce in Switzerland, you had better be very certain of your group’s taste before serving such specialties. Even beef is questionable these days. Meat and fish on the same plate is the answer. Buffets are the answer. Food stations are the answer. Five or six courses are the answer. Like everything else in life, understatement generally works best. Do not choose a restaurant by its Michelin stars unless you are entertaining gourmands, or at least “foodies.”

Step 10: Choosing the right balance. Just like everything else in the world, your program must have the right balance. You must start slow and build to a crescendo. I sometimes liken it to painting a picture and keeping your colors even and true. (For more on this idea, read my previous column.) If you begin your program with champagne and fireworks, where are you going from there? I like five-night programs. Just enough and not too much. You have the opportunity for an opening on night one, a peak in the center and a closing. The other two nights can be dine-arounds or something creative.

Lay your program out in “blocks.” Try to have a reason to gather the group together at least once a day. If one block seems too heavy, change the balance. Daytime activity should be heavier with more orientational value in the beginning of the program. Once your guests get comfortable with the destination, free time and optional tours are good. I like the final evening to be a bit on the formal side and memorable. Everyone feels special at an elegant party.

The Bottom Line

The successful incentive travel planner is privileged. In order to be successful at it, you will need intelligence, creativity, guile, wit, personality, attitude and you will be passionate about what you do. You need an iron stomach and nerves of steel. It will keep you up at night, and make you sick sometimes. Frustrate you beyond belief and be very scary sometimes. The balance is that you will have incredible memories; you will be responsible for very joyous occasions for people and simply create a lot of positive energy in the world. I believe it is the energy we create and give out that comes back to us. What could be better than building and managing an incentive travel program and creating some of the best times in people’s lives?

One way of recognizing and refueling individual hearts and minds, as well as the bottom line is through a potent Incentive Travel Program (ITP). In addition to their glamorous and exotic appeal, Incentive Travel Programs (ITPs) most effectively increase productivity when they are “Four ”C”-ing”: they bolster “Confidence” & “Competence,” “Camaraderie” & “Cooperation” both between the corporation and the high achievers and within the specially designated group of performers. A climate of healthy competition, high performance and company appreciation and commitment is instilled when ITPs are:

-     Perceived as fair and not clouded by favoritism,

-     Potentially winnable by most, if not all, relevant personnel,

-     Offering a meaningful and memorable award,

-     Reflecting some personal recognition of the individual’s personality and work style,

-     Structured so that throughout the year there are periodic incentive milestones, that is, a stepladder of success, culminating in the distinctive travel reward and

-     Paths, processes and products for improving on past performance. I call it offering Corporate IRAs: Incentives, Rewards & Recognition and Advancement Opportunities.

Psychological Benefits for Individual-Corporate Connection
The psychological – personal and professional – benefits of vital incentive programs are significant. These include:

-     Strengthening the emotional, conceptual and ideological bond between high performers and the corporate identity, the vision and mission and the goals and objectives. When we feel passionate about a product, process or service not only do we work harder in the short-term, but also this dynamic helps build longer-range commitment and loyalty,

-     Giving individual recognition to high achievers beyond financial reward. As Mark Twain observed: “I can live two months off a good compliment.” Does this kind of recognition help affirm a person”s self-esteem, strengthen confidence and a sense of one”s marketability? Just ask those Hollywood stars if they covet an Oscar nomination let alone the award!

-     Especially with a national (or international) incentive program, bringing together high performers from across the country or the globe, there’s a unique opportunity for far-reaching brainstorming. A company can disseminate new ideas and, if smart, truly allow attendees to give feedback and engage in design and development, not just be the “Amen” chorus. You want to both find commonality amongst the divergent group (“the one in the many”) and recognize diversity and difference (of people and procedures, ideas and ideals, etc.) in the corporate collective (“the many in the one”),

-     Integrating entertainment and the educational by creating a vibrant vacation that mixes reward with some playful team building activities (without the program becoming a professional conference). For example, my Practice Safe Stress Programs have been successfully incorporated in ITPs. A discussion and drawing exercise safely and playfully encourages participants to identify the sources of workplace stress and conflict. After itemizing various company stressors, teams of four or five, with colored markers and large flipchart paper in hand, come up with a stress logos, visual symbols, even their own Dilbert-like cartoon. Believe me, when doing programs for the US Navy; I see plenty of sinking ships and sharks swimming in the water. Also seen: stalking dinosaurs, devils with whips, whirling tornadoes, etc. And invariably there is near riotous laughter throughout the drawing and post-drawing/large group-sharing segment (where groups show and tell about their creative designs). Allowing the troops to occasionally blow off steam or poke fun in a creative, team-focused manner (not just through griping) is a great way for letting folks share real feelings and frustrations, not feel isolated, see another’s perspective, experience team synergy, strengthen morale and trust (that is, top management can handle some criticism), and…have FUN!

-     Heightening the company recognition and visibility of top performers. These individuals are better able to become mentors and role models — in such areas as commitment, tenacity, risk-taking, creative problem-solving, building networks, etc. — for folks just starting the climb up that ladder of success.

Taking an “Incubation Vacation”
In addition to specific features and rewards of Incentive Travel, there are the general and psychic benefits of being on vacation and breaking from the routine.

The ideal vacation provides both relaxation and stimulation. Go for “R, R & R”: Rest, Recreation and Rejuvenation! After a year of intense pushing, the mind, the body and the soul need to be nurtured. A vacation allow us to:

-     Get briefly off “The Type A Race Track”…to get refueled, refreshed and refitted,

-     Get outside the box or cube. A change of scenery, literally letting go of the habitual patterns or daily schedule, taking an “incubation vacation,” allows one to hatch a new perspective, to truly think and create out of the box. Vacations allow more psychic space for our intuitive, pre-verbal and, often, subconscious right brain to maneuver. Also, there’s nothing like gazing across the ocean or being contemplative on a mountain range for gaining or percolating “the big picture.”

-     Be exposed to new physical settings and cultures. For example, years back, flying from New York City (where I was born and lived most of my first two decades) to New Orleans (where I resided in the mid-”70s and ”80s – my “American in Cajun Paris” years) I was sitting next to a NYC banker heading for a conference in “The Big Easy.” Somehow the conversation turned to a new customer service innovation: feeder lines. The banker noted that more efficient (“Jet”) service was “The Big Apple” rationale. His eyes widened upon hearing that the new procedure “way down yonder” was called “Personal Service” for the more private window experience. Different strokes for different folks.

-     And speaking of flying, ITPs are a great way of helping individuals who have become disgruntled or hesitant to fly to overcome their travel inertia. Or to help folks realize, once again, that cyberspace is not the only way to travel. ITPs should reveal the limits of virtual reality!

Maximizing the Reward and ROI
In addition to blending rest and stimulation, education and entertainment, big party nurture and big picture nature, three final suggestions for maximizing the ITP reward factor, psychological benefits and return of investment:

-     When workforce numbers are sufficiently large, employ an award gradient. Using the Olympics as a model, provide ITPs for your Gold, Silver and Bronze top performers. (Consider playing your golden guy’s or gal’s school song at an award’s ceremony. Just kidding. Of course, there’s special recognition for your Gold Medal winners, but this paradigm shift increases the numbers in the company committed to top performance, the ITP process and to the company itself,

-     Continuing the sports reference, why not rewards for “Most Improved Performer” and “Rookie of the Year”? And;

-     Integrate spouses in the ITP. In our 24/7 world, where the walls between workplace and home are forever being chipped away, the role of the supportive spouse or partner is more critical than ever. A mate has had to accept and cope with the top performer coming home late, out of town business trips, workplace tensions occasionally spilling over to the home front, etc. The behind the scenes support person deserves to be rewarded as well. Bottom line, this truly “significant other” is often a critical factor in sustaining a top-flight individual’s performance level and commitment to the company. And having a mix can be fun