Incentive programs

An incentive program is any type of program that motivates participants in some particular way by offering them some form of reward. Incentives can be used in a variety of ways and in many different places. They could help encourage members of a company to achieve certain goals or they might jumpstart extra learning in a classroom. In business incentive programs are often used in the sales industry, but this is clearly not the only way that people can be inspired to achieve more.

When people contemplate adding an incentive program to a workforce or learning environment, they should determine several things. First, people should have a clear goal of the behavior they want to encourage. They need to also have a sense of what type of incentives they’ll offer when employees achieve set goals.

For instance, a sales manager wants to see each sales representative increase their sales by 20%. The manager has to decide how to offer an incentive that might work. This could be money, a trip for two someplace special, tickets to a fabulous concert, or many other things. A smart manager might introduce this incentive with a company lunch or with training aimed at getting salespeople to increase their sales. Since 20% is a large goal, the manager could also set lower goals with smaller prizes so that he encourages each employee to do his/her best in improving performance, and makes more employees happy because more of them would “win” an incentive prize.

There are plenty of incentive program types in schools too. Teachers can give small rewards for increased reading, strong grades, and citizenship or for many other things. As with the managing sales director, the teacher has to sell an incentive program as something special that makes students desire earning it. Since the rewards are usually smaller, the teacher may actually have the larger job selling such a program. He or she must also be more sensitive to the issue that lower performing students in the class may not be able to bring performance up to a level that would earn any incentives offered.

Benefits of Incentive Programs

Incentive programs are a great way for businesses to reach out to their employees in an appropriate and appreciate manner. Not only do they work to improve the livelihood of the individual worker, but they also help to improve the livelihood of the business as well. Everyone is able to take part in the success of the company and feel like they are an integral part of the company and the work which takes place inside the company. Improving morale is hardly the only benefit of implementing successful incentive programs within the workplace. However, it is extremely important that the programs be successful and well planned in order to them to work. Implementing an unsuccessful program will likely do the opposite of improving morale and can potentially lead to resentment among the workers in the business. Because of this, it is very important to choose a program of incentives that will appeal to the average worker and make them feel important, not convenient. The incentives need to be tailored to the particular needs and desires of the individual workplace. If they are not, it is possible to lose money by investing in an unsuccessful and damaging incentive program. When the proper incentive program is put into place, the results will be noticed with ease and days will run much smoother.

For example, when employees are happy and content, they will have a better disposition. Obviously this is helpful for workers that are involved with customers since they will be more likely to have patience with the clients and to go the extra mile in order to ensure happiness on the part of the clients. Even better, the morale and disposition of the co-workers may actually enable them to work better as a team, together. This means that when one person needs help, instead of ignoring that individual’s problems and making sure that they look out for themselves, other co-workers may chip in and try to help that person, which would allow the company to work more as a team which is typically more successful than everyone being concerned on with their own well being.

The incentive programs that are implemented may also enable a company to improve communication between the different co-workers and levels of management. This helps to ensure that when a problem comes up, the company as a whole is more inclined to address the issue. If workers are too concerned with what others will think of them or how others will react that they may try to fix the problem on their own and end up doing more harm than good. Increased communication will be beneficial in many different areas of the workplace. In addition, co-workers may begin to feel more like friends as opposed to individuals that work together and have nothing in common. Many business owners will even find that it feels good to reward their employees and that it is important not to take workers for granted in any market or in any capacity. Employee incentive programs will help with all of these issues.

The starting point

The first step in designing an employee incentive plan is to understand what the ideal end results for the business are. For example, the agency might want to lower client attrition, increase sales and increase productivity. The critical steps for each of these goals need to be mapped out. If the agency wants to increase productivity, then streamlining workflow, training and better communication between the service staff and sales staff might be some of the critical steps.

Management then needs to review what the employees need to do more of, less of, or what needs to be totally changed. For example, the service staff might be double entering data because of antiquated procedures. Or perhaps CSRs are not delegating follow up calls for claims to CSR assistants.

The next step is to assess the behaviors, tasks and decision-making actions that the employees can control and that management wants to encourage or discourage. Management can check whether CSRs are still double entering data, reviewing renewals in a timely fashion, or delegating follow-up calls to assistants. A plan can blend the behavior with an appropriate reward.

IncentiWeb

IncentiWeb® offers Online performance management tools, budget reporting, return on investment programs and communication features for easy and effective administration.

Participants track their progress and redeem their points for gifts and travel from one of the largest selections in the industry through Amazon.com and other name brand award providers. Reducing your costs by offering 25-30% more buying power.

* Enrollment and participation management
* Program and performance assessment
* Tax Reporting
* Management and tracking of multiple programs and performance criteria
* Comparative analysis of program’s effectiveness
* Real-time recognition of outstanding performance
* One of the most comprehensive selection of awards
* Full account history with congratulatory notes for participants to check 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
* Effective and easy to use communication tools — Bulletin Boards, Pop Ups and Personal Congratulatory Notes
* Simple administrative tool (easy administration)
* Budget breakdowns and reporting
* Quiz templates and reporting tools for easy testing of participants’ knowledge
* Online games to generate enthusiasm and participation

Taico® Incentive Services

In a world where results matter … Motivating, Recognizing and Rewarding performance is vital to the growth and success of your company. Communication and Performance Assessment are valuable tools in measuring the effectiveness of your program while saving time and money in tracking results.

Taico® Incentive Services has been helping companies just like yours achieve and surpass their business goals. Providing Incentive Technology, Performance Management, Communications, and the most extensive Rewards for over 25 years!

Communication is the Key

Now you can communicate with your target audience, one person at a time or to the entire group. Offer special promotions, send email blasts, create your own customized pop-ups and bulletin boards. Plus capture data and interact with your participants 24/7.

With IncentiWeb® you can measure results in a way never before possible.

Instant email participant communication
Congratulatory email and Online messages to all or a “targeted” group of participants
Online Bulletin Board and instant messaging to motivate and communicate with participants
Templates to create pop-up announcements

Pop-up and Bulletin Board features are a built-in way to announce a new product, launch a program while maintaining the “look” of your site.

Employee Recognition

Employee recognition is not just a nice thing to do for people. Employee recognition is a communication tool that reinforces and rewards the most important outcomes people create for your business. When you recognize people effectively, you reinforce, with your chosen means of recognition, the actions and behaviors you most want to see people repeat. An effective employee recognition system is simple, immediate, and powerfully reinforcing.

When you consider employee recognition processes, you need to develop recognition that is equally powerful for both the organization and the employee. You must address five important issues if you want the recognition you offer to be viewed as motivating and rewarding by your employees and important for the success of your organization.

The Five Most Important Tips for Effective Recognition

You need to establish criteria for what performance or contribution constitutes rewardable behavior or actions.

• All employees must be eligible for the recognition.
• The recognition must supply the employer and employee with specific information about what behaviors or actions are being rewarded and recognized.
• Anyone who then performs at the level or standard stated in the criteria receives the reward.
• The recognition should occur as close to the performance of the actions as possible, so the recognition reinforces behavior the employer wants to encourage.
• You don’t want to design a process in which managers “select” the people to receive recognition. This type of process will be viewed forever as “favoritism” or talked about as “it’s your turn to get recognized this month.” This is why processes that single out an individual, such as “Employee of the Month,” are rarely effective.

Employee Recognition

Employee recognition is limited in most organizations. Employees complain about the lack of recognition regularly. Managers ask, “Why should I recognize or thank him? He’s just doing his job.” And, life at work is busy, busy, busy. These factors combine to create work places that fail to provide recognition for employees.

Managers who prioritize employee recognition understand the power of recognition. They know that employee recognition is not just a nice thing to do for people. Employee recognition is a communication tool that reinforces and rewards the most important outcomes people create for your business.

When you recognize people effectively, you reinforce, with your chosen means of recognition, the actions and behaviors you most want to see people repeat. An effective employee recognition system is simple, immediate, and powerfully reinforcing. Employees feel cared about and appreciated. It may seem simplistic, but people who feel recognized and cared about produce more and better work.

A leader of employees makes other people feel important and appreciated. The leader excels at creating opportunities to provide rewards, recognition and thanks to his or her staff. A leader creates a work environment in which people feel important and appreciated.

Want to Kick Employee Recognition Up a Notch?

You can reinforce powerfully the recognition you provide in these ways.

• Write out the recognition, what the employee did, why it was important, and how the actions served your organization. Give a copy of the letter to the employee and to the department head or CEO, depending on the size of your company. Place a copy in the employee’s file.
• Write a personal note to the employee. Perhaps have your supervisor sign it, too. Photocopy the note and place the recognition in the employee’s file.
• Accompany the verbal recognition with a gift. Engraved plaques, merchandise that carries the company logo, even certificates of appreciation reinforce the employee recognition.
• Everyone likes cash or the equivalent in gift cards, gift certificates, and checks. If you use a consumable form of employee recognition, accompany the cash with a note or letter. When the money has been spent, you want the employee to remember the recognition.
• Present the recognition publicly, at an employee meeting, for example. Even if the employee is uncomfortable with publicity, it is important for the other employees to know that employees are receiving recognition.

Conclusion and More Information About Employee Recognition

A simple “thank you” counts as employee recognition. But, you can also make employee recognition as elaborate as your imagination can conceive. Recognition is not a scarce resource. You can’t use it up or run out of it. No budget is too small to afford employee recognition. For increased employee satisfaction, bring on lots of employee recognition.