Feature: Staff incentives: New year, new motivation

In the competitive and cut-throat world of business, where sales targets are key, it’s imperative to ensure employees are giving 100 per cent all the time. This is where motivational tools and incentives play an important role within today’s business environment to push individuals that extra mile, but at the same time building loyalty and retaining staff.

The start of a new year is a great time to initiate a new motivation programme. The trick is knowing how and when to use the “motivational” tools of the trade.

Bonuses and commission play an important role, but they are increasingly viewed as part of the overall remuneration package. They do have a motivational effect but all too often, once the money reaches the pay packet, it’s absorbed into everyday household items, giving short-lived impact. So traditional cash rewards are not always enough.

The motivational power of an incentive scheme lies in the fact that they work on the competitive nature of the individuals, acting as a very tangible and visible recognition of success.

But for any motivational and incentive scheme to work it must be imaginative, inspirational and carefully selected to tap into the aspirations and interests of the recipients. Get it right and the company will be viewed as a good employer and a “cool” place to work. On the other side of the coin, if the rewards on offer are dull and unimaginative, it’s likely the company will be viewed in the same manner.

The great thing about using experiences, luxury travel and goods as incentives is that the memory will always last longer than the cash. They also have a great “brag value” attached to them, especially if they are experiences with a “wow” factor. People are not likely to tell their colleagues how much they got in their pay packet but will brag about an all-expenses-paid weekend shopping trip in New York complete with personal shopper.

To deliver a successful motivational and incentive programme, the objectives and mechanics of the scheme need to be clearly communicated to everyone and ensure all staff “buy in”. The rewards on offer must be of interest to the whole team – not everyone is motivated by a golf lesson with a pro.

With all incentive schemes there needs to be an immediacy with the reward as the appeal factor diminishes in time if it cannot be experienced, so don’t offer a trip to a festival in October if the reward is won in March, and don’t offer a trip if the winner needs to pay for anything – if it is for one person, it is less appealing as more than likely they will have to pay for a partner.

Where annual sales targets need to be achieved, consider having smaller rewards up for grabs on a regular basis. This helps to maintain everyone’s interest and help make year-end targets appear more achievable. It can also incentivise staff who are not top achievers – they often make up the majority of a sales team.

Gauging staff reaction and feedback is essential to getting it right. Feedback should be encouraged, and establishing any concerns at the outset of a scheme is important so any changes can be made if necessary.

Ensure good communication is maintained throughout the campaign. Using text messaging, emails and websites to keep everyone updated on performance levels as well as congratulating staff will help to maintain interest and motivation in the scheme.

It can be difficult to measure the direct impact of an incentive scheme on the bottom line as there are many factors that need to be taken into consideration. For a sales-based team, it’s more straightforward by comparing sales targets versus sales achieved as well as looking at the percentage of people who hit individual targets. If the incentive scheme is for non-sales staff, human resources managers might assess its success on attendance levels at work, rate of staff turnover or productivity of employees.

Getting all the elements right in an incentive scheme is imperative. Using a specialist provider to either manage the whole scheme or provide the reward prizes will bring creativity and ideas, not to mention ease the workload and make the difference between an average scheme to one that all the staff are talking about.