How to Develop an Incentive Program in 2022
What is an incentive program? At BLU Marketing we define an incentive program as a planned activity designed to drive employee engagement to achieve larger organizational goals. Simply put, it's a structured plan to get people to do what you want them to do.
Why do people need to be rewarded to do the things that are already part of their job? If COVID-19 and the Great Resignation have taught us nothing else, it's the simple fact that it's easier for people to do what they want, when they want! And, that is causing huge consequences for organizational goals. It's harder and harder for an organization to recruit, hire and keep good employees. When they are there they might be more distracted or distant causing room for safety issues or other technical errors. All which cost the organization time and money!!
Why do people do the things they do? Behavior in general is influenced by a variety of factors. For example, hunger motivates people to forage for food. When and individual is motivated by something they desire they are further motivated to achieve the goal. One of the most fundamental equations in all of psychology is: Ability x Motivation = Performance.
Example of an Attendance Incentive Program
Let's say a company has 50 employees. On average, each employee uses an average of 10 sick days per year. Due to the lack of employees at any given time, this company is dealing with a serious cut in overall productivity on their assembly line. If the usage of sick days could be cut in half to 5 days per year, productivity figures could greatly improve. The overall goal of this type of incentive program is to encourage each employee to use 5 sick days per year, or less.
But, how do you accomplish this goal? Spend some time thinking about what would be meaningful to your group, discuss it with them. Evaluate your budget for the incentive program and work with your incentive marketing expert at BLU Marketing Concepts to select a group of items within your budget and employees' interests to have on an online company store where each employee can come to choose an award within a particular price range.
How will your improved attendance incentive program be structured? If your employees have to wait an entire year to receive an award, they will probably lose interest. And what if someone had a serious illness on quarter and that ruined their chances for the award?
Consider this approach...If each employee can use 1 sick day, or less, per quarter, they will still be eligible to redeem an award from the company store of a certain value. Rewards can be stacked to select a larger item if the employee so chooses, but they can also get instant gratification each quarter if that motivates them. Then, plan a kickoff party with catered pizza or sandwiches for lunch and tell everyone about the new program.
Each quarter, pull the group together for a quick celebratory service and hand out gift certificates to each employee who qualifies. At the end of the year, review attendance records and evaluate if the program is effective at meeting your original overall goal. Has production also improved? By what percentage?
Evaluate and discuss the results with your BLU Marketing Concepts Incentive Marketing Expert and tweak the program as needed to provide continual incentive in the upcoming year.
Example of a Safety Incentive Program
Are you having issues with safety infractions from distracted employees? Are the employees that are showing up for their scheduled shifts having to do more, take on more responsibility and work when they might be exhausted? Do you want to encourage a safer team working environment to keep employee safe and happy? This could be the incentive program for you.
How much money could a safer work environment save you? Just as the example for attendance, you need to start by evaluating what you want to improve. Do you want to decrease infraction by 50%, do you want an infraction free quarter, half a year, or more? What is the overall goal of the incentive program?
Then evaluate what goal could save the company overall and determine a budget within. From here, evaluate what motivates your employees. Do you they like brand new safety gear, possibly a heavy hi-viz winter jacket? Do they like nice jackets, hoodies, a nice hot/cold drinking bottle, Apple AirPods, and bluetooth speaker...the sky is the limit really.
Then, throw a kickoff party to tell everyone about the new program. Each month, quarter or determined benchmark pull the group together for a quick celebratory service and hand out gift certificates to each employee to celebrate the team achievement. Rewards can be stacked to select a larger item if the employee so chooses, but they can also get instant gratification each quarter if that motivates them.
At the end of the year, review accident records and evaluate if the program is effective at meeting your original overall goal. Has production also improved? By what percentage?
Evaluate and discuss the results with your BLU Marketing Concepts Incentive Marketing Expert and tweak the program as needed to provide continual incentive in the upcoming year.
How to Develop an Incentive Program
#1 Set Goals & Objectives
Identify what goal/objective needs to be accomplished, for example: improved attendance, increased sales, reduced cycle times, etc. The objectives must be simple, specific, and obtainable. Begin with not more than 3 clear, briefly stated objectives and communicate them to all participants.#2 Identify the Audience
The entire employee or consumer audience is probably not your target. Identify which individuals or teams can achieve your goals and objectives; those are your program participants.#3 Fact Finding & Involvement
Programs are always more effective if you can get input from representatives of the participant audience. Inviting input on the rules, rewards and other aspects of the program will increase ownership and engagement in the program. What steps will be necessary to achieve the goals? Do participants have the resources they need in order to achieve them?#4 Program Structure & Budget
Build the foundation of the Incentive Program carefully, expanding on the methodology to be used. This is where you decide whether you’ll use an open-ended or closed-ended program design and identify your fixed and variable costs. An open-ended program is harder to budget but can be funded through incremental sales or other gains; a closed-ended program is easier to budget and may allow for larger rewards because you’ll have a set number of winners but may not be as motivating for your participant audience if the rules are not carefully structured.#5 Select the Rewards
Employee rewards and recognition should be consistent with the brand of your company, and appeal to your participant audience. Don’t make these decisions in a vacuum. The more you invite input from your audience on the types of rewards they’ll appreciate, the more effective your program will be. Of course, your reward vehicle will need to fit within the budget parameters that you’ve set.#6 Communication & Training
Decide how you will announce and launch the program. Develop a communication strategy to keep participants updated and engaged throughout the program. Branded programs are typically more effective than generic programs. Training management in execution of the program is critically important to the success of the program or campaign.#7 Tracking & Administration
Decide which elements you’ll track and develop the system to track them. Administration may account for approximately 20% of the program budget. The right program dashboard or other technology can help to reduce the time spent on administration.#8 Fulfillment
The more immediate, the better. Technological advances allow participants to redeem rewards online and, in some cases, the rewards may be digital. It’s also important that the reward and fulfillment experience is consistent with your company’s brand attributes.#9 Evaluate & Measure
Did the Incentive Program achieve its objectives? Were the participants motivated to change their behavior? What outside factors contributed to the success (or not) of the program? Every element that you measure can inform your next program parameters to ensure greater success in the future.#10 Celebrate Success
Communicate the employee rewards and results of the recognition program with your audience. Share how the program impacted company performance and celebrate both individual and team achievements. Support from top management is critical, so make sure company leaders are involved in presentations. If you have remote workers, consider web events or other ways in which to involve all participants in the celebration.
How to Execute an Incentive Program
1. Talk with us
Call us for a consultation with your promo expert and we can help you evaluate your company goals for an incentive program. Discuss what motivates your employees and review your budget.
For your convenience: Phone, Virtual and In-Person appointments are available.
2. Let's brainstorm
Next, we'll take the time to research products that fit your needs and help you achieve your marketing goals and budget.
Unsure where to start? We'll provide you with a variety of high quality, fresh ideas to complement your brand. We don't believe in boring promotions or cheap junk! We strive to provide only the highest quality items with superior decoration so that your brand shines. Promotional products are the only branding tool that touches all of the human senses, don't put ordinary in the hands of your most powerful branding tool.
3. Pick your swag
Which merch appeals to your employees? Narrow down the options and let us know the swag that speaks to you.
We'll help you narrow down what items best fit your branding goals and budget. We'll help you understand how much of each item you need to purchase and provide ways that you can save on your overall purchase.
4. Let's Do It!
Pick out your favorite products, we’ll start the design process, and *POOF*, just like that, your products will be ready to shop from!
We'll set an online Company Store branded for your company and mock ups of all the incentive gifts. We streamline the ordering process by providing you with coupon codes that you can use when handing certificates out to your employees. You are billed for the value of your certificates when they are issued. Your employees pay zero out of pocket unless they order beyond their certificate value. We package up and deliver your employee orders within a pre-determined timeframe. No inventory or excessive inventory required.
Learn more about our company store options or request an appointment to speak with an incentive marketing expert today at www.blumarketingconcepts.com