Stephanie Moss, MD of events and incentives company, Stephanie Moss Solutions, says innovative incentive programmes are proving to be highly popular.
How can companies use incentives to their benefit? When sales are down, or business is slow, it becomes more important than ever to motivate your employees to do as much as possible to keep existing customers and attract new ones. Research in the US has shown that over 65% of professionals believe that travel and merchandise are more memorable than cash rewards; 57% feel that cash bonuses are something due to them and not a reward for exceptional performance.
What are the pros and cons of using incentives? Dynamic sales incentives that reward sales performance are a highly effective means of increasing sales and generating new business. A great incentive can have a maximum impact on your sales, resulting in a highly motivated and more productive sales team. Incentives recognise performance so there are no negatives around that. But you have to ensure your day-to-day management style is positive. No matter how much money you put into rewards, you’ll waste time and money if your management style is a negative one.
What makes a great incentive? It needs to be exciting and real enough to aspire to, but so exotic that you’ll probably never arrange it for yourself. The prospect of travel – and overseas travel in particular – can be a tremendous motivation.
How can owner/managers evaluate the effectiveness of an incentive? It is fairly common knowledge that the use of rewards is the single highest predictor of organisational climate, which in turn usually has a direct correlation with financial results.You have to look at the cost of the incentive versus employee satisfaction and performance.
What is the Formula One incentive all about? Formula One, or F1, also known as Grand Prix racing, is the most expensive international sport in the world. It’s one of the few where spectators, both male and female, have as much adrenalin coursing through their veins as participants. Add to the fast pace, action and excitement, the glamour and celebrity of F1, and you have all the ingredients you need for an incentive that will inspire and motivate performance, and reward the achiever with the experience of a lifetime.
A great thing about the F1 incentive is that it’s quick. Where most travel incentives are an average of seven days long, an F1 jaunt needn’t take longer than three or four days at most, and because most of the time spent away is over a weekend, the company doesn’t lose too many work hours.
The cost starts at around R14 000 for a trip that includes return airfares, three or four nights’ accommodation in a four star hotel on a bed and breakfast basis, tickets to the Grand Prix event, plus a couple of meals and an excursion that takes in some tourist highlights.
For more information contact Stephanie Moss on +27 11 706 3242, or email her at
stephanie@solutionsgroup.co.za,
www.solutionsgroup.co.za
