I'm Dancing as Fast
as I Can
by Bob Vitagliano, CITE
I know we need an incentive program to achieve the goals we
have set for this year. Our incentive planner will come up with
another fantastic reward to surpass last year's success but I
don't have time to work on developing a new structure now. There
is just too much else for me to do! I will just massage last year's
program structure. That program paid off and so will this.
In recent years, your company probably has changed its business
structure, revamped its marketing programs, redesigned its distribution
systems, and generally reinvented itself to meet the needs of
a new economy. That called for a major investment of time and
other resources. Have you devoted similar resources to designing
incentive programs in support of those other efforts? If not,
why are you still structuring your motivation programs as you
did in the past?
Programs designed around passe qualifying structures, predictable
rewards, and uninspired promotion do not motivate people to stretch
to achieve the profit-producing objectives that we expect. In
our fast-paced society, it is essential that we make time to analyze
the realities of doing business today and the means we are using
to make our efforts more effective. The ability to react quickly
is essential but it is a waste of talent and energy if it does
not generate the positive results we need for survival in the
most competitive business environment in history. Companies must
evaluate the return on investment from their motivational programs
and meetings just as they do with other aspects of their business.
The reason for conducting your incentive program is probably not
the same as it was five years ago … or, perhaps, even last
year. Still, many companies use so-called tried and true
structures for their programs because they do not have time to
consider new approaches. They do not question the validity of
continuing the motivational techniques that they have used in
the past. When everything else in a company has changed it is
difficult to understand why outmoded incentive program structure
is still considered acceptable.
At a time when we should spend more time motivating, recognizing
and rewarding employees, companies are looking for shortcuts.
The Internet offers quick solutions. It can be a godsend to meeting/incentive
planners but it also offers predictable solutions and rewards
to the very unique task of motivating a diverse workforce. Although
we have come to accept stress and pressure as a norm in doing
business many companies are experiencing a change. They are finding
it difficult to retain their best employees. In addition, more
and more professionals are joining the ranks of the self-employed
in order to have more control over their lives. If we do not find
ways of reducing pressures and balancing them with positive experiences,
we will most definitely see an even greater backlash in the future.
The facts are simple. Ours is a service economy and, in it, people
are our greatest asset. There is a direct relationship between
our human assets and bottom line profits. Companies recruit and
contract with the most qualified professionals in their particular
industry. In the same way they must contract with the most qualified
professionals to design and evaluate their campaigns and to plan
extraordinary rewards for their qualifiers.
"Doing it faster, cheaper, and better is no longer the goal—because
'it' keeps changing," says Robert Reich, former Secretary
of Labor and author of The Future of Success.
The it of motivational programs is no exception.
Published with the permission of Sales and Marketing Strategies
& News.
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Bob Vitagliano, CITE is President of V Associates, an incentive
marketing consulting firm, and is an associate of fourCE.org.
He is also the former EVP/CEO of the Society of Incentive &
Travel Executives. You can reach him at vassociates@home.com
or at info@fourCE.org.
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