Author: Mike Sullivan

Mike has more than 15 years of experience designing and implementing incentive and recognition programs. He specializes in employee recognition and multi-step channel sales incentive programs. When not tending to his clients’ needs, Mike can be found wetting a line on a local waterway or traversing a hiking trail with his wife Michelle.

Incentive and Recognition Program ROI – Review Objectives and Indicators

June 26, 2014 by

Incentive and Recognition Program ROI – Review Objectives and Indicators“I”

“I BELIEVE”

“I BELIEVE THAT”

“I BELIEVE THAT WE”

“I BELIEVE THAT WE WILL KEEP OUR INCENTIVE/RECOGNITION PROGRAM FRESH BY REVISING GOALS AND OBJECTIVES THROUGHOUT THE LIFE OF THE PROGRAM.”

Now that we have that out of the way, I find myself guilty of not pushing clients to adjust program goals and objectives as their needs evolve.  For example, if you are a transportation company and you have a recognition program implemented to specifically focus on tenure, because you have high turnover.  That works.  Let’s say six months later, you see a continuing rise in late deliveries.  Late deliveries will cost you money in lost business, so does it not make sense to add a measurement for on-time deliveries to your program?  Just like you are paying for the tenure portion of your program with reduced training costs, you can pay for this part of your program with a percentage of the business gained or not lost due to late deliveries.

On the sales incentive side, it is equally important to continue to update your goals and objectives.  This is probably the easier side to understand.  As a salesperson myself, I think it is safe to say that the majority of us have at least a slight case of ADD.  I often find myself distracted by the newest shiny object.  Sales professionals in general are also accustomed to a culture of friendly (and sometimes not so friendly!) competition among their peers.  It only makes sense that this same philosophy should apply to the sales incentive program.  For example, we want to improve the sales process of our sales team.  Let’s use our platform to issue points for attending training seminars/webinars.  We have two lines of products, one is a higher margin item and one is a lower margin item.  Let’s increase sales of the higher margin items by offering double points in the 3rd quarter for sales of the higher margin product, which we are glad to pay for with a percentage of the higher margin products.

Having confessed that sometimes I need to be more aggressive in helping my clients make adjustments as programs evolve, there is a silver lining to brighten my mood.  Our  account management team is always focused on the task.  They analyze program data and compile quarterly reviews – providing our clients with a clear picture of incentive and recognition program effectiveness.  With this information we are able to make adjustments in order to improve program results and keep engagement high among participants.

Contact us here, or give us a call at 800.621.9745 for assistance with your current or future programs.

Employee Recognition – All Aboard

April 10, 2014 by

I just completed a webinar for a prospective client for an employee recognition program.  The beginning of the call went well, which by my standards means it was an interactive discussion of the many parameters that constitute the construction of a successful employee recognition program.  As we reviewed the participant shopping experience provided by IncenTrac™… Read more »

Walk the Talk – Important to Customer Retention

March 21, 2014 by

You’ve probably heard the saying that it’s much more expensive to acquire a new customer than to retain an existing one.  Brandon Carter, in this post – Customer Retention: Cheaper than Acquisition; Still Not Easy – points out that while retention might be cheaper, it isn’t easier. We have all heard that existing customers are… Read more »

Recognition and Incentive Solutions – Partner not Pioneer

February 5, 2014 by

A recent Atlanta Journal-Constitution blog entry by John Saddington entitled Look to Partner, Not Pioneer addresses a culture of innovation over partnership and how that may not always be the best solution to one’s business goals.  If you are considering a recognition or incentive program for your organization, partnering with a recognition and incentive solutions… Read more »

Program Engagement and the Endowed Progress Effect

December 27, 2013 by

One key factor in achieving early engagement in an employee recognition or sales incentive program is often overlooked – dedicating a small portion of your budget for enrollment or activation in the program.  This does not have to be a substantial monetary investment, but simply a little something to get the participant started while reinforcing… Read more »

Building True Loyalty: Closing the Expectations Gap

December 4, 2013 by

An article by Jim Tierney about a Colloquy study entitled “Global Strategy, Local Tactics” is very enlightening.  The study looks at loyalty programs in five different global regions and as Jim points out, exposes an expectations gap that leaves a large part of the market disengaged.  As a result, the majority of programs are not building… Read more »