Category: Years of Service Award Programs

Years of Service Award Programs

Taking Incentive Programs Back to School

Taking Incentive Programs Back to SchoolAs I travel around the country these days, I encounter the unmistakable signs of the “back-to-school” season – more traffic, football games, advertisements for school supplies and less crowded airplanes, just to name a few. It’s been a couple of years since our family has experienced this rite of passage first-hand – and I must admit that I miss the excitement a bit.

For us, the return to school meant encountering the possibilities and challenges created by new coursework. In addition, there were the new relationships with teachers and fellow students to be navigated. But perhaps the most important adjustment was the reapplication of the discipline required for success – which inevitably waned during the relatively unstructured pace of summer.

Reflecting on this, I think that our existing and potential clients can learn a few things from the back-to-school season when it comes to incentive programs.

  • First, this is an excellent time to ask whether education could play a role in helping drive business results. For example, if you are running or contemplating a channel incentive program, consider adding a product knowledge quiz to your program platform. Not only do such quizzes advance the expertise of your channel partners, they tend to raise overall awareness and enthusiasm among program participants.
  •  Secondly, those of you who are running sales incentive programs might benefit by considering the addition of classes of customers who are not now participants in your program, but should be. By so doing, you might identify a new participant who becomes your new best friend (so to speak).
  •  Finally, there is the topic of discipline. I can tell you that here at QIC we plan to use this season to systematically review our processes and procedures to make sure that we are operating as efficiently and “smartly” as we should. I encourage all of you who are running incentive programs, be they sales incentives or employee recognition, to do the same.

No matter how old we – or our children – get, we can all learn something in the back-to-school season. Please don’t hesitate to call upon us if we can help you with that process in any way.

Summer – A Time for Engagement

Engage. Engaged. Engagement. Right now, this word seems to be very popular among many organizations. How to engage employees? How to keep employees engaged? How to manage the engagement of employees? For most businesses engagement is defined as “an emotional connection an employee feels toward his or her employment organization, which tends to influence his… Read more »

Building Trust with Program Communications

The design of any recognition or incentive program should be based on thoughtful consideration of the program’s purpose and potential for positive change.  Clearly defined, measurable objectives further increase the odds for successful results.  In addition, you must employ effective program communications to inform, engage and motivate program participants. QIC’s IncenTrac online points platform is… Read more »

Effective Communications Improve Engagement

Effective communications are instrumental to the success of any business, organization or enterprise.  As Rob Miklas colorfully illustrates in this post – A Smoother Flight with Effective Program Communications – without effective communications your recognition or incentive program will most likely never reach its full potential. Like regular announcements from the flight deck, pertinent program… Read more »

Managing to Motivate – Improving Employee Engagement

Monday I referred to Gallup’s study entitled The State of the American Workplace: Employee Engagement Insights for U.S. Business Leaders – and its finding that managers and leaders hold a powerful influence on workers’ engagement levels.  Employee engagement is enhanced when leaders focus on employee strengths – motivating them to participate in the success of… Read more »