At long last, the term “incentive travel” has gone mainstream.
A few recent events have triggered news stories and discussion about incentives – benefit or boondoggle?
Timing is everything and perception is real.
When AIG hosted a $443,000 incentive program at the St. Regis in Dana Point – days after accepting the government bailout . . . jackpot! What a story!
Recently, Wells Fargo, which had a long-standing tradition of recognizing top-performing employees as part of a well-earned travel experience, has cancelled all such programs based on erroneous assumptions that bailout funds were used. Their President and CEO issued a statement – published as a full-page ad in the New York Times – in defense of their recognition practices. Good for him!
Despite protestations by everyone associated with the hospitality industry about the benefit, motivational impact, self-liquidity and proven ROI – not to mention the jobs (more than a million) and tax revenue (nearly $40 billion) – of such programs, the stigma persists that such events are wasteful, excessive and gratuitous.
Research consistently proves that after basic compensation needs are met, travel motivates people to perform better. Certainly, for employees who are often doing the work of two or three of their peers, such recognition and rewards keep them engaged, motivated and loyal. They work harder and feel good about their jobs and their contribution to the company.
At the same time, when many are losing their jobs and detest the company that let them go, it’s difficult – if not impossible – to change the mindset that a regular paycheck should be sufficient reward . . . and anything else is superfluous.
So what’s a company to do? How does a company foster and maintain a healthy work environment and a high-performing team of employees? How do they appropriately and sensitively recognize and reward some – at the same time they have to terminate others?
For some, they’ll defer and wait till the furor subsides and the media has moved onto something else. Others may look to less “conspicuous” rewards such as individual travel or merchandise. Some will stay the course, knowing how much these programs contribute to the bottom line of any high-functioning organization.
It’s possible that this spotlight on incentives will educate some to the fact that a well-designed incentive program offers an indisputable return on investment, both financially and psychologically.
There are so few good investment opportunities these days. Surely, this is the perfect time to invest in a company’s most crucial, irreplaceable resource – its people.