Don’t Make Common Pitfalls in Incentive Design

May 21, 2013

At some point in your career, you probably had the opportunity to participate in a sales incentive program or two.  The program was communicated company wide, with reminders and information posted everywhere. Rules were clearly written and your manager was fully informed. Did it really go that well? Chances are, probably not.  Not all incentive programs are created equal.

Many organizations design and deploy sales incentive programs with the best intentions – to increase engagement and improve performance. Years of research and data demonstrate how successful sales incentive programs can be without costing the employer too much money.  But of course, things don’t always go as planned.

University of Washington researchers along with a co-author from Harvard University, Lamar Pierce, recently took a closer look at programs that went wrong.  In particular, they studied and researched a program launched by an industrial laundry organization to assist with their constant tardiness issue.  The rules were simple – the mangers had a monthly drawing for a gift card for those with a perfect attendance record.

The program did the opposite of what the organization desired – it resulted in a decrease in productivity from the most productive employees.  Many employees saw this program as unfair as non-productive employers were being awarded. Some managers believe throwing any type of reward at their employees will cause a behavior change. You need to make sure the reward is truly rewarding and you are rewarding the right behavior.

According to Pierce, rewarding those employees who always exhibited those key behaviors, would have resulted in a better return. Then, the behavior will be learned and replicated throughout the workforce. A poorly designed program can cost an organization more than you think.

Designing high impact rewards and recognition programs is a science and an art. Using a professional rewards and recognition provider to assist with designing, deploying, and tracking your program can produce the results you desire and more.  In fact, Anderson Performance Improvement guarantees at 200% ROI. They are experts and fully understand the science behind creating a successful program.  Is your incentive program producing less than desired results?  Is it time to find a new partner?  If so, contact me and I would be happy to help!

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Posted by wendlynm

Happy Employees = Happy Profits

April 21, 2013

Everyone enjoys working with happy, upbeat co-workers. You look forward to coming to work in the morning and leave more often with a smile on your face.   Did you know that happy employees do more for an organization than just provide good morale and a fun environment? Simply put, people perform better when they are happier and that adds to your bottom line.

According to recent research by Harvard School of Business research staff , the findings were true across different sizes and types of businesses: People are more productive and creative when they have more positive, happy emotions.  The research includes data from the past decade focusing on creativity, productivity, and the psychology of everyday work life.

But the good news doesn’t stop there – if employees are happy on a given day, they are more likely to come up with a new idea or solve a problem, but also return to work with the same likelihood.   So what can you do to bring your employees to this level of bliss?

Before you can seek to improve happiness, first you must have a clear understanding of the current state of employee satisfaction; what employees like and dislike about the company. There are several things a company can do to increase the happiness and morale – study after study has provided loads of data that a culture of recognition can do just that.

Gone are the days where recognition occurred as a once a year event.  Employees need to know you care about them more on a year round basis – even more prevalent in the X and Y Generations. Recognition that is timely, reinforces corporate values, and available to all employees builds a more connected and a fully engaged workforce – and in turn in can boost your morale and spread good cheer throughout your organization.

How better to encourage everyone and produce a happy work environment than saying thank you? It is clear and proven that happiness boosts performance.  What are you doing with in your organization to increase engagement and happiness?

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Posted by Recognize Right

Join me at the World@Work Conference!

April 11, 2013

Join me and other professionals and executives from around the world at the WorldatWork Total Rewards Conference and Exhibition in Philadelphia April 29 – May 1.  Increase your knowledge of compensation, benefits, and total rewards. Also gain additional strategic insight and learn best practices from other professionals and industry experts.  Be sure to stop by booth 1005 to meet the Anderson Performance team to review sales incentive case studies and receive a copy of my book “Cream of the Corp”.

Here are a couple reasons why you should attend the conference:

  • Learn from the best – hear Fortune 100 companies, HR experts, and industry leaders in the field discuss how they utilize total rewards solutions to gain competitive advantages.
  • Grow your Network – an excellent opportunity to build relationships with other professionals.
  • Educational Growth – customize your total rewards knowledge by choosing from almost 100 educational sessions.

WorldatWork is a nonprofit association for professionals and organizations focused on compensation, benefits, work-life effectiveness, and total rewards – strategies to attract, motivate, and retain an engaged and productive workforce.

If you are interested in attending the conference visit the WorldatWork website for more information and to register, click http://www.worldatwork.org/waw/philadelphia2013/attendee/index.jsp. We hope to see you there!

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Posted by Recognize Right

Selecting the Right Global Recognition Provider

March 25, 2013

SHRM predicts the globalization of the marketplace will continue to grow, increasing the numbers of multicultural employees and opportunity for global business growth. Because of this global growth, companies will have employees all over the world. Now this can lead to a larger issue – how are you going to keep your multicultural employees engaged?

We are all aware effective recognition can increase employee engagement. And if your company has an existing domestic recognition program, expanding it along with your global growth may require more insight than you think.

You may think it is any easy task – possibly just an extension of your existing program.  But when looking at the big picture, there are many things to be considered.

  1. Cultural Differences – It is quite obvious there are cultural differences between other countries – what might be acceptable in Japan, might not in other countries.  Make sure your awards are culturally appropriate.
  2. Language Barrier – Of course, the recognition program will not be successful without effective communication – delivered to the correct audience, in the correct language. This is true even for a domestic program that has English-as- a-second-language
  3. Taxes, Tariffs, Etc. – It is best to partner with a global recognition partner who has the ability for in-country distribution of awards.  This reduces the tariffs and ensures the award will be culturally appropriate and shipped in the most economical manner.

Now what?  Partner with a performance improvement provider who knows how to design and deliver recognition that motivates people around the world and who are experts at meeting the business needs within each country.  Also, make sure your partner provides in-country distribution and as wells as effective communication strategies.  Our team would be happy to share case studies of successful global recognition programs.

If done correctly, global recognition will not only increase engagement, create a collaborative work environment, and strengthen the mission of the organization, but also deliver the desired strategic and financial results. Take a look at the recent White Paper by the Global Incentive Council.   Is your organization experiencing global growth?  What are your plans for expanding your existing recognition program?

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Posted by Recognize Right

Motivation Masters Award Finalist

January 23, 2013

We are excited to announce our latest honor – Motivation Master Award Finalist!  Along with our client, Assurant, Inc. we have been selected as a Finalist for the 2012 Motivation Masters Award sponsored by Incentive Magazine.

The finalists of Incentive’s fourth annual Motivation Masters Award excelled in creating the best, most effective and creative incentive and engagement programs of the year, showcasing what truly great incentives look like.

Assurant, Inc. is honored for the Assurant Commitment to Excellence (ACE) Recognition Program.  Assurant is a provider of specialty insurance products in the U.S. and internationally.  A company-wide employee engagement survey showed a need for improved recognition and Assurant decided to act. Partnering with Anderson Performance, it launched the Assurant Commitment to Excellence (ACE) Recognition program designed to reinforce a “One Assurant” commitment, boost employee morale, and increase employee engagement, performance, and retention through a flexible, easy-to-use points-based program. The program also includes e-cards for peer recognition, a nomination process, and On-the-Spot cards for managers to award variable points to associates who demonstrate key behaviors.

The Motivation Masters Award honors top sales incentives, dealer channel programs, and non-sales initiatives, as well as employee loyalty, engagement, peer recognition and wellness programs.  The emphasis of the award is on how the program objectives were developed and the results measured. The judges, industry experts, choose finalists after a rigorous review process. The Motivation Masters Award honors the top two programs in several categories.

1. Engagement and Recognition
2. Channel Sales Incentive Programs
3. Sales Incentives

The top finalist will be selected and announced as the Grand Prize Motivation Master of the Year. The January/February issue of Incentive Magazine will honor the deserving company and their rewards and recognition partner.

 

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Posted by Recognize Right

Sales Commission – Good or Bad?

September 12, 2012

Since the history of time, compensation of a sales person included some type of variable pay or commission.  The thought was that the more you sell, the more you get paid.  But is this equation really paying off?  According to Harvard Business Review, many organizations have discovered that sales commissions are not motivating their sales force to work harder and sell more.  In fact, they are causing more harm than good.

You might ask yourself, how could that be possible?  Doesn’t everyone like a little more money? For the past 30 years, a group of social scientists around the world have found a different view on what really motivates today’s sales force.

Before we can answer that question, first we must look at how selling as a whole has changed.  Fifty years ago selling was simple – deliver your canned speech, showcase your samples, and field any predictable questions and objections.  You would repeat this again and again.

Today, selling is a whole new ballgame.  And because our world is overloaded with data and information and prospects having access at any point in time, selling no longer consists of “selling” an item, it is selling insights.

A vice-president of a large tech company whose sales force had a standard compensation plan of 60% base and 40% commission, decided to scrap commission pay all together.  He implemented a completely new compensation structure – salespeople receive 90% of their compensation in a high base salary with the other 10% linked to corporate vs. individual results  to measure growth and profits.

So what is the result?  Not only did sales increase, but the cost of sales stayed the same and retention increased!  This alternate compensation structure is one reason why this company is a top performing organization within their industry. These results are typical with other organizations who have instituted a similar compensation pay structure.

Should all companies ditch the commission idea?  Probably not, but companies need to realize that selling in today’s work force is much more sophisticated and complicated.  I would love to hear your thoughts on this article!

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Posted by Recognize Right

Wellness in the Workplace on the Rise

August 21, 2012

More and more companies are recognizing and rewarding employees for their health and wellness dedication and improvements. Recent research by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) found that the number of employers offering health and wellness programs has grown from 23 percent (2008) to 35 percent – over 550 human resource individuals participated in this survey. Employers everywhere are seeing the importance, benefit, and cost savings of implementing a health and wellness program.

Organizations are offering all sorts of health-type benefits, from CPR and first aid training to on-site blood pressure machines to full reward programs.  Employees who have the opportunity to participate in health initiatives at work ultimately have increased morale, confidence, and productivity.  Healthy employees are happy employees!  Healthier employees can also help decrease healthcare costs. A few of the top health and wellness initiatives implemented in organizations today are:

  • Flu vaccinations
  • Health and lifestyle coaching
  • Health screening programs
  • Smoking cessation program

Many organizations are also attempting to combat preventable and chronic conditions with a variety of programs and incentives. Healthcare premium discounts are up for grabs for those who are getting annual health assessments, not using tobacco, and participating in wellness and weight loss programs.

We, too, have seen great results from our health and wellness program instituted throughout our company.  In fact, our program “Move it”, was awarded a “Circle of Excellence” award from the Incentive Marketing Association.  With the Move It program, we wanted everyone to focus on healthy behaviors. All facets of a healthy lifestyle were highlighted in this program; healthy food and recipe ideas, exercise, stress reducing information, etc. Our culture was affected in a positive way. We removed soda machines from our work location and offered free filtered water; instead of sitting in the conference room for meetings, we instituted walking meetings. And our typical birthday celebrations changed from cake and ice cream to fruit and yogurt parfaits!

Participants were able to earn award points for meeting program goals. Many participants redeemed theirpoints for home gym equipment; some employees even signed up to be members at local gyms. We made great strides in changing everyday behaviors to healthy behaviors and we had a lot of fun in the process! What is your organization doing to increase the focus on healthy lifestyles?

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Posted by Recognize Right

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