Motivation Clinic
- Loyalty & Recognition Article
- Question: Our objective is to build long term staff
loyalty and increase sales. Should we focus on developing
an incentive program over a prolonged period?
Andrew Cook replies: If you
are looking to develop any kind of annual loyalty
program be it internally as a staff incentive or indeed
for your trade partners it is all too easy to focus
purely on long term objectives.
The key to a successful long-term
incentive program is to create and maintain a high
level of interest. But, if it is too long it becomes
laboured, interest levels drop, people become de-motivated
and ultimately reject it.
Spread rewards over a period
of time - incentives that are targeted periodically
are more effective in driving success. Monthly rewards
work well as a trade incentive, ensuring a constant
level of sales and a reduced risk of loosing revenue
in the short-term. Underpin this with several mini
incentives over a 4 week period and you have a much
stronger incentive.
The solution to longer-term
loyalty incentive schemes is to develop a program
that motivates and rewards performance both in the
short and long term. A system of smaller prizes on
a more targeted basis for the top performing staff
with an overall target aimed at the most successful
person of the year keeps a scheme ‘alive’
securing that all important long-term loyalty.
Cash isn’t always the
biggest incentive. If you understand what drives people’s
aspirations a combination ‘experiences’
can be a real winner. Dinner for two in Paris on Valentine’s
night with accommodation at a top hotel probably won’t
cost more than a £1,000, yet this has far more
perceived value than the cash equivalent, especially
if the incentive fulfils the prize-winners aspirations.
Therefore if used tactically ‘experiences’
can be extremely effective at building loyalty –
don’t forget the memory will always last longer
than the cash.
ENDS
For further information,
please contact:
Jane Lowen, The Press Office, 01580 764721
jtlowen@aol.com
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