| Motivation
– ‘New Year, New Motivation’
Libby Christie, head of operations at incentives
specialist Unmissable, explains how motivating staff
can help to promote sales in the year ahead and beyond.
In the competitive and cut-throat world of business
where sales targets are key, it's imperative to ensure
employees are giving 100 per cent all the time.
This is where motivational tools and incentives play
an important role within today's business environment
to push individuals that extra mile, but at the same
time building loyalty and retaining staff.
The start of a new year is a great time to initiate
a new motivation programme. The trick is knowing
how and when to use the "motivational" tools of the
trade.
Bonuses and commission play an important role, but
they are increasingly viewed as part of the overall
remuneration package. They do have a motivational
effect but all too often, once the money reaches the
pay packet, it's absorbed into everyday household
items, giving short-lived impact. So traditional
cash rewards are not always enough.
The motivational power of an incentive scheme lies
in the fact that they work on the competitive nature
of the individuals, acting as a very tangible and
visible recognition of success.
But for any motivational and incentive scheme to
work it must be imaginative, inspirational and carefully
selected to tap into the aspirations and interests
of the recipients. Get it right and the company
will be viewed as a good employer and a "cool" place
to work. On the other side of the coin, if the
rewards on offer are dull and unimaginative, it's
likely the company will be viewed in the same manner.
The great thing about using experiences, luxury travel
and goods as incentives is that the memory will always
last longer than the cash. They also have a
great "brag value" attached to them, especially if
they are experiences with a "wow" factor. People
are not likely to tell their colleagues how much they
got in their pay packet but will brag about an all-expenses-paid
weekend shopping trip in New York complete with personal
shopper.
To delvier a successful motivational and incentive
programme, the objectives and mechanics of the scheme
need to be clearly communicated to everyone and ensure
all staff "buy in". The rewards on offer must
be of interest to the whole team - not everyone is
motivated by a golf lesson with a pro.
With all incentive schemes there needs to be an immediacy
with the reward as the appeal factor diminishes in
time if it cannot be experienced, so don't offer a
trip to a festival in October if the reward is won
in March, and don't offer a trip if the winner needs
to pay for anything - if it is for one person, it
is less appealing as more than likely they will have
to pay for a partner.
Where annual sales targets need to be achieved, consider
having smaller rewards up for grabs on a regular basis.
This helps to maintain everyone's interest and help
make year-end targets appear more achievable.
It can also incentivise staff who are not top achievers
- they often make up the majority of a sales team.
Gauging staff reaction and feedback is essential
to getting it right. Feedback should be encouraged,
and establishing any concerns at the outset of a scheme
is important so any changes can be made if necessary.
Ensure good communication is maintained throughout
the campaign. Using text messaging, emails and websites
to keep everyone updated on performance levels as
well as congratulating staff will help to maintain
interest and motivation in the scheme.
It can be difficult to measure the direct impact
of an incentive scheme on the bottom line as there
are many factors that need to be taken into consideration.
For a sales-based team, it's more straightforward
by comparing sales targets versus sales achieved as
well as looking at the percentage of people who hit
individual targets. If the incentive scheme
is for non-sales staff, human resources managers might
assess its success on attendance levels at work, rate
of staff turnover or productivity of employees.
Getting all the elements right in an incentive scheme
is imperative. Using a specialist provider to
either manage the whole scheme or provide the reward
prizes will bring creativity and ideas, not to mention
ease the workload and make the difference between
an average scheme to one that all the staff are talking
about.
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