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Motivation Supplement – How Do Companies Gain
Staff Loyalty, Buy-In & Efficiency
Q&A interview with Andrew Cook, director
of sales at leading prize promotion specialist, Unmissable…
1. Tell us about your company and its products
and services.
With a specific focus on travel, lifestyle experiences
and consumer goods, Unmissable specialises in creating
and delivering bespoke solutions for consumer promotions
and staff / trade incentives.
We work in partnership with some of the UK's leading
Sales Promotion, Public Relations & Direct Marketing
agencies as well as some of the most recognised consumer
brands and leading commercial radio stations. Unmissable
has successfully delivered promotions utilising a
number of mechanics including, commercial radio, on-pack,
in store, print, online, SMS and television.
2. Why would an HR manager or employer choose
your offering over a competitor’s – or,
indeed, over an entirely different type of ‘incentive’
(i.e. an electrical gift awarded to the month’s
top salesman versus a travel voucher which increases
in value over a longer period)?
The types of solutions we provide tap into people’s
aspirations – The business was initially established
to introduce people to experiences they didn’t
know were possible to do or if they did, they had
no idea how to get access to them. The uniqueness
of what we offer ensures that the prizes / incentives
we provide live long in the memory and enable employers
to give their staff a chance to fulfill a dream such
as staying on a private island, going to a movie premiere
or playing table football with an England international
footballer.
3. What’s involved in setting up a
staff motivation/incentive scheme, and how much of
that process can you take charge of on behalf of your
clients?
- Set objectives
- Decide the format of the incentive will it be
run online, do you need to build a website
- Are the results purely quantitative i.e. sales
based or are there qualitative factors to take into
account i.e. staff attendance / performance of the
month
- Communicate scheme internally
- Review the scheme to ensure there is ‘buy-in’
from staff
Unmissable can work on many different levels providing
expertise at several stages of the process from establishing
the objectives of an incentive scheme and advising
on potential formats through to being used purely
as a provider of solutions and managing the fulfillment
of rewards. Our approach is typically flexible so
we are in a position to work alongside our clients
regardless of what stage we become involved and depending
to what degree our clients need to utilize our services.
4. What are the key considerations when choosing
the gift/prize/award element of such a scheme?
Ultimately no incentive will be successful if the
reward on offer is unappealing to the potential recipients.
If there is a large pool of people then there needs
to be a variety of rewards – no two people’s
motivations are identical, therefore it’s critical
that the rewards on offer are inherently of interest
and appeal to all the individuals taking part in the
incentive. There also needs to be an immediacy in
the reward i.e. don’t offer a trip for 2 to
a festival in October if the reward is won in March
the appeal factor diminishes if the reward can’t
be experienced until some future time, the same can
be said if the winner needs to pay for anything i.e.
offering a trip for one is less appealing as they
will still have to pay for someone to go with them.
5. What are your tips for ensuring staff
buy-in to such a scheme, and how is this gauged?
Make the scheme all inclusive so everyone feels
part of it, there could be a team and individual element
to ensure everyone feels as though they are contributing
this will ensure interest levels are maintained, also
ensure that:
- Prizes are motivating
- Targets are challenging but realistic
- The objectives & process have been communicated
thoroughly and are fully understood.
The simplest way to gauge staff reaction / feedback
for an incentive scheme is by noting the level of
conversation about the scheme in the office or if
it’s an optional scheme then the number of people
who pro-actively seek to take part. Additionally organize
an open forum after a few weeks of the scheme to gauge
initial feedback and to establish whether there are
any concerns from staff and any changes that need
to be made
6. What advantages does your product offer
an employer when contrasted with a simple cash gift
(i.e. commission payment)?
It’s worth remembering that building staff
loyalty is similar to creating consumer promotions
– cash isn’t always the biggest incentive,
if you understand what drives people’s aspirations
a combination of ‘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.
In the same way would an employee be more motivated
by a night for 2 at a movie premiere mingling with
the stars of the screen or the £400 extra I
their pay packet ?
Therefore if used tactically ‘experiences’
can be extremely effective at building loyalty –
don’t forget the memory will always last longer
than the cash.
7. What tips can you offer an employer who
is setting up a staff motivation scheme – and
what are the obvious pitfalls to avoid?
Key considerations for staff incentives are:
- Always reflect the likes/dislikes or interests
of the target audience within the prize
- The mechanic of how to win must be clear and
unambiguous leaving no potential for misinterpretation
- Consider whether you want an incentive that is
purely fun or one with an educational element.
- If it’s a group staff incentive, ensure
the destination being used has experience of dealing
with incentive groups, they must appreciate that
their guests are to be treated like VIP’s
- If the incentive is sales target orientated,
the targets you set need to be challenging but not
impossible
- If there is an annual sales target which needs
to be achieved, consider whether there should also
be a minimum monthly target to maintain constant
sales over the duration of the incentive
8. How does an employer measure the success
of such a scheme… and what are the potential
effects for his business?
Regardless of the type of incentive, there will
always need to be objectives established from the
outset, ultimately one would compare the actual results
with their outlined objectives.
If the incentive is sales based the easiest way to
measure its success is to compare the sales target
v sales achieved, as well as looking at the percentage
of people who hit individual targets. If the incentive
is non-sales based, HR managers might assess it’s
success on attendance levels at work, rate of staff
turnover, productivity of employees.
Staff Incentives are ultimately about rewarding staff
for achieving their targets. A well-run sales incentive
will not only reward current employees but will also
create long-term loyalty within the workforce. If
the prizes are imaginative and inspirational, the
company will be viewed as a ‘cool’ place
to work – but be warned there is also the danger
that if what you are offering as a reward is dull
and unimaginative it’s likely the company will
be viewed in the same manner.
In just the same way as a brand strives to develop
loyalty and subsequently increased revenue with it’s
customers, companies need to consider their employees
in the same vain. The old adage a happy workforce
is a productive workforce is key, the days of employee
loyalty are long gone and companies face a continual
uphill battle to keep good staff, which is why strong
sales incentives play such a crucial role.
9. Tell us what you do to motivate your own
people…
Whilst Unmissable doesn’t currently implement
a rewards based incentive scheme, there are measures
in place to ensure staff remain motivated and enjoy
working here. From a financial perspective, there
are annual bonuses as well as commissions based on
sales offered to employees. We have also implemented
lifestyle perks such as more flexible working hours,
not having to work on your birthday and a very generous
holiday allowance. The ethos of the company is that
we treat our employees like responsible adults and
in return they ensure the work, which needs to be
done, is – if that means getting in to work
earlier so they can leave for the weekend at Friday
lunchtime then fine.
10. And what recent schemes/campaigns have
you worked on for clients? Please tell us; if possible,
who the clients were, what the scheme involved, what
the brief called for, how the employer/supplier relationship
worked and how success was measured.
I have outlined below two staff incentive campaigns
we have worked on, the details below outline who the
clients were, what the scheme involved / what the
brief called for and how success was measured.
With respect to the employer / supplier relationship
both schemes were managed internally i.e. the HR Dept
in tandem with the line managers implemented and communicated
the scheme to the employees. Unmissable got involved
once the winners of the respective incentives were
decided, at which point there names and contact details
were handed over to our operations team. Unmissable
were then responsible for the entire fulfillment process
from writing to the winners informing them of what
they had won and arranging all the logistics to ensuring
the experiences provided ran smoothly and feedback
was provided to the client on the success of the experiences.
Case Study: Lloyds TSB
Campaign: Recreate The Italian Job
What did the scheme involve / what did the
brief call for ? Lloyds TSB set up a relationship
with a chain of second hand car dealerships where
employees would benefit from discounts on purchasing
a second hand car. The offer was communicated via
an internal newsletter along with the prize details.
Unmissable were tasked with creating a ‘car’
themed prize to compliment the incentive and hence
we devised the Italian Job day with the focus being
on driving red, white and blue minis around London.
The Italian Job – London Blag …
“Mini” fans prepare yourselves…You’re
about to recreate the “Italian Job” in
this great fun day out in London!
Lloyds TSB offered their employees the opportunity
to purchase second hand cars at discount prices via
a deal with a national car dealership chain. The offer
was communicated to staff via an internal newsletter,
which offered the first four people to buy a car the
chance to recreate the Italian Job.
The day incorporates role-playing actors in true
Italian Job style and once you receive the radio call
from the boss – you’re away! You’ll
be straight down to Wormwood Scrubs to make a quick
getaway when your contact makes their way out over
the wall! This story will unfold at a pace –
be on the look out for the good guys and the bad guys
as well as that famous twist in the tale and the “hit”.
It’s all in this very memorable action-packed
day!
How was the success measured ?
Success was measured by the number of enquiries
made by employees about purchasing a car and also
by the speed with which purchases were made –
the fact that we had enough winners within a short
space of time to organise the event inferred that
the scheme was endorsed by staff, in addition to which
the scheme is still in place today which is testament
to its success.
Case Study: Network Associates
Campaign: Customer Services Team Reward
What did the scheme involve / what did the brief
call for ? To create a ‘team’ atmosphere
/ ethos within the customer services dept. Network
Associates decided to run an internal incentive scheme
to reward four of their staff. The prize had to have
a ‘team’ element to it and encourage working
together.
Avoid capture on the streets of Moscow
You are a computer software company seeking to come
up with something new and fresh to motivate your staff.
Something that will get them thinking, enable them
to visit a new country and be a lot of fun into the
bargain. Why not embroil them in a weekend of espionage
and deception?
Network Associates thought this would be a great
idea and took some of their top performers to Moscow
to enjoy a weekend of sightseeing and spying courtesy
of the Unmissable Spying Game.
How was the success measured ?
As this scheme was more qualitative based rather
than sales focussed, the success was gauged by the
response of employees to the scheme and by the level
of enthusiasm created amongst the customer services
dept. The scheme was a huge success, which in no small
part was due to the innovative nature of the reward,
which created an enormous ‘buzz’ internally.
- ENDS -
For further information,
please contact:
Jane Lowen, The Press Office, 01580 764721
jtlowen@aol.com
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