A Guide to Creating Incentive Trips

Have you considered developing an incentive travel program for your employees? Travel incentives have been proven to appeal to staffs at all levels of an organization. Travel incentives can even make up for lower pay, and can improve job satisfaction.  Several studies indicate that tangible rewards such as travel are more successful at producing desired results than are cash rewards such as bonuses. Following are some suggestions for developing an incentive travel program for your workforce:

• Define the objectives of your incentive program. Do you want to create new behaviors among your employees? Are you trying to increase production of products or ideas? Are you introducing potentially unpopular policies that need quick acceptance? Defining the objectives is the first step.
• Determine how you will know which employees attain the reward status. One way to do this is to develop a point system attached to the specific performance objectives. Peer nominations based on the performance goals can also work well in some situations.  A committee could then determine a winner or winners based on empirical data.
• Maintain accurate records and documentation to avoid disputes over winners.
• Display ongoing results to increase enthusiasm. Charts showing individual or group progress can be highlighted in newsletters, websites, office memos, or displays set up in a common area.
• Choose a destination that will be enticing to your employees. You can combine the trip with other company objectives such as a corporate conference in a desirable location. Or, give your people a chance to network with the company CEO or celebrities at a fun destination such as a mountain getaway, a casino, or a beach house.  It is important to know your group and what will be an incentive for them. If most of your workforce is baby boomers nearing retirement, their tastes in destinations or activities will be vastly different from those of millennial personnel.

Once you have your objectives and processes in place, you will want to consult with professional event planners to make sure that the promised rewards provide employees the exciting trip they worked for so diligently. A disappointing trip can destroy your incentive program.

Contact us for the best in event planning. Your incentives plan will grow even stronger when everyone hears about the exciting time the winners enjoyed.