Fundamentals to Incentive Program Implementation

There is little that can boost a customer's or employee's morale better than recognition for loyalty or a job well done. Are you a company looking to reward your employees and/or customers with something more than a simple thank you? An incentive program is one of the best ways to show them your appreciation. There are, however, important considerations to make before choosing and beginning such a program. Below, we have compiled a list of ten fundamental steps to consider before, during, and after you implement your incentive program.

Identification of Goals and Objectives
Before beginning any employee or customer incentive program, you must first establish what the goals of that program will be. These goals should be basic, meaningful, and, most importantly, achievable. Is your company looking to increase employee retention, productivity, or morale? Are you looking to increase customer loyalty? Increase sales? Careful consideration of your company's goals is a must before choosing what type of incentive program you wish to implement.

Define Your Target Audience
Once you have established what you wish to accomplish through your new incentive program, it is important to determine who your target audience will be. You should consider the number of participants in your program as well as the demographics of that participant pool. The goals and objectives you have already established should tie directly to your target audience so that your incentive program can be structured accordingly.

Building a Budget
When building the budget for your new incentive program, you should ask yourself two questions: how much can we invest in this program to meet our company goals and objectives; and will this program motivate its participants? Your program's budget should be based upon what is necessary to achieve your established goals and should allow for the best rewards for your target audience.

Developing a Program Structure
Now that you have established goals, a target audience, and your budget, it is time to design a program structure that puts all three together in the best possible manner. There are two basic program structures: closed-end (or fixed) and open-end (or variable). The fixed program allows only a set number of participants to receive awards while the variable program rewards any participant that meets an objective or goal. Each type has its own drawbacks and advantages, so you should determine which incentive program structure best meets your needs.

Designating a Program Administrator
Selecting an administrator to run your new incentive program is perhaps one of the most important decisions in the implementation process. Your administrator will be involved in a variety of roles, including but not limited to: record maintenance, sending progress reports to participants, issuing rewards, and answering questions. The program administrator is the key to a smooth-running incentive program, so chose wisely or allow Online Rewards to to aid in your administrative duties.

Selection of Rewards and Recognition
Just as in the selection and study of your target audience, your recognition selections should reflect that which will best motivate and/or reward your incentive program participants. When deciding on what you will use to recognize your employees or customers, there are three aspects you should take into consideration: choice, value, and convenience. Not only should you offer a wide array of simple and easy to administer rewards choices but those rewards should also have more than just a monetary value for your participants. The best recognition rewards are personal rather than financial.

Program Promotion
Now that you are ready to implement your company's incentive program, it is time to promote it. No program-no matter how well designed-will work without participants. Getting those participants excited about enrolling in your incentive program is the key to its success. There are many ways to promote your program for prospective participants, including: an overall program theme, kick-off rallies, and program announcements. Like your rewards choices, when it comes to promoting your incentive program, the personal touch is often best.

Program Tracking
Once you have implemented your new incentive program, the program administrator you chose at the start should begin his/her work. Program tracking duties will include: the collection of enrollment information for each participant, tracking participant performance, calculating and issuing awards for both participants and tax purposes, providing reports on program success to the company at large, and, most importantly, keeping program administration from negatively affecting participants.

Award Distribution and Celebrating Your Success
As above-mentioned, the personal touch is key to the success of your incentive program. As the overarching purpose of implementing such a program is to recognize individual and/or group success and loyalty, you should consider additions to the physical rewards you have chosen for your program. Handwritten and personally delivered Thank You or Congratulatory notes, group hugs, or company-wide recognition for individual effort are just a few ways to show just how much you care.

Evaluation and Communication of Results
After your incentive program concludes, there is still much to be done. Before the end of the program, however, it is important for you to set up a series of feedback systems for participants, administrators, and customers in order to accurately measure the program's success. In addition to these systems, a mid-point assessment may help you adjust any aspects of your incentive program so that you can further maximize its success. Once you have determined your program's successes and failures, communicating them to the company at large will help decide your next course of action.

Showing your employees and customers how much you value them is key to maintaining and even advancing your company's success. One of the best ways to show your appreciation is through the implementation of an incentive program, and hopefully the ten fundamental steps of that process described above will aid you in showing that appreciation. Happy and valued employees have better morale and greater productivity. Happy and valued customers can result in increased loyalty to and prosperity for your company. An employee or customer incentive program is a great vehicle for creating that happy workforce and/or customer base.