Motivating Diverse Employee Groups

Incentive Magazine recently asked experts from various award companies for their tips on motivating diverse groups of participants.  These companies plan incentive programs for employees with a wide range of backgrounds, interests, roles and, of course, award preferences. While there are obvious differences in employee backgrounds, communication strategies and award delivery preferences, motivating this diversity is more common across these lines than you might think.

The following list of tips that offers good insight into the things you need to keep in mind when planning your award programs.  Some are more along the common sense side, but others may give you some good food for thought. 

Understand Your Audience

Survey your employees to find out what is meaningful to them. You will already know much of what they say, but could also come up with some good ideas to put in the program.

You can take surveys to the extremes with audience persona development, segmentation and generational components, etc., but that type of employee research would not really be necessary for most programs.

Effectively Launch the Program

Most companies don’t put as much emphasis on this phase of the reward program as they should. They assume that just the mention of the programs and “what’s in it for me is sufficient to gain excitement at the beginning.  But better launch preparation will provide dividends and actually allow you to spend less on the ongoing communications phase throughout. The importance that your participants put on your program will be in direct proportion the effort and importance you give the launch.

Clear and Consistent Communications

Communications doesn’t have to be expensive to be effective.  But you do need to take it out of your normal communications efforts and do it as often as appropriate for your organization. Communications about what employees can earn in rewards will be read and retained. If unsure how much and how often to communicate, err on the side of more and more frequently. In addition make sure your messaging is custom and speaks directly to the individual such as program standings, percentage towards qualification, and status updates etc.

Don’t Just Use Digital Communications

It’s natural to use digital as your first option, but old-fashioned printed pieces, posters etc are still very effective and enjoyed by most.  They are also often retained and shared with the family.

Have a User-Friendly IT Platform

The award industry is loaded with the “best mouse traps” incentive software.  Our advice has always been “Don’t go hunting squirrels with a bear rifle.”  We estimate that UP TO 90% of the features in current software are either not or underutilized. It also needs to be easy to use.

Recognize and Reward Teams

The incentive industry has known for years that you can get tremendous success by incorporating team awards in your program. Take advantage of it wherever possible, but use it in combination with individual awards.

If Using Travel, Tailor it to Your Employees 

If you using travel as the prominent award make sure you plan it with the participant in mind. Sun and fun can be highly motivation to the younger set, but not so much for older generations who may enjoy sightseeing and new experiences. And, don’t let your C-suite determine your destination based on where the executive wants to go. 

Don't Forget Gift Cards
When it comes to an award that appeals to everyone, gift cards offer the largest choice of any award in the industry. They have become by far the leading option for non-travel awards.

Make Sure It's Measurable 

This tip should actually be number one and not the last.  Without measurement you won’t have much motivation. Not having measurement is like bowling with a curtain in front the pins.  Make sure your objectives are measurable and communicate individual and team performance at the beginning, often in the middle and the end.

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