Are You Advertising Your Incentive Program Enough?

One of the main ideas behind incentive and employee reward programs is that they should be contagious. People see or hear the rewards others receive from the program and want to join in on the fun. When they see a co-worker enjoying their incentive rewards or hear them talk about their success, they think, “Why not me?” or “I want to be a winner, too.” Desiring what someone else has naturally evokes ambition, but there are several things you can do as an incentive program administrator to stoke employees’ achievements even further. Namely: make sure you’re advertising your incentive program enough, and in the right way.

Many incentive companies, such as Atlanta-based Incentive Solutions, offer points-based, online reward programs with multiple, engaging communication and announcement options. As a manager or program administrator, you can use this online reward program technology to your advantage, making recognition a highly visible and widely discussed topic in the workplace.

Show increasing recognition for repeat achievers.

Employees who regularly succeed in your incentive program shouldn’t just receive the same old rewards again and again. Make it exciting for them to continue earning points for closing sales in a Sales Incentive Program, for example. Let your top performers set precedents for rewarding the team’s most noteworthy accomplishments. You might reward them exponential points for their winning streaks or offer them bonus perks on top of their reward earnings, such as buying them lunch or offering “Most Sales This Month” certificates. The more visible and enviable your appreciation is, the more effective an advertisement it will be for reward program participation.

Announce new developments in your incentive program.

Dynamic online reward programs like those offered by Incentive Solutions are always undergoing updates and improvements. Keeping employees informed about your program’s capabilities ensures that the program stays top of mind and encourages participants to use exciting new features. Incentive Solutions recently released a Mobile App module, for instance, which makes program access more convenient for those often in the field or traveling. Incentive program developments are usually created with greater user engagement in mind, so it’s always in your best interest to alert participants to updates.

Encourage peer-to-peer recognition.

Recognition exchanged between peers turns the incentive reward process into a fun, social activity. Employees enjoy receiving and showing each other support and gratitude. With Incentive Solutions modules like the Total Recognition Suite, employees can recognize one another for their help or achievement on a social media wall. Because people associate social media with lively, entertaining interaction, you can use it to your advantage and promote a positive atmosphere.

Create Hall of Fame or Honor Roll area.

Incentive Solutions features such as the Performance Tracking and Leader Board modules offer quick access to information about your team’s performance. Using this information, you can place a regularly-updated Honor Roll or Hall of Fame in your office lounge. Not only will program participants have access to their performance statuses, but they will see daily reminders of how close or far they are in reaching incentive goals.

By doing these four things, you’ll be off to a great start in advocating your incentive program. The more participation you can encourage in your team or department, the higher engagement and productivity levels you’ll see. Continuously tying reward program activity back to face-to-face interaction will keep employees enthused about their workplace and motivated to excel.

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