Kevin Harrington // marketing // blog

Keeping employees motivated and engaged is more important than ever during tough economic times. This white paper takes you through the dos and don’ts of incentivising on a budget – how to maintain morale and maximise the return on your investment.

During difficult economic conditions, the competition for custom intensifies; customers become far more discretionary in their spending and focus on getting the most out of their money. So it‘s essential that employees are motivated to provide the highest levels of service that will set the company apart.  Whilst it may be tempting for employers to make a quick saving by cutting the incentives budget, it’s also a false economy. It’s important to remember that organisations with effective incentive schemes and high employee engagement consistently and significantly outperform their competitors.

Unfortunately over two-thirds of employers report that low staff morale is currently an issue and almost three-quarters realise that they face the problem of re-engaging staff in the organisation.  Going forward, employers are recognising that employee commitment will be vital if a company’s performance is to be sustained. A recent survey found that 64% of employers intend to increase their focus on the motivational value of reward programmes over the next 2-3 years.

…read the rest of this white paper (no email/registration required).

In this post:

1. What is employee engagement?
2. News of our new research tool: SayEngage
3. Our white paper on employee engagement

What is employee engagement?

Employee engagement refers to a positive relationship between an employee and their organisation, which has benefits for both employee and organisation.

Engaged employees are more likely to be loyal and contribute more to an organisation resulting in many benefits including greater customer satisfaction, productivity and profitability.

For this reason engaged employees are critical to business success. This has been argued as particularly true in the present climate.

This white paper takes it back to basics outlining how engagement differs from satisfaction, how it can be measured, why it matters and how to engage with your people.

SayEngage

We, Sodexo Motivation Solutions, have just introduced a new tool for businesses: SayEngage. SayEngage offers a new and different employee engagement survey for modern business. It was created and developed specifically for small and medium sized organisations by Insitas Research. It is simple, low cost and it works.

Underpinned by psychological theory, the SayEngage survey helps organisations to identify areas where employee engagement is low and so requires action.

Once companies have carried out a SayEngage survey, they will be given support and advice by Sodexo on how to use incentives and rewards to improve on any areas of weakness which the report highlights.

The powerful combination of expertly constructed and independent employee research by Insitas and the motivation portfolio offered by Sodexo ensure that companies have the best opportunity to succeed through their people.

Employee Engagement white paper

“The carrot has become the ubiquitous symbol of the incentive industry. We have allowed ourselves to be defined by a vegetable.”

What a great line. This is the introduction to an article by Jim Dittman, founder and president of Dittman Incentive Marketing, an advisor to the Motivation Show and a founding trustee of the People Performance Management Forum at Northwestern University.

Dittman argues, “Carrots influence short-term behavior. Performance improvement programs effect permanent attitudinal changes that lead to permanent behavioral changes. Values-based programs help both internal and customer-facing employees understand the external brand promise and their roles in delivering it.”

To read all of this interesting article click here.

Incentives as a motivational tool come in many forms, and schemes vary depending upon the size and structure of an organisation. Understanding the needs of employess can help companies to reap poisitve rewards from an incentives programme

According to Kevin Harrington, director at Sodexo Motivation Solutions, a successful motivation scheme comprises three elements: “First is the reward itself; ensuring that it is exciting, relevant and has mass appeal to your audience. The second is the communication; the way you inform your audience about the scheme needs some careful thought. The third is the technical backup; without a fully interactive rewards platform, your staff will not be able to truly connect with the scheme.”

Even with the right reward system in place, employees still need to be motivated by what they are doing as well as by what they are able to gain. Independent research commissioned by Maritz, revealed that:

• For 28% of respondents, putting in extra time and effort because it was important to the business was least motivational to them

• A quarter of respondents said they would be most motivated if they were likely to enjoy the task

• 38% of respondents said being thanked had a very positive effect on their productivity and 36% said that it impacted upon their willingness to remain with the company

• 31% said that pay and benefits were not a factor in their decision to move jobs

• 41% said that poor training and career development opportunities had no bearing on their decision.

The two most motivational factors in the survey were tangible rewards and the opportunity to learn or develop their skills, with 65% of men and 53% of women favouring tangible rewards. Of those who found the opportunity to learn or develop their skills most motivational, 47% were male and 35% female. Maritz also found that non-cash rewards almost always work best, especially at the lower end of the scale. A £50 voucher is far more
memorable and motivational than an additional £50 cash in a pay-cheque, which may well be absorbed into everyday spending on petrol, groceries or the gas bill.

First published: The HR Director, January 2008

Sometimes staff and team incentives have a negative impact…