The Incentive Research Foundation Talks Top Trends for 2012

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The Incentive Research Foundation (IRF) recently released a new white paper titled “2012 Trends in Rewards & Recognition,” which highlights 12 key areas of focus in the incentives marketing arena for this year and what changes we as an industry can expect. The folks at IRF make several great points with regard to noncash incentives that we’d like to summarize here on Hinda Blog, and feel free to peruse the research for more information.

The report opens by explaining that change is in the air, and companies are starting to re-evaluate how they do business and utilize their human capital. “Fast HR” is a movement that the IRF points to that “encourages throwing out standard tools in favor of more expeditious methods to direct, focus, and energize employees.” The report goes on to add that non-cash is aligned with the Fast HR model and is becoming increasingly attractive to the C-suite, which it views as being one of the biggest trends to watch this year.

“Today,” reports the IRF, “a new wave of respected thought leaders that include McKinsey, Harvard Business Review, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Aberdeen acknowledge the effectiveness and/or strategic business value of noncash components.” In one example, the IRF points Aberdeen’s annual “Sales Performance Management Study,” in which it was uncovered that 21 percent of best in class companies – those that out-performed rivals across all major financial categories – utilized reward and recognition programs, while only 10 percent of non-best in class did.

Studies conducted by the other thought leaders named in IRF’s report realized similar outcomes. Noncash is on the rise, though it doesn’t come without its share of challenges, specifically that “noncash programs must complement other strategies and initiatives, the nomination/winning process must be clear and the evaluation/selection processes must be transparent” in order for noncash recognition to be effective, according to IRF’s research.

Incorporating another hot trend but staying within the realm of noncash, IRF explains that wellness programs are high on the list, and goes on to say that, if your company does not utilize a reward and recognition program currently, wellness is a great place to start. In 2009, the US spent about 17 percent of its GDP on healthcare, and yet America as a whole is not a healthy country, according to World Health Organization statistics.

Wellness programs can and should be worked into an organization’s current incentives bundle, according to the IRF. “Noncash incentive additions to wellness programs have been shown (Johnson & Johnson, for example) to increase voluntary participation by up to 90 [percent], a finding from ‘Big Fat Truth about Use of Incentives for Wellness Programs,’ published by the Incentive Federation.” Not only does this make for healthier people overall, but as we all know, fewer sick days makes for more productivity and lower health insurance premiums for companies – a winning situation all-around.

One final trend of note with regard to noncash – or any type of incentive, really – is retention and culture, which acknowledges, among other things, that “a lack of consistent recognition has impacted the ‘cooperative’ nature of some work environments,” according to the IRF report. “Recent research… show[s] that employees at ‘rewarder organizations’ generate ideas 250 [percent] more frequently than employees of organizations that are not rewarders.”

Whether your company has a stellar rewards and recognition program in place, a less-than-stellar one or none at all, the IRF has provided plenty for you and your employees to consider as we move along in 2012. Again, check out the full report and feel free to let us know your thoughts in the “Comments” section below.

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Fastest Ways to Lose Customers

It's common knowledge that in order to remain profitable and popular, companies need to put their customers first. The same concept can (and should) be applied toward employees. Companies need to treat their employees as if they're customers. Loyal employees are just as important to the future of the business as loyal customers are.

I found this infographic on Get Satisfaction's blog. In business to build customer communities for companies, they happen to know a thing or two about customer loyalty. Looking at this infographic, a lot of the information can be related to employees. For example, the number one reason why customers leave a company is due to the treatment they received. I believe the same can be said for why employees leave a company.

What do you all think? Should companies treat their employees like customers? What other ways can companies lose employees?

 

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Engagement Down in the Ad Agency World

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You hear about ad agencies being a place full of creatives and creative workspaces for some organizations. A recent article from Advertising Age suggests that employee engagement within many agencies is actually down.

In an article published March 8th a bottom line statement noted that agencies in general don't do a good job of communicating, training or motivating employees. As Andrew Bennet stated within that article:

"We are a people-focused industry but we don't embrace that with our employees."

The ad world is an industry almost famous for its turnover rate. Though these organizations push the fact that talent is the number one asset, it seems to be a mentality not held well for many agencies. In a 4A's and Arnold survey, 90% of the employees within those agencies felt that they had to train themselves in what they do from day-to-day. They didn't feel motivated or very engaged by their upper management.

"The average Starbucks barista gets more training than the average communications employee," Benett said.

Employee turnover is a costly business endeavor. No matter what industry you are in, employee communication is a crucial part of business success. In the article, Bennet is quoted as saying how revenue is taking a priority over people for many agencies in the biz.

If you put the people first, the revenue will follow suit. Not having to front the costly recruiting and re-training will cut costs significantly for any organization. Engagement is a crucial component for a company bottom line.

What do you all think?

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