Online Incentive Programs Part III

What Do You Want From A Web-based Award System?

Web-based incentive and reward systems range from simple online “redemption engines” used mainly to showcase and distribute awards to winning participants, to complete turnkey enterprise solutions that will manage workplace performance throughout the organization. Choosing which one is best suited to your needs will depend on several factors, just some of which are:

• Will it be utilized for single or multiple programs?
• Do you want the system to allow you modeling capabilities to forecast an ROI?
• Will it be an enterprise wide solution or used in just one area?
• Do you want the system to be tied to one particular award supplier, or independent and able to provide any type of award that fits your participant’s lifestyles?
• Should it have the capability for expanding for future needs?
• Should it provide you with the ability to model various types of rules structures and test their outcomes against historical performance records before you commit to a final structure?
• Do you require a peer to peer or management to peer recognition component?
• Do you require internal messaging capabilities?
• Do you want it to have the future capability to enable real time performance management or performance evaluation modeling?
• What are your total communication needs within your award initiative?
• What type of tracking and measurement will be needed?
• Will it need to contain training components?
• Is there a need for program quizzes and tests?
• Does it need to be totally custom branded?
• Do you require a component that will provide for participant surveys?
• Will you require online reporting, and if so to what depth?
• How many different types of awards do you want on your site?
• How much do you want to invest in a web based system?

Before you start the process of selecting a supplier, list as many of your system requirements as possible, it will save time and money. With the large array of companies that have web solutions available you will find that not all systems provide the same features. Many were only built to drive the sales of traditional merchandise awards and may not offer the award flexibility you need.

If you have questions on the incentive awards industry, please feel free to ask. My passion is to help clients run successful incentive award and recognition programs. Successful programs help many folks share in the success of their hard work.

Online incentive award programs can produce some great results and have become the best value in the industry!

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