Do You Really Need a Recognition or Incentive Program?

We recently ran across this old post from our friends at I2IIncentive Intelligence and it got us to thinking about how and why so many recognition or incentive programs get implemented.  In my wanderings through this wonderful industry, I’ve had to ask myself that question numerous times, especially of the client.  A favorite question used to be, “just how did you determine that an incentive program is what you need to solve your problem or achieve your objective?” The answers to that question has formed  the angst, frustration, wonderment, stupefaction and amusement that many of us have felt over the years about what we do, or don’t do as may be the case.

When a client comes to me and says they want to run an incentive program my inner logical self just has to naturally ask that question.  Sometimes it may just be out of curiosity, but it’s always fun to see how the clients mind works, what rationale they’ve used to come to that conclusion.  Of course as a salesperson in the industry, you do have to be careful how and where you take the conversation from that point.  If you agree, no problem, if you don’t, snickering or worse yet, rolling around on the floor laughing hysterically probably won’t endear yourself with the buyer. What’s so amazing to me is how “professionals” in this business never even care to ask that question in the first place.  They blindly just assume that the client has a valid reason for running the program and all they want to do is “get the business.”  Forget the fact that the program might not produce results and simply fail and go away with the only result being the countless unpaid hours of time that both the client and the vendor spend to facilitate a program that had no chance of success from the beginning!  The program mentioned in the article above was what many companies tried to do when the cost of travel became exorbitant.  Many of those programs ran, I can’t think of one that worked for a myriad of reasons.

I had an occasion recently to speak with a true professional in the industry.  This pro has spent years developing one of the industry’s most robust, well designed electronic awards platforms.  It has been successfully launched in many Fortune 500 and Fortune 100 companies.  When I asked how many of their clients actually researched and understood that these types of incentive platforms were the right thing to use to achieve their goals, their answer was about 50%!  50%?  Considering that an undertaking of this magnitude takes thousands of dollars to launch, and often millions in awards to motivate the performance, you’d think that more than 50% would know it was the best answer to their problem.   

At this point in my life, maybe it’s just better to take the money and run, give the client the benefit of our years of experience in making programs successful and don’t ask the question.  Ignorance can be bliss especially surrounded with more than ample compensation that comes from incentive and recognition programs of this size.  After all, the client should know that what they want is the right thing for them to do.  Right?  Who are we to argue with them?  Unfortunately all too many folks in this business are willing to do just that; sometimes out of greed, sometimes because they are afraid to ask the question for fear they lose the sale.

Sorry, as much as I argue with myself, I think I'll just have to keep asking the question!