Return of the incentive. But ROI is the new priority

Corporate incentives are back, but there is a new priority: ROI (return on investment). I’ve always been aware of the role of ROI in corporate incentive programmes. I’ve read every book, picked through every blog and attended every course. But it is only now that business managers are showing an interest in these three magic letters when developing their corporate incentive programmes.
 
ROI is now a priority and the words “we need to calculate ROI on this” are thrust into the conversation at the earliest possible moment. And quite rightly so. A well-planned and well-managed corporate incentive programme is a self-funding strategy that drives sales and productivity growth. And this is the point: businesses must take a professional attitude towards corporate incentives and, most importantly, ROI.
 
A professional attitude to ROI – what does that entail? To start, it means not being too simplistic when defining it. There are the obvious upfront costs of running a corporate incentive programme but don’t forget to take into consideration those in the background. Get your CFO involved. Set a realistic ROI figure.
 
Don’t be in a rush to focus on rewards – they are not gifts, they have to be earned. A foundation has to be built to ensure that the process that leads to prize-giving has benefited the company. Plan and build your corporate incentive programme properly. Search out the opportunities and the risks. Prepare for best and worst case scenarios.
 
Finally, don’t cut corners in your corporate incentive programme. Your staff are your best asset. Cost-cutting here is not going to be beneficial.
 
If you would like to find out more about how to generate ROI from your corporate incentive programme, contact Ricky at Pickled Egg on 0370 350 3450.

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