A CLOSER LOOK AT EMPLOYEE RETENTION

That the economy is growing and the rate of employment is increasing is without a doubt good news. It is also a signal it is time to focus on how your incentive customers are positioned to retain their valuable employees and determine whether the time is right to introduce employee retention incentives. Consider these recent employment statistics:

A 2003 Society For Human Resource Management (SHRM) Job Recovery Survey revealed that 83 percent of employees polled say that an increase in “voluntary turnover” (leaving for new jobs) when the economy improves is somewhat or very likely to increase. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Labor predicts that over the next decade, American companies will experience a shortage of 10 million workers.

The Human Resources industry has consistently predicted when the economy improves, employees who were dissatisfied with their jobs and/or their employer would leave their position. What are the most important factors related to job satisfaction? Take a close look at these findings by the National Study of the Changing Workforce, published by the Families and Work Institute and reported to be the most comprehensive research ever conducted in this area:

• Employee earnings and benefits have only a 2% impact on job satisfaction
• Job quality and workplace support have a combined 70% impact
• Individual job variability has a 26% impact on job satisfaction
• Job demands have only a 3% impact on satisfaction

There are employers, however, who believe that job satisfaction has little or nothing to do with the success of their company. If you have a client that fits this description, check out these Gallup study results:

A recent Gallup study found that organizations where employees have above average attitudes toward their work (that is, high employee satisfaction) have:

• 38% higher customer satisfaction scores
• 22% higher productivity
• 27% higher profits

How Do You Impact Employee Satisfaction?

The following is a list of the most frequently recommended employee retention strategies used by U.S. companies: (this list is not in any specific order)

• Pay employees fairly and well – then get them to forget about money.
• Treat all employees with respect. Show them that you care about them as persons, not just as workers.
• Praise and recognize achievements as well as efforts to achieve.
• Clearly communicate goals, responsibilities and expectations at all levels of the organization.
• Recognize and reward performance appropriately and consistently.
• Involve employees in plans and decisions where appropriate.
• Solicit their ideas and opinions.
• Encourage initiative.
• Create opportunities for employees to learn and grow.
• Link the goals of the organization with the goals of each individual in it.
• Listen to employees’ concerns both work-related and personal.
• Share information promptly, openly and clearly. Tell the truth…with compassion.
• Celebrate successes and milestones reached, organizational and personal. Create an organizational culture that is open, trusting and fun!

Where Are The Incentives?

Many of the strategies listed above can be addressed with the use of incentive programs which Partners for Incentives is uniquely qualified to implement and support. Here are a few suggestions:

RECOMMENDED STRATEGY PFI SOLUTION

No Single Solution

As the list of employee retention strategies suggests, there is no single solution. What works best is a combination of strategies which, at minimum, include recognition, communication and rewards. PFI has years of experience in managing employee-focused recognition and reward programs. Contact us at sales@spihq.com for more information or support.

NEW FACTS ABOUT Merchandise Incentives

The April edition of Incentive Magazine reported the results of their 2004 Facts Report on Merchandise. Here are some of the most relevant results:

WHAT OBJECTIVES WERE MERCHANDISE INCENTIVES USED TO ACHIEVE?

• 65% were used to achieve employee recognition objectives
• 47% were used to build employee morale
• 31% were used for recognize and reward years of service
• 17% were used to improve safety

WHO WAS THE TARGET AUDIENCE FOR MERCHANDISE INCENTIVES?

• 61% Consumers and customers
• 59% Internal sales people
• 46% Non-sales personnel
• 27% Dealers/distributors

HOW ARE MERCHANDISE AWARDS REDEEMED?

• 59% Via mail
• 41% Online
•   3% Fax
•   1% Phone

HOW MANY INCENTIVE USERS INCLUDE MERCHANDISE IN THEIR TRAVEL PROGRAMS?

• 61% included merchandise
• 39% did not include merchandise

PFI Can Now Fulfill Merchandise in the EU

PFI has recently established a strategic alliance in Europe. As a result, we can now offer merchandise fulfillment within the European Union. The new European award
offering features eight product categories sure to appeal to a broad range of participants:

• Leisure Zone
• Home Zone
• Personal Zone
• Time Zone
• Sound and Vision Zone
• Outdoor Zone
• Kids Zone
• DIY Zone

To see selected merchandise samples from the new catalog go to www.awardlink.com On the home page click on the Award Catalog menu option on the left side of the screen, then click on European Catalog.

The European catalog adds to PFI’s international award fulfillment capabilities, which already include fulfillment capabilities in Canada and Mexico. In addition, PFI is currently working toward a strategic partnership that will enable us to offer merchandise fulfillment in Asia.

Call us today to discuss the possibilities of a European Collection website for your program’s participants.

ODDS & ENDS

Information and Pricing Guides
The PFI Information and Pricing Guide was recently updated. If you would like a copy, please contact sales at 1-800-292-7371 or e-mail us at sales@spihq.com.

Awardlink.com Enhancement
You asked for it and we responded. Awardlink, the official online incentive program management and award fulfillment website, now offers the ability to include a merchandise award “Wish List” to your customized website. Merchandise award wish lists have been used for years to engage program participants and to encourage them to set personal award goals. Now PFI offers this motivational tool online.

PFI Returns To SAAC—Booth 1156
The PFI Sales team plans to participate in 2004 SAAC show in Long Beach California. If you’re planning on attending this show be sure to stop by and visit PFI at Booth 1156. Take advantage of the years of experience of the PFI professionals who will be at the booth and come with your questions, ideas or requests for support.

How To Contact Us
Contact PFI for information, support or help planning your
next incentive program:

Ph: 216-881-3000
Fax: 216-881-7413
Toll Free: 1-800-AWARDS1 (292-7371)
E-mail: Sales@spihq.com
Website: www.pfi-awards.com

Also, you can visit a demonstration of our online incentive program management and award fulfillment system at www.awardlink.com  Use “award” where you are asked for program ID number, and “demo” where asked for personal ID.

 

Incentive Plan Idea–Go For The Gold–Focus on Goal Achievement

Below is a sample incentive program official rules for an Olympic-themed goal achievement-based incentive award plan. There is still time in the fourth quarter of 2004 to present an Olympics theme in this Olympics year.

Competition Dates
Recommendation: 60, 90 or 120 Days
Go For The Gold Goals
• Choose up to three product, service or event goals you would like participants to achieve.
• Establish an overall incentive goal as well as a weekly or monthly goal based on the duration of your incentive program.

How Participants Earn Awards
To win, participants must first become a medalist. To be a medalist, they must meet and exceed defined individual, team or company-wide goals and qualify for points with a Gold, Silver or Bronze finish. 

Bronze, Silver and Gold Success
(Allocate 10% of total incentive budget for this program element)

When participants meet and exceed their weekly or monthly Go For The Gold Competition goals, they will earn Bronze, Silver and Gold Points as follows:

Adjust the dollar value based on average participant earnings, overall length of the incentive campaign, your budget and the number of people projected to achieve Gold, Silver or Bronze levels.

Team Leader Discretionary Bonuses
(Allocate 10% of total incentive budget for this program element)

Provide Team Leaders (Sales Managers, Supervisors, Region Managers, etc.) with the ability to help participants succeed by providing them an award points pool from which they can award bonus points to their subordinates for achieving additional competition criteria or significant benchmarks along the way to goal achievement. To set up point pools, allocate 10% of your budget based on the total number of Team Leaders and the period of time the point pool is to be available. PFI will create a separate account (online/offline) or provide Team Leaders with preprinted instant award checks based on your defined budget. Team Leaders then are provided access to an e-mail announcement to present points to the employees they choose to reward based on the criteria you define.

Top Athlete Bonuses (Allocate 5% of total incentive budget)
It is important to recognize and reward top achievers. Below is a simple formula for including this element in your Go For The Gold program.

The number of Athletes and dollar value in points should be based on the total incentive dollars allocated to this option.

Incentive Program Awards
This incentive plan has been designed as a point based program. The award catalog you offer should be based on the total average earnings per participant. Here are some guidelines:

Program Communication and Support Materials
To launch this program and present it to your employees we recommend the following minimum communication schedule:

Announcement Kit
• Program welcome/announcement letter
• Discretionary bonus “how to” letter for Team Leaders
• Official rules letter
• Catalog of Awards

Follow-Up
• Monthly e-mail or letter to all participants updating on overall progress
• Weekly or monthly Bronze, Silver and Gold standings
• Monthly Earnings Statement (online/offline)

Launch and Manage This Program Online or Offline
PFI can help you launch and manage this program online or offline. We recommend that all award points be deposited to personal Go For The Gold bank accounts. PFI can handle the program enrollment process, set up personal bank accounts, receive and deposit all point earnings and produce monthly or quarterly earnings statements as well as management reports. To redeem points for awards, participants can complete an order form and mail or fax it to award headquarters or go online to www.awardlink.com.

Need More Incentive Program Development Support—Give Us A Call
The above incentive program plan is one of many ways you can implement an employee incentive and recognition plan. If you would like us to help you develop, launch and manage a variation of this plan or any other incentive program, please contact us at 1-800-292-7371 (Ask the operator for “sales”) or e-mail us at sales@spihq.com.


▲Back to Top