Invest in balanced qualifying scorecards, personalised travel rewards and more. Photo Credit: Adobe Stock/charli (AI generated)
Top-performing companies aren’t just running incentive programmes, they are doing them better, with an emphasis on purpose and higher investment and with better executive alignment.
These findings and more were highlighted by a panel discussing key findings from the Incentive Research Foundation’s Top Performing Companies study, examining how top performing companies deliver meaningful recognition experiences that resonate personally with participants, reinforce business objectives and support long-term engagement. It looked at the strategy and best practices behind programme design and the use of incentive travel.
Findings showed that support for rewards programmes is strong in top-performing companies: 64% have executive support compared to 54% in non-top performing businesses and that programmes with visible support generate higher engagement.
“Top performing companies are the ones that are leaning the hardest into their incentive strategies.”
Rudy Garza, president and CEO, Brightspot Incentives & Events
“Top performing companies are the ones that are leaning the hardest into their incentive strategies,” said Rudy Garza, president and CEO at Brightspot Incentives & Events. “The data shows the importance of executive support for these programmes. Executives set the tone for the entire organisation. When they champion recognition and incentive programmes, they signal to the entire company that it’s not just another HR initiative; rather it’s a core part of their company’s business strategy.”
Susan Adams, vice president of client strategy & engagement at Next Level Performance, added that those programmes that have more buy-in and support will also attract budget and resources.
“Top-performing companies are investing in these programmes in a very structured way,” she said. “We see staff hired and budgets allocated for reward and communication, which has an impact on reducing turnover and increasing customer satisfaction.”
“We see staff hired and budgets allocated for reward and communication, which has an impact on reducing turnover and increasing customer satisfaction.”
Susan Adams, vice president of client strategy & engagement, Next Level Performance
Top-performing companies also demonstrate strong collaboration across multiple departments and divisions, showing that incentive programmes work best when they are co-owned.
When it comes to incentive trip qualification metrics, the customer relationship metric – such as satisfaction, Net Promoter Scores and retention rates – was rated at 88%, compared to other companies’ rating of 78%.
“A balanced scorecard, considering financial and activity metrics, alongside that of customer relationship, ensures that incentive programmes do not just reward quarterly spikes but also reward sustainable, recurring growth, and this creates lasting success,” said Garza.
Further findings showed that top-performing companies invest in higher-value travel rewards, which Garza said ensured that they are giving employees what they want, such as new destinations to visit and more personalised, tailored experiences.