Once you and your incentive planners have narrowed down the performance criteria areas you want to improve on, its time to strategize the implementation of your program.

1. FAQ#2 What is the best employee, incentive, engagement strategy?
Once you and your incentive planners have narrowed down the performance criteria areas
you want to improve on, its time to strategize the implementation of your program.
Step 1: Recognize and reward your incentive planning team for having already identified the
areas that need improvement, setting your incentive goals and establishing the gauges to
measure your progress.
Next, why not announce a breakfast, lunch or dinner meeting with your planning team. At this meeting review all the
ideas you have so far. Begin talks on your strategy. How do we go about implementing our performance
improvement program?
Underlining your strategy discussions should be some truths to keep in mind about you and the individuals you are
engaging and motivating toward improved performance. As humans we all value our ability to make our own
choices. We generally make those choices based on our feelings about things and not always based on logic.
This shouldn’t represent a bad or good thing but a fact of the human condition. Why do we do what we do? What
causes us to help someone out, or work at a particular place, or even get out of bed on a rainy Monday morning, go
to work and do an awesome job that day? What motivates us is at the heart of our actions.
Yes, there are a plethora of things that work together to help us form the choices we make. Some are so ingrained
that they no longer feel like choices. We roll out of bed without seriously considering the alternative of staying there.
We skip breakfast because we're not hungry, or because the clock tells us that we are already running late. Perhaps
unconscious choices but choices non-the less.
Although we may choose to work at a particular organization because of it’s local and its salary, its benefits, in the
end we choose the place because we feel good about the vibe of its community. The recognition we receive for our
efforts. If we don’t, we will eventually find a way to get out of there. Sometimes employees will even choose to stay
at the place for less pay because of the relationship with their superiors and co-workers or the value they place on
an environment that supports appreciation. We want to feel good about our work environment.
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2. We run from pain and move toward what brings us pleasure. In our workplace we make these choices in an effort
largely, to be rewarded and recognized.
Why strategize and plan your incentive program?
This will help you, your employees, and your organization be on the same page as to what is expected and what
areas are targeted for improvement. Performance levels will be positively impacted. Having a strategy in place
makes it easier to measure results, ROI.
Some additional advantages:
• Morale Building. A simple sincere "thank you" or "good job" from a superior can go a long way in making a person
feel confident and proud about his or her job. Including a tangible incentives initiative cements your sincerity.
Feeling good helps us make more positive decisions about our behavior in the workplace. Confidence and pride in
our work help make a better volunteer or employee.
• Retention of valued employees improves greatly. You will also attract new employees.
Incentives give the best people in the organization reasons to stay. And word gets around fast. Potentially, new
employees in the community are looking for paid jobs or volunteer opportunities; they will naturally turn towards
your organization as a place they want to bring their talents.
• Increase the productivity or sales, or safety, or anything else you wish to improve. That's the magic of a balanced,
well designed incentive strategy. You can identify the performance criteria and collectively work on improving it.
Your team operates under the understanding that increased productivity, sales, attendance, ideas, a decrease in
accidents, loyalty will get fairly (or even handsomely) recognized and rewarded. That approach will result in your
people doing their best for the organization.
Things that are recognized and rewarded get done more efficiently and effectively.
• Eliminate real and perceived favoritism by rewarding employees equally for actions or longevity.
• A sometimes overlooked 'harm spot' is jealousy or envy. Avoid eroding moral by making sure an employee's
perception is that everyone in the organization is getting rewarded equally.
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© 2012 Taico® Incentive Services Inc.

3. By having a well announced, balanced program, you can be sure that one employee isn't receiving a cup of coffee
and a slap on the back to celebrate a job well done or for mega years of service, and another employee gets a family
trip to the Caribbean. To illustrate the point!
MORE ABOUT STRATEGY
Decide who are your players responsible for the implementation of your incentive initiative. Whether its for a
Service Awards program or ongoing Performance Achievement, be cognizant of the different generations who work
for you. This way you can best gauge what rewards choices will be a part of program. Offering the widest array of
award choices will guarantee a happier program. Know who will be your key managers responsible for overseeing
your program and hold them responsible.
It is worthwhile to mention here that soliciting the involvement of a professional incentive expert will reduce your
stresses and costs while focusing you on best practices to achieve you desired results. If you do choose to involve an
incentive professional, ask yourself: Does the professional provide the ability to track your program’s ROI in real
time? Can the expert provide you with the best tools and methods that will engage, motivate and train your
audience? Product knowledge among your sales team, for example, can be a huge factor in obtaining and keeping
clients.
When it comes to sales its not enough to just know "the pitch" but also know how to best respond to client
questions that will assist them to make the right purchasing decisions. Training tools can provide a fun, cost effective
method to accomplish this.
Does the incentive expert offer a wide enough array of award choices assuring your programs always remain fresh
and exciting?
One area that has shown itself to be a potential negative is the experience of your employee receiving a gift in one
hand and a tax bill in the other. Consult with your tax expert as to what constitutes a taxable reward.
Taxcentives™ is one additional solution toward addressing this challenge.
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© 2012 Taico® Incentive Services Inc.

4. Assess how much you can realistically expect from your audience. Setting performance goals too high or too low can
undermine moral and short circuit your goals. Consulting with your incentive expert can help you greatly.
Once you identify the participants of your program, choose the method of motivation. Strike a balance between an
award that will charge people up and one that fits comfortably within your budget. To find that middle ground you
can use productivity ratios.
Calculate the percentage of your work force that produces most of your volume – do not automatically apply the
80/20 rule which assumes that 80 percent of your volume comes from 20 percent of your work force. You might
decide on a tiered award system, or a plan that offers the most desirable awards to your top 25% performers.
Decide how progress towards goals or improvement in desired behavior will be measured. Select a simple yardstick,
such as sales accounts opened, number of clients serviced or dollar amounts sold. How much have accidents in the
workplace been reduced? How long have your valued employees been with the company? Who is contributing ideas
that benefit your organization? At the same time decide how often progress will be recorded and reported. How
good is your inter-organizational communication?
Do not make the interval between recognizing and rewarding the reports too long. The participant’s enthusiasm can
decrease dramatically without frequent reminders of their progress and where they stand in relation to their
competitors for the awards. A three-month program might call for updates every two weeks, while a yearlong
program might require announcements, to be made every six weeks or so. Using the latest Social Engagement Tools
will dramatically improve your ability to communicate instantly throughout your organization.
Finally, take your time and plan well.
As the saying goes: "measure twice and cut once."
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Taico® :: 67 Patterson Village Ct., Bldg F :: Patterson, NY 12563 :: 845-228-GIFT (4438) :: fax: 845-228-5136 :: info@taico.com
© 2012 Taico® Incentive Services Inc.