Happy employees make happy workers who voluntarily put in their best performance. This is something that employers must keep in mind—with the right motivation, they can encourage their staff to achieve targets, improve or maintain performance, strengthen company culture and team dynamics (teamwork, trust, cooperation), and act in the best interests of the organization to support its mission, vision, and short- or long-term goals.
As such, a one-size-fits-all approach to putting together your company's group incentive travel programs may not be the way to go. Each package must be able to suit specific objectives, and of course, employees will have different things in mind when it comes to their ideal incentive travel experience.
Planning insight from the professionals
Since creating incentive travel packages can be quite tedious and extensive, it pays to hire specialists who have made it their business to help organizations plan the right programs for their unique needs. With plenty of experience working with different companies, these professionals have gained key insights into the factors that will make employees work harder to win that coveted incentive travel opportunity.
A reputable incentive travel house recommends asking yourself the following questions as you begin to plan your program:
Does the "group" in group incentive travel mean participants will be able to take their family or friends?
If your focus is on delivering group travel programs, think about who the members of this group will be. Will you be sending all of your company's top employees on a trip together, or will you reward each one with an opportunity to travel with co-workers of their choice? Will you let each participant choose to bring their own friends, or even their entire family, along? Each type of group travel will appeal differently to different employees, so make a careful study of which among these options would drive them further to attain the incentive and truly enjoy the experience.
Do your employees want to make their own plans for their time, or should you have a set, structured itinerary?
Most employees would want to be able to spend lots of free time at the assigned destination so that they would have a truly memorable travel experience. Others, on the other hand, would have little experience in exploring new places and would be happy to have a set itinerary to guide them in maximizing their time in the place.
Should the trip include work-related meetings, or would they rather participate in activities that will benefit the communities they visit?
As previously mentioned, some employees would love to freely roam, unwind, indulge and discover as much as they can during the trip. However, in order to reinforce the significance of the incentive travel program in the achievement of specific business goals, many companies make it a point to schedule work-related activities and meetings at some point during the trip. Some, on the other hand, may want the trip to be an enlightening and rewarding experience for all participants, so they include programs to promote corporate social responsibility, for example, or activities that give back to the destination they have chosen.
"I've been working with Bruce and his team on two projects and they've been great to work with. Bruce has helped us set up a referral/incentive program for us to roll out with our clients and strategic partners. Bruce was great to work with. He's set up a 7 tier program that allows for flexibility and he's also helped us to market the program."
"Beverly arranged and managed the early Envivio Sales incentive trips for us. Each of our events was an outstanding and motivating experience Our Sales team appreciated the attention to detail and to fun. Qualifying for the "trip" was a motivating factor behind many end of year sales pushes. I will use Beverly again in the future."
"Peak Performance’s attention to detail and personal service made me feel like I had a true corporate meeting planning partner that I could rely on throughout the planning process right up until I was on site. I look forward to doing more meetings with them."
"I have used your services two years in a row and you all have made my vacation a great one. You have the most helpful and considerate employees. Always very friendly, respectful and willing to make my travel experience a good one. Thank you and keep up the great job."
