Want to build an award-winning team? Hop on a plane and take your staff somewhere exciting.
There’s no punchline—incentive travel is really a serious recommendation that can apply to today’s most growing businesses. In the current business environment, the hunt for the best talent continues to intensify. It’s not rare to see companies sweetening up ordinary job offers with perks that would seem outlandish just a few years ago: gourmet meals, laundry services, valet parking, yoga retreats and memberships, spa services, game rooms, Netflix subscriptions, babysitting, petsitting—the list can go on and on.
While the real ROI of having a salad bar or free dancing lessons has yet to be measured with long-term studies, one classic incentive strategy has been tried and tested to be effective through the years: incentive travel, or more specifically these days, international incentive travel.
What studies have shown is that using travel as incentive is not only an effective reward for employees. It’s rewarding and beneficial for the business, too.
Travel incentives are a great way to show your appreciation for the hard work and good performance of your employees. In fact, it has been proven that a trip somewhere nice is more rewarding than cold cash. In one study, one sales team was promised a monetary reward if they reached a certain quota. The other sales team was promised a holiday in Hawaii for the same target. The result? The team looking forward to a much-deserved vacation abroad got significantly higher targets than those working for the cash bonus.
One theory that explains why travel is seen as a better motivation and incentive tool than financial rewards is because it hinges on experiences, not objects. If you give employees a cash bonus, it would either end up in their savings or be used to make a purchase that they would typically pay with their usual salary (bills, essential items, even treats). This won’t have the same impact as, say, a retreat to Bali. While cash is useful and will surely be appreciated by recipients, companies looking to boost employee engagement and loyalty will find that a travel experience is more effective for those specific objectives.
There is a measurable return through increased revenue and new profits when companies invest in travel incentives. To achieve these returns, however, it’s important to build the right travel incentives programfirst. Talk to professional corporate travel consultants to learn about the solutions thatwill be most beneficial for your business.
"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."
