Get to Know ME with Bob Graham

Get to Know ME with Bob Graham

It’s time to Get to Know ME with our Co-CEO and Co-President, Bob Graham. Read below to learn about Bob’s work motivation and philosophy on integrity. Thanks Bob for participating in our monthly segment!

What’s your title and how long have you been at Motivation Excellence?

As of January 2025, I became the CEO & President. I was the VP, Client and Technology Solutions before that, and I’ve been with the company for more than 22 years.  

What does your job entail?

Understanding all the great talents and resources Motivation Excellence has to apply toward clients’ business needs and using those to develop solutions to accomplish them. The other aspect is helping our team members to grow in their positions, overcome the unexpected and enjoy their work life. Having fun sprinkled in helps.

What’s something special about working at Motivation Excellence that you’d like to share?

Being part of a group of people who enjoy what they do, are good at it and are dedicated to giving Motivation Excellence’s best to each client. Creativity, flexibility and developing solutions that address each clients’ needs keeps the day to day fresh and stimulating. I also feel fortunate the company is focused on community, charity and the wellbeing of its employees.

What motivates you to accomplish things in your life?

I am competitive and I want us to be the best at whatever we are doing. At Motivation Excellence, that means giving each opportunity our best every day. Away from work, it is enjoying our family and friends. 

What do you enjoy doing outside work?

Anything outside. 

What is the most unusual job you’ve ever had?

This is a weird answer. Working in this industry is a thousand jobs within a job. We get the honor to work with every industry, many, many companies and create many, many solutions that can better a lot of people’s lives. It is fascinating to see how each company operates, their issues and working with them to improve their business.

This month, our theme for social media is Integrity. What does integrity mean to you?

For me, it is a high goal to focus on. We have choices hundreds of times a day and each action accumulates to create a level of integrity. It is doing the right things in the right way, through caring, personal attention, empathy, and a moral compass.

On the Road with Motivation Excellence: October 2021

Things are changing quickly when it comes to travel. At Motivation Excellence, our goal is to keep our followers and clients informed on the latest protocols, trends and tips. In our On the Road series, we’ll highlight our own travels for leisure and business, as well as report on current client trends in the incentive industry. Look for the latest On the Road post at the end of each month. If you ever have travel questions during this uncertain time please reach out to us at ME@MotivationExcellence.com. We’re happy to be your virtual shotgun or plus one!

In October we had two intrepid international travelers and a quick turnaround client program stateside. Read more below! 

NYC in the Fall – Brilliant for a Client Gathering

Traveler: Rhonda Brewer, VP Sales

As you read about in September, when I went for the site visit, this client gathering was a quick turnaround! It turned out amazing! More than 150 people came together for three days and two nights of celebration! We utilized Bobby Van’s near the New York Stock Exchange and the fantastic outdoor space at the Central Park Zoo; I’d use both again in the future. We had room blocks at both the Central Park Hilton and JW Marriott properties. Both hotels were exactly as we expected. The trickiest part about this was the planning for all outdoor meeting and dining space, since NYC requires proof of vaccination to enter indoor event space and we knew we had some guests that were not vaccinated. A big thanks to one of our favorite partners Hello! DMC and their new office in New York for helping produce meaningful events that will be remembered for a lifetime!

Key Takeaway:

• New York City is vibrant and still a great destination for events and meetings, you just need to know the vaccination status of everyone attending so you can guide them on the COVID restrictions.

Off to Paris and Scotland – What a Tour!

Traveler: Rhonda Brewer, VP Sales

It was great to have the opportunity to go to Europe again! Once you understand the new COVID protocols, that vary by country, things go very smoothly. It was great to see people out and moving which is fantastic to see!

In Paris, for the SITE Foundation meeting, we talked about the resurgence of incentive travel on a global basis and how everyone is seeing this around the globe. That said, we do hear those who are running programs are staying within region and while some are venturing outside their continent, likely most will start traveling outside of their region in 2023. As for Paris, it was great seeing so much activity. Masks were worn indoors and it was easy entering any indoor restaurant or museum as long as you show your completed vaccination card.

Next stop for the week was Edinburgh, Scotland, Gleneagles, Royal Scotsman and the Kimpton Charlotte Square. What an absolute treat to be able to be in Scotland again for the Belmond Advisory Board and see the Scottish Highlands via the Royal Scotsman! The train is so well appointed and the entire staff is so gracious and accommodating. It is truly an experience of a lifetime and would be a great addition to any incentive program! Starting in Edinburgh either at the beautiful Gleneagles, traveling on the Royal Scotsman for 2 nights and then finishing your program for a night or two in Edinburgh at either the historical Balmoral or at the Kimpton Charlotte Square. So many options but just a beautiful experience that will be talked about forever!

Key Takeaways:

• Being in Europe again is fabulous!
• Traveling for business in NYC, then heading to Paris and Scotland for industry events is a lot! Hopefully you can visit all three at a more leisurely pace. 

Cruising on the Danube

Traveler: David Jobes, President/CEO

I just returned to Chicago after spending 10 days traveling on a Danube river cruise visiting cities in Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary. And, wow, did it reengage my desire to start traveling again! After international travel being virtually unattainable for over a year, it was great to see its return. Even if you are not a “cruiser,” a European river cruise is intimate (smaller ships) and reaches both large and small towns in various countries where you can enjoy welcoming people and fabulous foods. This was a great way to start traveling abroad again. We were aboard the AmaWaterways AmaMagna and found the accommodations and hospitality excellent!

Once you get off the ship, I would encourage you to explore as much of the cities as possible. Traveling in October to Europe is perfect with temperatures in the mid-50’s and generally sunny. All locations were easy to get around with English spoken by most people and a lot of the signage was also in multiple languages. In the larger cities, such as Vienna and Budapest, finding taxis was easy and inexpensive, just be aware not all taxis take credit cards for payments. 

Key Takeaways

• Euro-Countries require you to have proof of COVID vaccination in order to enter the countries.
• It is wonderful to get reengaged with different cultures again.
• The airlines and the ship all took extreme measures to make sure everything was sanitized and kept to high safety and health standards.

Coming Up Ahead

• Portugal with travel planner Joe Reise
• Back in Vegas for an industry event

Buckle up and enjoy the ride with Motivation Excellence as your guide!

Don’t Be Scared of the Devil in the Details – Instead, Find an Angel to Help

Ever heard of the saying, “The devil’s in the details?” If you want the “deets” on how it came to being be sure to check out this link. The gist is that even though elements of a plan may seem small and insignificant, each one has the ability to foil the overall results – what a little devil!

You’ve probably heard the saying by author and psychotherapist Richard Carlson, “Don’t sweat the small stuff…and it’s all small stuff,” but don’t confuse details as the “small stuff.” Carlson was referring more to emotional small stuff – annoying habits by coworkers, a rude customer or an inconsiderate driver causing stress, anxiety and anger. 

Details can be small – minute even – but in business they each have an important place in the overall picture. Think of all the tiny particulars that go into a space launch at NASA (or any of our new private space exploration companies). Those details are life and death important. The latest project you’re working on might not have that extreme level of mortality, but you get the point; a missed piece of the puzzle can make creating the big picture impossible. 

Find Your Angel

There are just some people who pay attention to detail much more keenly than others. You know the ones: they love to “find the differences” in two photos or can’t wait to look at a “Where’s Waldo” puzzle – it’s fun for them to investigate complex pictures and discover what’s out of place.  If you’re not one of those people, be sure there’s one on your team! 

At Motivation Excellence, we thrive on details for our clients whether it’s for an incentive travel experience or a customer engagement solution. Recently we had a new client, who we set up with a customer loyalty program, tell us how he appreciated our attention to all the “tedious tasks” that would’ve taken him years to get through. He went on to say, “It’s nice to have a hands-off program where you all take care of what needs to happen day to day and I chime in here and there where needed.” Can we get a “Hallelujah!” 

Inside our own organization, we have people who specialize in different areas of detail work. When looking at a proposal for a client, it goes through many sets of eyes before being presented. Some of us catch spelling errors at first glance, others thrive on budget anomalies, still others go over the graphics and question whether they make sense…it’s a team effort when it comes to making sure all the details line up for a great solution. The presentation, after all, tells the story and shows how much we care about how it’s told. 

Be Brave

As a leader in business, it’s critical to have a handle on the elements that create the big picture. If you’re not detail-oriented, don’t fear the devil too much. There are tips you can use to increase your abilities. The Dream Catcher website outlines how to become more detail-oriented. Paying attention to all facets of a project shows you care, but you don’t want to micromanage either. It’s a fine line – walk it safely. 

ThoughfulLeader.com describes finding the balance between wasting time on seemingly unimportant details and losing business to sloppy work.  It really comes down to being able to prioritize and delegate. If you really want to dive into how to prioritize, Zapier.com has nine scientific ways to do it. Maybe just skim it over to see if one of them will work for you. 

A Detailed Summary

Well, it’s not too detailed, but if you are a quick reference type of person, we’ve got just enough details here to quench your thirst. In short, details matter, however, you don’t need to be in charge of all of them or any of them if you have a trusted team at your side. You can be the big picture person – every organization needs them too!

Here is a quick list of getting started on conquering the details. Use it before your next big project leaves your hands. 

• Know your own detail-orientation level 
• Find your detail angels – they are real!
• Allow time to have several people review the work
• Present to a third party before a client – do the details add up to the big picture you intended for your best friend or spouse?

Good luck! We’ve given you the basics to work with the devil and the angel on your shoulders – they’re both there to help you conquer the small elements so your big picture shines through!

Get to Know ME with Staci Wand

This month’s Get to Know ME features Staci Wand, a longtime member of our travel department. Read below about her drive to meet challenges and her awesome sense of humor! Thanks, Staci for letting us get to know you a bit better. 

What’s your title and how long have you been at Motivation Excellence?

My journey began 21 years ago as a Program Coordinator in the travel department. After many years in that position, I was promoted to the Program Manager position. As the needs of the company have shifted, I am once again assisting in Program Coordination.

What does your job entail?

Managing the participant database and registration process for incentive travel programs for 50 – 1400 people. I handle many logistical components such as hotel accommodations, ground transportation and activity confirmations, as well as the preparation of on-site supplies. 

What’s something special about working at Motivation Excellence that you’d like to share?

Motivation Excellence offers a flexible work environment. The company recognizes us as individuals, which allows employees to balance personal commitments, while still maintaining a high level of work.

What’s an unknown or odd talent you have?

I can do a comedic impression of Shakira…for close friends and family only. ☺

What motivates you to accomplish things in your life (work or personal)?

When I’m presented with a challenge that is identified as nearly impossible, that motivates me to figure out a way to make it happen. I’m also motivated by chocolate.

What do you enjoy doing outside work?

Playing chauffeur for my children and going for walks.

One thing that always makes you laugh is?

The movie Jumanji (the new version).

What have you done that helped you get through the pandemic?

Our family had a lot of game nights and movie nights. We also tie dyed a lot!

What is the most unusual job you’ve ever had?

I worked in a coatroom for many years if that qualifies as unusual.

This month, our theme for social media is “Devil’s in the Details.” What does attention to detail mean to you?

My current position requires a keen eye for detail, which I personally thrive on. Attention to detail requires you to not only dissect and analyze what’s in front of you, but also to be proactive and consider different outcomes based on all possible avenues of action.

On the Road with Motivation Excellence: September 2021

Things are changing quickly when it comes to travel. At Motivation Excellence, our goal is to keep our followers and clients informed on the latest protocols, trends and tips. In our On the Road series, we’ll highlight our own travels for leisure and business, as well as report on current client trends in the incentive industry. Look for the latest On the Road post at the end of each month. If you ever have travel questions during this uncertain time please reach out to us at ME@MotivationExcellence.com. We’re happy to be your virtual shotgun or plus one!

September was a busy month – read below for a coast-to-coast recap of our travels and key takeaways. 

San Diego in September – Always Amazing

Traveler: David Jobes, President/CEO
Destination: Hotel del Coronado for SITE Classic Meeting

I had the pleasure of attending SITE Classic at the beautiful Hotel del Coronado. With more than $400 million in renovation and expansion, the hotel remains absolutely stunning, especially the original woodwork throughout the main venue space. They have a great selection of restaurants on property with great food and great service to create a level of excellence we expect from this iconic hotel. 

Of course, the weather in San Diego was perfect, no surprise there! The SITE team did a great job with this event! There were interesting breakout sessions, speakers and fun activities that truly took advantage of this spectacular resort and city. SITE suppliers donated wonderful travel packages to help raise money for the association.

Key Takeaways:

• San Diego airport is easy to navigate and I had no delays with the TSA check-in process.
• Rideshare service was good – usually less than a 5-minute wait. Masking for unvaccinated people was in play and looked to be widely followed.

Back at it in Las Vegas with Howie, Lionel and Motivation Excellence

Traveler: Brad Hecht, VP Travel
Destination: Las Vegas (Wynn) for Client Program

Excited to be back out with our customers at a major event this month for a group of 250 people!  The airports flying from RSW to LAS via DFW were all packed on a Sunday afternoon and evening of travel.  Of course, when I stepped off the plane it was again like old times again and the LV Strip was bursting with energy, people and lots and lots of craziness.

Basically, it’s busy everywhere in Vegas.  Taxi lines, bars, restaurants, and especially the casinos are experiencing high traffic, not to mention sold out hotels.  The only slow place was breakfast at 7am!

Howie Mandel commented how this was his first time in nearly two years performing live. Believe me, we were all excited to be back in a live atmosphere again and Howie and Lionel Richie were amazing at our client event!

Key Takeaways:

• Our client’s customers were excited to be back at a live event!
• This is the just the beginning of great things to come for our industry.

Happy to Help a Client in the Happiest Place on Earth

Traveler: Sky Capriolo, Strategic Marketing Manager
Destination: Orlando

I had the pleasure to attend a client event to help with in-person registration of their channel partners and sales reps for their new incentive program! The venue (Gaylord Palms) and our client did a great job with safety protocols throughout the long weekend including adding spacing between chairs at meetings, bringing in air purifiers, masking as needed and staff serving food at buffets. 

Frankly, flying into Florida, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but was happy to see all service industry people (hotel staff and off-site restaurant staff) wearing masks, as well as a good portion of visitors to the hotel and Disney Springs. 

Key Takeaways:

• Always assume you’ll be placed next to a whining, kicking toddler on your flight to Orlando.
• The flight back from Orlando is a lot like the flight back home from Vegas…people are exhausted!

A Site Visit for an Upcoming Client Program

Traveler: Rhonda Brewer, VP Sales
Destination: New York City

We had a quick turnaround opportunity to help a client host a meeting/event in New York City in October. I was excited to attend the site survey in September and was pleased with the results! 

New York City requires proof of vaccination to attend inside events at hotels and restaurants. Our client’s group will not all be vaccinated, so we found outdoor meeting and eating spaces in Manhattan to accommodate everyone attending. The pictures above are of a space at the Central Park Zoo we’ll be utilizing. 

New York City is thriving and beautiful in the fall. We really liked the new terminal at LaGuardia Airport! It’s so bright and inviting, despite the continued construction. 

Key Takeaways:

• NYC is still a great place for incentive travel and meetings!
• While tricky, accommodating all attendees is doable and appreciated by clients.

Getting in the Swing for Charity

Traveler: Rebecca Steiner, Business Development Director
Destination: Boston-area

Rhonda Brewer and I were thrilled to take part in a charity golf event hosted by one of our clients at the historic Woodland Golf Course in Newton, Massachusetts. Motivation Excellence was one of 60 sponsors to support this 32-year tradition. Nine non-profit groups (mostly in healthcare, addiction, special needs education and children’s needs) benefited from nearly $150,000 raised! 

Rhonda and I did not win any golf awards, but we had a great time in our foursome and celebrated every great shot on our team (see pic)!

Motivation Excellence donated a travel package that included an $800 American Airlines voucher and a 3-night stay at the Eden Roc in Miami. We’re grateful to our partners at Eden Roc for helping support our client’s charity!

Key Takeaways:

• If you’ve never tried the “Martini Tees”…get yourself some before your next trek to the course!
• A golf event is a perfect way to get a good size group of people together safely to have some fun and enjoy camaraderie. 

Client Trends

Our team is very busy with proposals for incentive programs scheduled to start in December 2021 or January 2022. This is the time when budgets for the next calendar year are put in place, so it’s the perfect time to look at how you’re planning to reward and recognize the people who make a difference for your company. 

Group incentive travel, lifestyle upgrade rewards, employee reward and recognition programs and individual travel packages are all ways we’re working with current and new clients to motivate and recognize their employees and channel partners. 

Coming Up Ahead

• Paris with SITE (Society for Incentive Travel Excellence)
• A Danube River Cruise
• Client program in New York City in October

Buckle up and enjoy the ride with Motivation Excellence as your guide!

Embracing Empathy Will Make You Better at Home/Work/Everywhere!

Photo credit: Kelly Sikkema / Unsplash

Can you feel it when there’s tension or frustration filling a room of your coworkers? Does hearing about a stranger’s brush with inequity rile up your anger? When your friend cries in front of you, do you tear up too? These are all examples of empathy, and no, not everyone can relate strongly to these examples, but to be a more successful person, growing your empathy reaction is important.

6Seconds.org will tell you that empathy means experiencing someone else’s feelings, while sympathy means understanding someone else’s feelings. It’s about tapping into your emotions rather than your brain. There’s a long distance between the two, but both have solid places in our society.

For a quick, and funny illustrated example, watch this Brené Brown video where she describes how using empathy helps create connections, while sympathy doesn’t.

How Empathetic Are You?

Empathy is a widely studied trait! According to GreaterGood.Berkeley.edu, research suggests that empathetic people lean toward being more generous, concerned about others and have happier relationships. They also tend to be better leaders and communicators. You can take the GreaterGood quiz (less than 30 questions) to see where you land on their empathy scale. This will give you a good read into where you can improve. 

Not only does being empathetic help make you a better friend, it’s important to flex this skill at work too. TheBalanceCareers.com states a 2020 State of Workplace Empathy Study by Businessolver shows workplace empathy has stalled. The percentage of people (68%) who felt their organization was empathetic is the lowest in four years. 76% of respondents said an empathetic workplace inspires more employee motivation and 82% of CEOs say it has a positive impact on performance and productivity! 

Becoming More Empathetic

The good news is you CAN LEARN to improve your empathy! (Really anyone can, it’s just naturally harder for some, especially if you have a medically diagnosed personality disorder.) This is great news since we know being more empathetic can lead to better relationships at home and at work. 

There are many articles out there about habits you can incorporate to boost your empathy quotient. Be sure to visit some of our past blogs on EQ, Broadminded Thinking and Self-Awareness for similar tips for improvement. 

Among the most commonly suggested ways to improve your empathy:

• Be an active listener & sharer
• Read fiction – it helps you step into someone else’s shoes
• Experience new things like travel, food and activities
• Be open to giving and receiving feedback
• Smile and use people’s names in conversation
• Learn about a different viewpoint and ask the why behind it
• Talk to strangers in safe environments
• Question your assumptions and judgements of others

As another GreaterGood.Berkeley.edu article suggests, we learned a lot in the 20^th century about introspection. This century might well be best spent looking at how we connect with others to grow an even greater knowledge of the human experience. 

One thing is for sure, people will remember how you make them feel and being more empathetic is a key way to make them feel heard, supported and uplifted!

On the Road with Motivation Excellence: August 2021

Things are changing quickly when it comes to travel. At Motivation Excellence, our goal is to keep our followers and clients informed on the latest protocols, trends and tips. In our On the Road series, we’ll highlight our own travels for leisure and business, as well as report on current client trends in the incentive industry. Look for the latest On the Road post at the end of each month. If you ever have travel questions during this uncertain time please reach out to us at ME@MotivationExcellence.com. We’re happy to be your virtual shotgun or plus one!

Taking it Easy in Aruba

Traveler: Brad Hecht, VP Travel
Destination: Aruba for Leisure

This was my first trip back to Aruba in more than 25 years, and I was pleasantly surprised! It wasn’t as windy as I remembered it and the area has grown nicely with great options for activities and dining. Service was great, every meal was excellent and the sun and sea were brilliant!

Traveling to Aruba with the current safety protocols was straightforward and reasonable. U.S. travelers need proof of a negative COVID PCR test within 72 hours to board the plane. Once on the island we needed to show proof of our negative test a few more times and proof that we purchased the mandatory Aruba supplementary health insurance. Airport personnel also needed to give us “clear to check-in” cards for our hotel stay.

Once we jumped through all the COVID protocols, our time on Aruba was unencumbered by the pandemic.

Coming back to the U.S. was a little more involved (read painful). An antigen or PCR test was required before checking in for our flight. These are often offered right at the resort. With all the extra stops and checks at the Aruba airport, it’s suggested you get there four hours pre-flight, which makes for a somewhat wasted travel day.

Key takeaways:

• The stay was worth the extra travel precautions
• The stray cats were not concerned about COVID at all

Experiencing American History & Sights

Traveler: Rhonda Brewer, VP Sales
Destination: Multiple states on the East Coast for leisure

Taking a trip to the Northeast in August could not have been more perfect; History, a beautiful coastline and scenic mountains, all in one trip! Add in being with great friends and working toward completing my goal to visit all 50 states, it was a bucket list moment for me.

Places we visited include:

• Boston, Cape Cod and Newburyport, Massachusetts
• Newport and Jamestown, Rhode Island
• Cape Neddick and Ogunquit, Maine
• Portsmouth, New Hampshire
• Mt. Ascutney area, Vermont

We hiked, biked and ate our way through this amazingly beautiful part of the United States. A couple noteworthy highlights include eating at a “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives” restaurant called Red Arrow Diner (fabulous breakfast!) and seeing Zac Brown at a sold-out concert at Fenway Park (we’ve all missed live music!). Toasting to friends at the Cheers bar was a treat too!

Key takeaways:

• Tourists were out in full force enjoying great sights right here in the USA
• Self-guided tours are pretty easy in this area
• I’d highly recommend this area for business groups or leisure travel – lots of education, activities and venues
• Check masking and vaccination requirements for the states and counties you plan to visit ahead of time – where we visited, we had no issues, but we all know how quickly things can pivot.

Client Trends

Currently, we have multiple clients running end of the year incentive programs to capture Q4 growth potential in markets like veterinary and dental. Some are using lifestyle upgrade packages from our MaxRewardsYourWay offering, while others are rewarding increased sales with bonus award points to use in our online award options. Reach out to us at ME@MotivationExcellence.com if you have needs for a Q4 reward solution.

Coming Up Ahead

• We have a client taking 250 top customers to Wynn in Las Vegas for an incentive/appreciation event in September. Check back for our next On the Road blog to get an update on how it went!
• We’re also looking forward to industry events in San Diego and Paris this fall with SITE (Society for Incentive Travel Excellence). We’ll give you the recaps in future On the Road posts.

Buckle up and enjoy the ride with Motivation Excellence as your guide!

Going for Gold; How Regular Recognition at your Company Makes Everyone a Winner

The 2020 Summer Olympics (held in 2021) just wrapped up and I’m sure you can still see the gleaming faces of medal winners on the podium. That’s the ultimate recognition; winning a gold medal in a sport you’ve trained in and persevered through! Obviously, for most of us, that’s not a realistic attainment, but even a gold star can turn someone’s day around for the better. That’s the brilliance behind recognition. It doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing gesture. There are many degrees between a pat on the back and promotion to Vice President of Awesomeness (if that’s not a title, it should be)!

Motivation Excellence offers a wide variety of ways to recognize and reward important people in your business structure from employees to valued channel partners. In this blog, we’ll outline why having a recognition strategy in place is so important. Visit our website or reach out to ME@MotivationExcellence.com to learn more.

It’s About Trust, Motivation and Connection

Would it surprise you to hear that employees who receive recognition from their superiors actually trust their boss more? In this linked Forbes article, 90 percent of employees surveyed indicated higher levels of trust with the “higher-ups” if they had been commended for something in the past month. 

The Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) reported that when employees feel their work leadership appreciates and recognizes their efforts 93 percent say they feel like they fit in at their organization and 91 percent say it motivates them to work harder for their boss and their colleagues. 

We know that the amount of telecommuting rose 115 percent between 2005 and 2015. Given the pandemic of 2020, work-from-home situations have risen even more dramatically across the country. Implementing a social network for recognition with your off-site staff is critical to keeping them connected and engaged.  Northstar Meetings Group released 20 ways to show appreciation to a spread-out workforce during and after the pandemic. Several of them call out the importance of taking time regularly to recognize employees’ successes and sharing positive stories through a social recognition network. 

It’s About the Why Behind the Recognition

For the person being recognized, it’s about feeling respected for their skills, included in the company culture, and acknowledged for their work. For the company offering the recognition, it’s about promoting a positive culture, highlighting the core values, and building lasting relationships with the people who make a difference to the bottom line AND the overall atmosphere of the company. 

Recognition can have both soft and hard costs, and both can give a super boost to retention rates, productivity, and workplace happiness. You might be surprised to hear that the vocalization of appreciation for good work can mean more than a monetary supplement. 

Here are some reasons why to show recognition to someone important to your organization:

• Birthdays
• Revenue-based accomplishments
• Training achievements
• Demonstrating company values
• Going above and beyond expectations
• Increasing new client contacts
• Kudos from customers
• Meeting or beating established goals
• Work anniversaries

It’s About How Recognition Happens

Knowing who you are recognizing, is as important as how you are showing them appreciation. A combination of verbalizing your kudos (either in writing, or in person, or both Epic Work Epic Life gives some great through-starters to authentically show appreciation for people’s accomplishments), and tying a reward to the recognition is a great way to make sure your intent comes through loud and clear. A reward does not have to have a cash value either. Depending on who the audience is, tailor the reward to fit the job level, demographic, and scope of accomplishment.

Here are some ways to recognize someone:

• Congratulate them on the internal company social site
• Give a day off
• Award accomplishments with pre-determined reward packages
• Reward top performers with a group travel experience or a travel getaway package
• Offer an award point platform to earn and redeem points as desired
• Increase flex working options
• Cater in a lunch for the team
• Plan an off-site experience
• Support a favorite charity
• Create incentive programs
• Show appreciation through saying “thank you,” or “good job!”
• Surprise stellar performance with a gift card of their choice

Hopefully, you now have a great understanding of why recognition is important and how you can administer it. Of course, Motivation Excellence is here to help you get started by offering suggestions to implement a Q4 spurt program to help you achieve your goals! You may not earn an Olympic gold medal, but your company will see the benefits to productivity, retention, morale, and trust in leadership! That could be even better!

From Mystery Destinations to Alternative Awards: Options to Keep Your Incentive Program Alive & Well

We’ve been down this path before. Surges in COVID cases cause some people to be hesitant to travel now, or even plan travel a few months ahead. Companies are faced with deciding when employees will be back in offices AND when people will be traveling again for business. Perhaps further down on the list is deciding when to revive your highly motivating group travel incentives. According to the Incentive Research Foundation, 80% of U.S. employees surveyed found group travel to be highly motivating, so don’t let your revival fall too far down that list!

Motivation Excellence has good news for business leaders out there wanting to get their reward and recognition programs back on track, yes, even with group travel!

In this white paper, we’ll give an overview of how and why “Mystery Destinations” work. We’ll also give other options for rewarding experiences outside of group travel, if you’re still not ready to commit to that quite yet. As you begin to shore up budgets and plans for 2022, do not overlook this critical piece to increased productivity and improved company culture!

“Mystery Destinations”

This is a tried and true concept we’ve used many times during the history of our company. The benefits to you greatly outweigh the risks, and during this particularly fluctuating period, it can be a great fit for safety-minded business leaders who still want to use a group travel incentive.

Instead of contractually committing to a property and destination more than a year out, our Mystery Destination solution allows you to book much closer to travel. This significantly lowers the risk of having to cancel.  After talking with you about budget, time of year and location preference, length of stay and probable number of travelers, we start monitoring several good-fit destinations and watch for hotel room booking “holes.” Knowing you want good weather and outdoor activities in June, we could be watching Denver, Orlando, Austin, Texas and Cancun all at once.  In the meantime, we start a creative engagement campaign with participants to get them to start guessing “where in the world” they’ll end up if they win. 

Benefits Include:

• Securing great purchase value by filling unused room blocks
• Less worrying about attrition and cancellation clauses
• No hotel/DMC deposits needed until closer to actual travel
• Monitoring of destination “issues” allows you to book at the safest choice 4-6 weeks before travel
• Engaging participants is very fun, clues are generic and the reveal can be very creative

Risks Include:

• Losing out on first choice of property/destination
• Activities may be harder to schedule the longer you wait to book

Overall, our “Mystery Destination” solution can save your hopes (and maybe even some cost) of a group travel program in 2022 and beyond, as long as you can be flexible. You can watch a short webinar on this topic, featuring one of our hotel suppliers, on the Newsroom tab at MotivationExcellence.com. 

“Alternative Rewards”

If you are not ready to host a group travel experience just yet, you still need to reward the people in your company that make a difference. There are nearly unlimited possibilities when it comes to providing alternative rewards to group travel. 

Our biggest piece of advice on this is to make it personal. Giving your employees the ability to create a reward meant only for them is undeniably motivating and memorable. An emotional connection between the reward and the company that provided it is rekindled each time the employee sees it or remembers the experience. Motivation Excellence has several ways to achieve this type of connection.

• “Concierge Shoppers” are available to help select participants who have earned rewards to redeem them in a way most befitting their desires. It could be a down payment on a vacation home, or custom-made jewelry, or even home improvement projects. We literally helped purchase a cow at auction for a participant once – give us your dreams and we’re ready to help make them come true! 
• “Your Day, Your Way” is an option where earners can design a local getaway using their rewards and our Personal Shoppers. We’ve partnered with dozens of hotels across the U.S. and Canada to help craft unique packages that can include activities like a chef’s table, whiskey tasting or spa treatments. It’s perfect for the winner who wants to share their award with a small group of friends, creating lasting memories for years to come.
• “MAXRewardsYourWay” is the perfect way to reward top performers through aspirational lifestyle upgrade packages. We can create a variety of packages to fit your budget and because each is filled with name-brand items coveted by many, this option is highly promotable. Think kitchen appliances and gadgets, fitness room improvements, the latest trending entertainment devices, individual travel packages and more! Each package can also be customizable if the winner already has one or more of the items included. 

We also have a wide selection of merchandise, gift cards, travel and event tickets and experiential activities in our online award offerings. Through COVID-19 we’ve had to transition several travel programs to online award platforms. We found earners were thrilled with the opportunity. 

“I always wanted this guitar, but could never justify the purchase before this award program!” 

 

“What an amazing once-in-a-lifetime experience my wife and I will have when we get to travel the Danube one day.” 

 

“I had new windows and gutters installed in my home and am thrilled that I (and my husband) will never have to clean a gutter again!” 

 

“I would never spend this kind of money on myself normally. This was the perfect opportunity for me to get (luxury accessories).” 

“This would be an amazing program to introduce annually. Making it this personal was meaningful.”

One client, with more than 120 winners, was so pleased with how this turned out in 2020 in lieu of their spring travel to Hawaii, they opted to do it again instead of traveling to Lisbon in the spring of 2021. The results were phenomenal. 100% of their winners redeemed their allotted award. This is how it broke down in 2020:

• 70% utilized our concierge shoppers to create totally unique reward experiences
• 15% booked future travel using certificates or our online booking tool
• 15% redeemed their points in our online offerings for merchandise, special events or experiences

With all of our reward programs, engagement remains strong. There is an almost even split between redemptions for merchandise, individual travel and event tickets versus gift cards with the former taking a slight edge. Throughout the pandemic, the most popular redemptions include new electronics and individual travel packages. 

We recently dedicated a short webinar to the importance of finding the right rewards to enhance your incentive program. You can watch it on our Newsroom tab at www.MotivationExcellence.com. 

Hopefully, you see now how you can still keep your group travel dreams alive despite our current situation OR easily decide to shift to alternative awards that are personal, meaningful and memorable. 

Rules for Successful Programs (Incentive, Loyalty, Rewards)

As you embark on launching a loyalty or incentive program, we know one of the most important factors to its success is the rules structure. Some of our clients want to write the rules themselves, while others look to us for expertise. In either scenario, we work together to create meaningful parameters that sets up success for you and your participants.

We recently recorded a less than 15-minute webinar looking at what goes into writing program rules and why they matter. Be sure to check it out in our newsroom at MotivationExcellence.com. Bob Graham, VP, Client & Technology Solutions and Rhonda Brewer, VP, Sales join me to discuss the vital ingredients to creating meaningful program guidelines.

The process always starts with in-depth conversations with you. There isn’t a set roadmap to follow, but rather a journey of discovery that could take some time. We look at the market, your competition, performance goals, past issues and future possibilities to name just a few avenues we explore.

There are key things to look at in a few broad categories that are universal. Below we list those and give you a real-life situation to illustrate them better.

Goals:

We need to pinpoint what you want or need to get out of the program. Is it increased mindshare, more revenue or stronger channel relationships? Are you hoping to reward loyalty, improve employee tenure or recognize achievements? It could be any of these, multiple options or something entirely different. Without clear goals, the water gets murky from the onset.

Participants:

Here we need to know your target audience. It could be employees, contacts in the distributor channel, customers or sales members. Knowing the audience helps us determine the best way to motivate the desired behavior change. The audience can vary from essential workers to top performing employees or channel partners. The rewards can equally vary from a 5-star group travel experience to gift card options to trending merchandise and lifestyle upgrade packages to individual travel and Concierge Shopping experiences. We have a 22-minute webinar on award options and whom they’re best suited to in our newsroom as well. Matching the participants to the right rewards increases engagement and the success rate of a program!

Client Y is a large medical testing company that wants to reward two different employee groups. First, they want to make sure they’re rewarding their top performers in the sales department. Second, they also want to make sure their entry-level couriers are encouraged to report possible revenue-changing activity out on their routes. With very clear-cut participant groups we know the motivation for each will likely be different, as well as the budget allocated to them. With two vastly different demographics, the rewards must be commiserate and aspirational for both. The sales team will have a longer earning cycle, but the couriers business intel can be rewarded more immediately. These groups will have two separate rules from which to play. The reward for the top performers in the sales department is a 5-star, group travel experience for at least 5 nights. This experience is filled with once-in-a-lifetime activities, networking with fellow winners and access to the top executives in the company. The reward for the couriers is a points-based program where they can redeem for a wide variety of trending merchandise, event tickets and individual travel options. Couriers can save up points for something truly memorable, or spend them on smaller treats as they see fit.

Hurdles:

You know your goals and your audience, but what obstacles will hinder their connection? Recognizing internal and external hurdles is important to designing a program structure. Sometimes it’s not having access to customer information like who the decision maker is. Industries with a lot of turnover in the distribution chain have a hard time keeping external data updated. A company trying to increase longevity of its own staff knows that turnover can be a hefty obstacle internally as well. Budget constraints are also important to recognize up front, as that affects how you connect with your audience and the types of rewards you want to offer.

Client Z is in the electrical supply industry. They have hundreds of thousands of customers but their internal tracking system is antiquated and decentralized. They want to identify customers who are large enough to assign a salesperson to them to help grow the account. They don’t have the budget to overhaul their tracking system. These are two huge hurdles! Offering a points-based reward program for internal sales representatives might be a cost-effective and motivating solution to start centralizing data.  In addition, adding an element of competition among branches could spur more activity. Developing a far-reaching engagement campaign to capture basic customer information is another tactic to start building business intelligence. Knowing this is going to be a long journey is important as well.  

Measurements for Success:

Finally, we need to understand how you define success. Does it have to hit a certain ROI or percentage of overall sales? For employee retention, what’s the golden length of time an individual stays that makes the program worthwhile? Without metrics – soft or hard – the success of a program isn’t tangible. If you can’t measure the outcome it’s hard to make meaningful adjustments to the program rules. Metrics can be very bottom-line type measurements tied to sales numbers, new customers or percent of market share. They can also be tied to engagement ideals like website visits and read email percentages. You can also measure an emotional connection. Has participating in this program made someone happier, feel better about their job or motivated them to improve? We have a whole blog with insight from Bob Graham on how important metrics are for measurement.

Client Q is part of the fencing industry and wanted to build stronger relationships with its customers, as well as, increase revenue across the board.  New owners, acquisitions and mergers in recent years led to some organizational adjustments and lack of consistent customer interactions. The solution included a preferred buyer incentive program where customers earned a travel experience that included an on-site Buying Show with our client’s best vendors. Customers have access to show-only deals, networking time with other fencing contractors and company executives. There are training sessions, interactive social functions and world-class entertainment. The results not only have showed increased revenue since the program started 10 years ago (including year over year sales growth), but also increased engagement from customers who want to attend each year. In fact, this client’s million dollar customers grew from 12% to 25% of their attendees. Those are some great metrics for measurement!  

Overall, having the proper rules in place not only creates incredible benefits for the current program but far into the future too.

• Minimize risk of going over budget
• Drive desired behavior changes
• Create a predictable return on investment
• Build goodwill within the channel

For more examples of how successful rules influences actual programs, please visit our Case Studies page on MotivationExcellence.com. We are here to help you create a meaningful, robust and successful program! Please reach out if you have any questions: ME@MotivationExcellence.com.