Travel Incentives Can Boost Performance and Retention

Incentives have a clear, measurable and positive impact on employee performance and retention. Results from a recently conducted Incentive Research Foundation(IRF) study of one company’s long-standing use of incentive travel awards as a motivational tool provide a clear understanding of the broad reach of a successful incentive travel program (ITP).

One key measurement of program success was its relationship to retention and performance. Examining the tenure and performance ratings of 105 employees who earned the incentive trip at the company, researchers found that the largest group had a performance rating of 1 (1 being the highest level of performance and 4 the lowest level of performance) and tenure of 4 years or more, while the second largest group had a performance rating of 2 and tenure of 4 years or more. Together, these two groups accounted for 55% of incentive travel earners, showing a very real correlation between incentives, longevity and quality.

In other words, ITP participants tend to perform better and stay with the company longer than other employees. Overall, 88.5% of incentive travel earners had a performance level of 1 or 2 compared to 31.2% of the population of active critical employees with those same performance ratings. For a copy of the white paper, “Anatomy of a Successful Incentive Travel Program,” go to www.TheIrf.org.