Resource Library

The Incentive Research Foundation (IRF) surveyed industry professionals during the month of April 2010, asking them about incentive travel programs, merchandise/non-cash programs, and ROI/budget considerations. The most promising data show that respondents appear to be more optimistic about the current economic climate than they were in either the Summer or Fall of last year. When asked, "In your opinion, what impact will the economy have on your ability to plan and implement incentive travel programs?" 69% say it will have a positive impact vs. only 33% in the Fall of 2009 and just 24% in the Summer of 2009. Similarly, those who say the economy will have a positive impact on merchandise/non-cash incentive programs increased from 20% (Summer '09) and 26% (Fall '09) to 41% currently. Still, one-third of those surveyed predict that budgets for incentive travel will decrease this year, while 37% say they'll remain unchanged. Things were a little better on the merchandise/non-cash side, where only 22% expect a decline (down from 51%), while 40% predict an increase and 37% say they see no change in budgets. This indicates that although there's an uptick in optimism about the economy in general, it may not translate into more money for programs – at least not in the near term. ... [ read more ]

Social media, blogs, and e-newsletter technology enable almost any organization to become its own media company to generate leads, enhance thought leadership, build relationships and enhance sales ratios. Very few in business implement strategic integrated communications programs, often because they lack the people with the journalistic and other content creation skills needed for effective content marketing or they fail to integrate the communications programs into their sales and support process. ... [ read more ]

The federal income tax considerations for incentive programs are often overlooked. While it is difficult to give technical tax advice that would apply equally to all incentive programs, following certain general income tax principles can make an incentive program more successful and avoid unpleasant surprises.... [ read more ]

Section 274(j) of the Internal Revenue Code contains specific rules on the tax treatment of “employee achievement awards.” As a general rule, the employer cannot deduct employee achievement awards, unless they meet certain criteria.... [ read more ]

This paper introduces the discipline of "People Performance Management" as developed by the Forum for People Performance Management and Measurement, a unit of the Integrated Marketing Communications Department of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. People Performance Management refers to an integrated process designed to help firms maximize long-term financial performance through a strategic focus on their most valuable asset -- human capital.... [ read more ]

Are there differences in how a computer manufacturer plans and implements an incentive program versus how a pharmaceutical company or new car dealer does? What about a commercial banking operation, insurance agency or a telecommunications company? Are there processes, types of incentives used, or other nuances that are unique to these markets? Which industries are more likely to develop their programs in-house, as opposed to securing an outside vendor? The Vertical Market Study attempts to answer these and other questions. It provides a full report on how the six specific industries planned and implemented incentive travel, motivational meetings and special events.... [ read more ]

This study, conducted by Frank Mulhern on behalf of the Promotion Marketing Association with the support of the Forum, identified key challenges facing organizations attempting to fully integrate external and internal marketing.... [ read more ]

This white paper highlights four key areas that impact organizational adoption of integrated marketing and motivate employees to think about and cooperate with integrated marketing efforts beyond their functional silos.... [ read more ]

This paper looks at the types and applications of gift cards and gift certificates and reviews the research that points to the efficacy of gift certificates and cards in achieving business results. Gift certificates and cards have been shown to increase sales, improve employee performance and build loyalty, foster teamwork, and create new markets, among others.... [ read more ]

Despite hundreds of billions of dollars spent annually by organizations to engage employees and customers, numerous independent research studies find that neither employee nor customer engagement have improved appreciably in more than a decade. ... [ read more ]

Relying heavily on advertising revenue and contracts to maintain programming excellence, Viacom knew they needed a special program to combat diminishing business due to the soft economy and failing technology sector. Utilizing the concept of “Themed Time Travel,” Incentive Travel created a program for Viacom that built business with its top advertisers while creating a "once in a lifetime" travel experience even among a well- traveled audience. ... [ read more ]

Conceived in the 1990s, the concept of Total Rewards represented a revolution in thinking related to compensation that to this day has not been fulfilled at many organizations, that is: a strategic, holistic approach to compensation that considers every aspect of the employee experience and his or her capabilities and potential contributions to the organization. ... [ read more ]

Managed by Synchro since 2002, the Toyota Sales Society 2007 program encompassed all customer-facing Vehicle Sales and AfterSales (accessories, parts, service) staff in TMC Australia’s 224 dealerships. This includes 3,539 retail and fleet sales managers, retail and fleet sales consultants, parts managers, parts sales representatives, parts interpreters, service managers, service advisors; and used vehicle managers from every state in Australia.... [ read more ]

The opulent Hotel Carlton served as the qualifiers' home in Cannes, a city renowned for its international film festival. The itinerary featured customized activities, including the London Pacific Video Challenge. Teams were assigned a classic film title and told to create a video around it. Finished films edited by professionals premiered at the final night's gala. ... [ read more ]

Each year in the United States, organizations spend tens of billions of dollars on cash and non-cash rewards for consumer, distributor, sales and employee incentive programs –merchandise, gift cards, group and individual travel programs, time off, cash, etc. But few organizations invest the necessary time to understand which rewards should be used for which people to encourage what outcomes... [ read more ]

WorldatWork is the world's leading not-for-profit professional association dedicated to knowledge leadership in total rewards, compensation, benefits, and work-life. Founded in 1955, WorldatWork focuses on human resources disciplines associated with attracting, motivating and retaining employees. Besides serving as the membership association of the professions, the WorldatWork family of organizations provides education, certification, publications, knowledge resources, surveys, conferences, research and networking. ... [ read more ]

This "model" human capital report condenses the longer profile of the "ideal" practitioner of Stakeholder Capitalism - a fabricated organization known as IMC, an integrated communications company. See ESM: -"The Perfect Company: Anatomy of an Ideal Practitioner of Stakeholder Capitalism." This model was created to help organizations of all sizes visualize the format and contents of a human capital report based on ISO 30414 Human Capital reporting standards for employees and ISO 10018 People Engagement standards for customers, channel and supply chain partners, and communities. ... [ read more ]

A critical element of Enterprise Engagement involves studying the diverse audiences and specific engagement levers that need to be addressed in order to understand the facts behind certain key assumptions. Research plays a major role in that effort. ... [ read more ]

A fundamental premise of Stakeholder Capitalism and Human Capital Management and measurement is that organizations with higher levels of people engagement do better. HCMoneyBall, which created the SaaS platform known as HCMetrix for human capital analytics and benchmarking, provides a free calculator enabling any organization to track its Human Capital ROI (HCROI) and the potential impact on financial performance.... [ read more ]

Employee surveys have the potential to help companies understand the relationship between human capital and the bottom line. Yet, if not managed carefully, surveys may fail to realize their potential as strategic organizational tools. Why? Because many organizations are successful in designing reasonable questionnaires, generating high participation rates and gathering a lot of good information. But where survey processes most commonly break down is in the “hand off” between a survey team, perhaps working with the assistance of an outside consultant, and line managers throughout the organization.... [ read more ]

Avatar Solutions recently announced the results of its annual analysis of employee engagement levels in the U.S., finding that only 29.2% of employees surveyed were "Actively Engaged," 58.8% were "Partially Engaged" and 12% were "Actively Disengaged." ... [ read more ]

Few people in academia better understand the convergence of analytics and Enterprise Engagement than Charles Scherbaum, Associate Professor of Psychology at Baruch College and a member of the doctoral faculty at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Scherbaum, an early contributor to the Enterprise Engagement Alliance curriculum on analytics... [ read more ]

“Research Has Clearly and Consistently Proved the Direct Link Between Employee Engagement, Customer Satisfaction and Revenue Growth.” ~ Harvard Business Review, 2000 If there ever was a true debate around the linkage between employee engagement and organizational success, that debate has long since ceased.... [ read more ]

Even top corporate executives who are aware of engagement practices aren’t always aware of the financial return they can deliver. The Engaged Company Stock Index shows that companies with high levels of employee, customer and community engagement financially outperform ... [ read more ]

Gamification form Badgeville has released the results of an independent survey of over 500 business workers, ranging from entry-level employees to C-level executives, looking at the success of gamification across U.S. organizations. The results: 78% of workers are utilizing games-based motivation at work and nearly all (91%) say these systems improve... [ read more ]