Regular Feedback Vital to Incentive Programs’ Success, Poll Finds

While two-thirds of workers surveyed believe an incentive program would make them less likely to leave an employer and motivate them to be more productive, more than half are unhappy with their companies’ current programs, according to a recent poll conducted by Maritz Research.

The research arm of loyalty marketing specialist Maritz Inc., based in St. Louis, also found that a lack of regular communication can cause a dramatic decrease in satisfaction among incentive program participants. The two most common pitfalls were communicating program guidelines only at the beginning of a program and offering progress reports only at the end, the survey found.

“Frequent and effective communication in incentive programs is important to keep employees focused on their goals as well as to reengage them in the program,” says Jane Herod, president of Maritz Incentives.

Two-thirds of incentive participants who received weekly communications about their program were happy with it, as opposed to one-third of those who only received a kick-off message. In addition, 61 percent of the survey’s respondents were happy with incentive programs that offered weekly reports on their progress towards reaching personal goals, as opposed to 39 percent who were satisfied with programs that only reported success or failure at the end of a program.

The survey also found that three-quarters of employees preferred a program that allowed them to select an award from a catalog over programs with one pre-selected award.