Incentive Publications PM40801507 - Manual (Page 12)

2007 W W W . I M A C A N A D A . C A
12
Y
ou probably have an exhaustive amount of demo-
graphic information about your clients: how old they
are, where they live, what they do, how much they
earn and, most importantly, what they like. But do
you have the same sort of information about your
employees?
When you’re designing or revising an incentive program,
your employees are your clients–and it’s just as important
to understand them if you want to motivate, inspire and
retain them.
“This is about being able to capture someone’s imagina-
tion and attention,” says Kerry Shapansky, president and
CEO of Pareto Corp. of Toronto. A
Pareto subsidiary, Elevate, runs
Aeroplan-based incentive pro-
grams for some 50 companies.
These days, many work-
places are more diverse than
ever before. Baby boomers rub
shoulders with Generation Y,
new Canadians with old money,
luxury lovers with granola
crunchers…the list is end-
less. And among this increas-
ingly varied group, one per-
son’s treasured reward might
hold no interest for his or her
colleague.
WHAT’S YOUR TYPE?
In a recent U.S. study, Maritz Inc.
found that employees could be grouped
into six broad incentive “types,” as follows.
Award seekers (22 per cent of employees
surveyed) are younger, on average, than members of other
groups. Almost six in 10 are female. They like rewards
with both trophy and monetary value, such as gift cards
and trips, but aren’t terribly interested in workplace-
based rewards, such as mentoring opportunities.
Nesters (20 per cent) are a bit older than average, and
slightly more than half are male. Very family-focused, they
dislike conferences and incentive trips that take them
away from home. Rewards that help them balance work
and family responsibilities, such as flextime, will appeal to
them. They also like treats they can share, such as restau-
rant dinners.
Bottom liners (19 per cent) could be described as the
“show me the money” crowd. Often dissatisfied with their
jobs, they respond to cash bonuses and programs that let
them earn points to trade for merchandise. Almost six in
10 are female.
Freedom yearners (17 per cent) are almost the direct
opposites of bottom liners. They’re not really interested in
money or merchandise, probably because they already have
lots of both—22 percent of them earn six figures, the
largest proportion of high earners among the groups. The
majority are male and/or over 45 years old. Flextime, con-
ferences and opportunities to take on challenging projects
inspire them.
Praise cravers (16 per cent) take pride in a job well
done, so praise from peers and bosses motivates them
more than anything, including money, trips, merchandise
and flextime. Slightly more than half are male.
Upward movers (8 per cent) have the greatest job satis-
faction of any group. They want to stay with their company
and move up the ladder. Almost seven in 10 are male,
about one third are executives, and more than
four in 10 are under 35. Cash, days off
and flextime don’t appeal to them.
They prefer status awards, meals
with senior executives and oppor-
tunities to work with people out-
side their area.
From this list, it’s clear that
the days of the “one size fits
all” incentive program are long
gone. So how do you evalu-
ate your employee mix and
develop a program to match? In a
nutshell: ask questions, and be
flexible, observant, objective and
inclusive.
ASK QUESTIONS
Years ago, companies planning incentive travel
simply picked a destination and gave employees a regis-
tration form they could use to provide information on their
travel companion and preferred activities. “That type of
incentive can’t be handled in the same way [now]. If you just
send out a registration form, it can backfire,” says Joni
Krueger, director business development, incentives and
groups, with Mississauga-based itravel2000, Canada’s
largest online travel retailer.
For example, printed registration forms for trips used to
be designed on the assumption that that employee’s travel
companion would be his or her opposite-sex spouse. But
these days, employees may ask to bring along a parent,
child, friend, sibling or same-sex spouse—and if the regis-
tration form doesn’t accommodate all the possibilities,
resentment may ensue.
Krueger’s company often creates a private Web site for
incentive travel clients that allows employees to fill out a
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