Imagine yourself on the trip of a lifetime with a loved one or a friend. Perhaps you’ve always wanted to visit the beaches of Thailand or marvel at the beauty of Alaskan glaciers. Now imagine your company picking up the tab for the entire trip. That would be amazing, wouldn’t it? These types of employee rewards are often known as corporate travel incentive programs. Developing these programs, with the help of Andavo Meetings & Incentives (AMI), Christopherson Business Travel’s meetings, groups, and incentive travel division, can be a smart business move for several reasons. Keep reading to learn more!
What is Incentive Travel?
Businesses use a corporate travel incentive as a reward for accomplishing a goal. Incentive travel rewards work just like bonuses or other motivational tactics in the workplace. They drive up productivity and reward strong work ethics. For example, a business could offer a travel incentive once an employee hits a certain number of sales or achieves a specific goal. The trips could be purely for vacation or combined with a few company events for a fun work getaway.
Why Use Incentive Travel Programs
When it comes to rewarding your employees for their hard work, you could just give them cash or another type of gift. But vacations provide unique opportunities for employees and even benefits for the company. If you’re looking for some reasons to use corporate travel incentive programs, here are a few:
Perks for Employees
Offering business travel incentive programs to your employees can have a different effect than cash bonuses and gifts. One reason it’s a great choice is that an amazing trip is a special occasion for people. It gives employees something to look forward to. It also gives them an opportunity to travel to places they might not otherwise visit and make memories with a friend, family member, or co-workers.
Once they’ve earned a trip with their hard work, they’ll look back on these memories and can use them as motivation to work toward their next trip. Those winning employees also help motivate other team members who may not have won that particular trip but realize they want to try for a future incentive opportunity because they don’t want to miss out.
Benefits for the Company
Why should you spend time and money establishing corporate travel incentive programs for your employees? You may be surprised to know that establishing such a program can offer a multitude of benefits for your company on top of being a great perk for your employees.
Boost employee engagement – One of the first benefits of establishing a corporate travel incentive program is boosting employee engagement. Giving your employees experiences encourages excitement and can be a powerful way to motivate them.
Strengthen your company as a team – If employees earn a trip together, they are able to get excited about the trip and make plans together. It becomes a focal point and highlight for the year. Earned vacations generate discussion and interest that help to motivate employees.
Draw top talent for your company and retain employees – Employees participating in corporate travel incentive programs experience increased loyalty to their company and have a higher opinion of their workplace. Incentive travel photos are often shared on social media for others to see which enhances your company’s image. When you offer great rewards like these vacation experiences to employees, you establish yourself as a positive company to work for and can generate interest for potential employees. It’s also a great way to retain employees as they work towards their next trip.
Factors to Consider when Deciding on Incentive Travel Programs
When deciding on implementing corporate travel incentive programs, there are a few things to consider. You’ll want to establish a program that delivers on its goals, provides a return on investment, and draws interest and excitement. Consider these following factors when selecting an incentive travel program:
Ask your staff for feedback – Business travel incentive programs only work if your employees want to go on the trips you’ve planned. AMI can help you identify a business travel incentive program that your employees will want to achieve. You can also survey your team members to get ideas for destinations and activities that appeal to them.
Establish the goals of your program – In our exploratory phase, AMI will help you outline clear goals that you’d like the employees to reach in order to achieve the travel reward. Because travel reward programs are an investment, having clear goals allows you to identify and assess your ROI. Keeping employees updated on their progress toward these goals will help boost their motivation to work towards them.
Explore vendors to find the perfect fit – While plenty of incentive travel companies offer packages claiming to take away the hassle of corporate travel planning, not all offerings are the best option for your company’s needs. AMI’s connections around the world deliver access to best-in-class experiences and accommodations, and each incentive trip planned is unique to your goals and objectives.
Request a Corporate Travel Incentive Planning Meeting
AMI’s incentive travel planning begins and ends with your goals, and your people, in mind. Our strategic, personalized approach allows us to focus on the purpose behind your incentive trip and deliver an extraordinary experience your employees will never forget. Visit andavomeetings.com or speak with our planners today for more information.
Here we go again. The holidays probably added five or ten pounds and now it’s the New Year and all of us road warriors are back to traveling every other week. But how are we ever going to get those pounds off and stay in shape?
Honestly, do you remember every gift you received for Christmas last year or for your birthday? I dare say most of us would not. But do you remember that last vacation you took with your family or friends? I am sure you do. Memories last forever.
I recently saw a bumper sticker that read, “It’s all About my Dog,” and oh, how I could relate! For me, it’s all about my pet Hank. Without me realizing it, Hank has slowly begun to control my life over the last four years and has somehow became a member of the family. People say pets become like children. At first, I didn’t believe this statement, but now I think it’s worse than that. My children have never kept me from taking a vacation, but every time we think about going out of town, the big dilemma is: Who is going to watch Hank and will they keep him at their house or will we be able to find someone willing to stay at our house because, of course, it’s better for Hank to be at ‘his’ house.
