Picture this: Your top sales representatives and their spouses arrive to an all-inclusive Caribbean Resort where they are greeted with a cool towel, rum punch, and the sounds of a Jamaican Steel Drum Band. Upon checking in, they are welcomed with friendly smiles from the GEM Team who distribute a company branded Welcome Bag filled with information regarding their stay: a custom agenda outlining a beachfront Welcome Reception, a Catamaran Snorkel Sail, tee times, spa appointments, and a highly anticipated Awards Dinner. What better way to thank your employees for a job well done and motivate them to “Sell, sell, sell!”
According to The Incentive Research Foundation, “Travel has emerged as a top motivator for the modern workforce. In 2015 a study of a national cross-section of 452 working adults used experimental design to more deeply understand the motivational preferences of U.S. employees. The study clearly showed that when being rewarded for ‘above and beyond’ performance lasting over a year, on average U.S. employees preferred most often to be rewarded with travel or experiential awards – beating out cash significantly.”
Incentive Travel Statistics
- 46% of U.S. businesses use incentive travel, spending $22.5 billion annually.
- Organizations that provide non-cash rewards such as incentive travel have three times higher revenue increases than those that don’t.
- One hundred percent of “best-in-class” companies (those with the highest customer retention and sales growth numbers) offer group travel to recognize year-end sales success.
- Properly designed and executed incentive travel programs can increase sales productivity by 18% and produce an ROI of 112%.