The Site International Foundation has released the first SITE Index: Annual Survey results. Following three topical Site Index focus studies, this annual analysis and forecast for the motivational events industry provides a broader data set of trends and reveals priorities placed on significant topics such as the strength of motivational tools (travel experiences, cash, merchandise, gift cards), ROI, buyer decisions, cruise products, green incentives and more. Some highlights: A majority (62%) of respondents expect an increase in motivational travel use in the next six to 12 months, with 84% predicting improvement in a one- to three-year span. These findings continue to demonstrate a high expectation that the requirement for measurement will increase in both the short and long term. "The results indicate the marketplace is improving," says Steve O'Malley, SITE International Foundation Vice President/Research Committee Chair, and Vice President, General Manager, Maxvantage. "They forecast the changing landscape of a heightened awareness around green incentives and a necessity to incorporate business meetings or similar components. With each study we seem to unlock new nuggets of actionable information, such as that 88% of respondents agree that the effectiveness of any motivational tool varies based on the generation being engaged. Every practitioner and user of incentive travel needs to include more elements of choice in their programs to appeal to the diversity in today's workforce. That's what this project is about, triggering meaningful conversations about the way we go to market." Complete survey results are available at @@http://www.siteglobal.com/
Anticipating greater emphasis on talent management and competition for key talent, employers are planning to reshape their talent programs as the economy shifts out of the recessionary period, according to the new Future of Talent Management Survey from Mercer. Just over half of employers indicate their organizations either have emerged from the recession and are in growth mode (17%) or are emerging from the recession and preparing for growth (36%); another 26% said that they were never out of growth mode, as their organizations were not significantly affected by the economic downturn. One-fifth (22%) said that they're still in recession mode. Moreover, most organizations are planning changes to their talent programs in response to the downturn, although they're at different stages in terms of identifying and implementing these changes. In both the U.S. and Europe, more than 70% intend to make changes to leadership training, workforce training, employee engagement, recruiting, retention, rewards and performance management programs. Nearly as many are planning to make changes to their career and mobility programs. To download regional summaries of the Future of Talent Management Survey, go to @@http://www.mercer.com/readytorebound
Steve LaMotta, a veteran in the talent management and marketing professions, has joined the Enterprise Engagement Alliance as Executive Director. LaMotta will direct sponsorship activities to help better connect organizations that need engagement solutions with those that provide them. Allan Schweyer will remain the organization's Research Chair, and Bruce Bolger its Managing Director. LaMotta has had a unique range of experience in talent management, marketing, and sales. He previously served as Vice President, Development and Alliances, for the Human Capital Institute (HCI), where he was instrumental in tripling the organization's revenues. Prior to HCI, LaMotta was a key member of the HRsmart executive team, responsible for business development, alliances, business process and professional services. He has held the positions of Managing Partner at HR Alliance, Co-Founder and President at Staffing.org, Inc., and VP Business Development at Bernard Hodes Group and People Solutions, Inc. As EEA Executive Director, LaMotta will focus specifically on EEA activities related to helping organizations in consumer, employee, and find solutions and promoting the development of an industry of specialists equipped to provide engagement solutions in all business audiences. The EEA's sponsorship program provides numerous ways for specialists to share their expertise and connect with organizations that can benefit from their services in all areas of external and internal marketing. "The financial benefits of engaging people across the organization comes from the careful integration of many areas of the business ecosystem, including the customer, channel partners, employees, the vendors, and community along with multiple tactics, from leadership, training and communications to rewards, recognition, and technology," says LaMotta. "I look forward to helping organizations find solutions and assisting engagement specialists of all types to expand their businesses by helping their clients succeed."
In the July 2010 issue of Contact Center Pipeline – a monthly journal for Contact Center Managers – Editor Susan Hash authored an article on Employee Engagement, citing data and programs from Allegiance and other engagement industry experts. The article provides real-life examples of customer service and call center situations that were positively impacted by engagement and Allegiance's "Voice of Employee" (VOE) program. To read the full article, go to: @@http://www.allegiance.com/documents/news/CCP201007.pdf
The Enterprise Engagement Alliance is inviting corporate practitioners to join executives from all areas of business and government to participate in a Delphi panel to help develop a curriculum and certification process in the emerging field of Enterprise Engagement. EEA's goal is to use a highly collaborative and automated process to create a formal curriculum and certification for both individuals and organizations, covering a number of engagement audiences and tactics. Delphi panelists will be invited to participate in a 90-minute webinar sponsored by William Patterson University's graduate school of business and the Russ Berrie Institute of Sales in the fall of 2010. Participants will receive recognition for their contributions in several ways. The curriculum will list the Delphi panelists by name, title and organization, and EEA will issue national press releases citing the contribution of the panel, including quotes from panelists. Panelists will also be acknowledged in multiple webcasts targeted at human capital professionals. The curriculum has the potential to be presented to thousands of people, and Delphi panelists will have the opportunity to participate in the learning and certification process. For answers to your questions, or to get involved, contact info@enterpriseengagement.org or call 914-591-7600, ext. 230.
Billions are spent each year by Corporate America to improve engagement and enhance performance of people with incentives, rewards, recognition, loyalty programs, meetings and events. Ironically, few companies measure the results, let alone ROI... until now. Presented by ROI of Engagement in cooperation with Virtual Edge Institute, SenseiROI, and Gaelstorm Software Solutions, the ROI of Engagement Summit will reveal how to successfully measure ROI of engagement programs using a proven and credible methodology, as well as offer attendees strategies to deploy an enterprise-wide discipline of results measurement. Through the use of continuous improvement principals and real life ROI case studies, this day-long workshop will help you initiate change and implement best practices to maximize the impact of engagement programs
Presenters will include: • Donald Hindman, former CEO of Clark National • Michael Doyle, Executive Director, Virtual Edge Institute • Allan Schweyer, Chairman, Enterprise Engagement Alliance • Peter O'Connell, CEO, Gaelstorm Software Solutions • Todd Hanson, President and Founder, ROI of Engagement
Tuesday, October 12 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM W475b / Level 4, McCormick West
Cost: $899 (In-Person Masters Package: Includes two books on ROI, Tuesday Keynote Luncheon, Networking Reception, plus half day mentoring to apply ROI in your business); $349 (In-Person Attendees: Includes two books on ROI, Tuesday Keynote Luncheon and Networking Reception); $99 (Remote Attendees: Can't make it to Chicago? Join us remotely using an innovative virtual event platform)
Register at: @@http://www.RoIofEngagement.com/RoISummit
The Enterprise Engagement Alliance (EEA) recently announced that research measuring the return on investment (ROI) of an annual meeting of healthcare insurance brokers that stressed training, relationship-building and networking opportunities found the sponsoring company enjoyed a return of almost $2 for every $1 invested in the program. Initial results reported in March revealed that the program had a profound impact on the way brokers thought and felt about the company, its products and its people. Part 1 of the report, The 'ROI in Channel Partner' Conferences – A Case Study, noted that the annual gathering translated into higher sales, performance and engagement among those who attended. Part 2 of the report examines the actual change in sales of Allsante, Inc.* products among program participants, summarizing the ROI the company achieved from the event. EEA analysis of the methodologies and findings reveals that Allsante earned significant ROI from its annual event. "After all variables were accounted for, a highly credible and conservative estimate of 190% ROI was arrived at," says Allan Schweyer, Chairman of the EEA. "In other words, the company enjoyed a return of almost $2 for every $1 it invested in the first six months following the event, and our researchers say it's likely that the returns, if calculated after another six months have passed, will be even greater." Parts 1 and 2 of the study, The 'ROI in Channel Partner' Conferences – A Case Study, can be downloaded at @@http://www.enterpriseengagement.org/
* The company in this report is referred to as "Allsante, Inc." at the firm's request, due to competitive reasons.
The September/October issue of Engagement Strategies Magazine will be out soon! Here's a look at what you'll find inside:
William Schiemann, CEO of Metrus Group, notes that many firms exhibit some decline in employee engagement – and it costs them dearly. Research demonstrates that when engagement plummets, customer service, quality and productivity also drop, while costs and employee turnover rise. A recent cross-industry study conducted by Metrus Group found performance differences of nearly 10% between organizations where employee engagement was high and those with low-engagement operations. Many employers thought that with unemployment hovering at 10%, people would be delighted just to have a paycheck. And they were correct – up to a point. Many employees are delighted to have a paycheck, but it doesn't mean they're satisfied, committed or even engaged with the organization. To make sure you get your copy of Engagement Strategies Magazine, go to @@http://www.enterpriseengagement.org/account/login/ and update your subscription today!
Caught up in the backlash against the major corporations whose questionable business practices helped precipitate the current economic crisis, the image of meetings and incentive trips in the general media has largely been one of excess and irresponsibility – right up there with exorbitant bonuses, private jets and company limos on the list of things people think of when they hear the words "corporate greed." So how does the industry fight that perception? Many ideas have been proposed, but one seems to offer more promise than the others – find ways to "humanize" meetings and incentives, make them less about money and excess and more about people and service. The recent rise of Corporate Social Responsibility offers that opportunity...
For GAP Inc. and its stores, engagement is part of the definition of a high-performing employee. "We think of a high-performing employee as one who is very engaged," notes Marko Satarain, the company's Director of Talent Management. "If they're engaged they'll produce more and stay longer. So there's a business imperative as to why we would want to hire and retain a high-performing or highly engaged employee. If an employee is engaged, we know their productivity levels will be higher than the norm, they'll stay with us longer and it will actually influence and inspire their contemporaries or counterparts to perform better as well." Read more in the next issue of Engagement Strategies Magazine – coming soon.
Results from a recently conducted analysis of one company's long-standing use of travel awards as a motivational tool show that such incentives have a clear, measurable and positive impact on employee performance and retention. The Incentive Research Foundation conducted the study to document the "anatomy" of an incentive travel program (ITP) and provide a better understanding of the broad reach of a successful ITP. One key measurement of program success was its relationship to retention and performance. Examining the tenure and performance ratings of 105 employees who earned the incentive trip at the company, researchers found that the largest group had a performance rating of 1 (1 being the highest level of performance and 4 the lowest level of performance) and tenure of 4 years or more, while the second largest group had a performance rating of 2 and tenure of 4 years or more. Together, these two groups accounted for 55% of incentive travel earners, showing a very real correlation between incentives, longevity and quality – in other words, ITP participants tend to perform better and stay with the company longer than other employees. Overall, 88.5% of incentive travel earners had a performance level of 1 or 2 compared to 31.2% of the population of active critical employees with those same performance ratings. For a copy of the white paper, Anatomy of a Successful Incentive Travel Program, go to: @@http://www.TheIrf.org
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