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engagement industry briefs

CATEGORIZE REWARDS
A recent study by Professor Scott S. Wiltermuth at USC’s
Marshall School of Business has revealed an important strategy
for increasing performance. Wiltermuth says that offering
rewards in defned categories – even when they’re largely
meaningless – can heighten motivation. Even if the rewards
are similar – and the categories arbitrary – the very act of
segmenting rewards motivates people to perform better and
longer, even on menial tasks. Wiltermuth’s study, I’ll Have
One of Each: How Separating Rewards into (Meaningless)
Categories Increases Motivation, co-authored with Francesca
Gino, Associate Professor of business administration at Harvard
University, was recently published in the Journal of Personality
and Social Psychology. Through the study, Wiltermuth and
Gino found that individuals were more motivated by obtaining
one reward from one category and an additional reward from
a separate category than by choosing two rewards from a
pool that included all items from either reward category. As
a result, they worked longer when potential rewards for work
were separated into categories regardless of the prize value.
INCENTIVE TRAVEL Categorizing rewards had positive effects on motivation by
increasing the degree to which participants felt they would
“Motivational programs that fail are often the victim of poor “miss out” if they did not obtain the second reward.
program design in areas like rule structure, award selection,
promotion and measurement,” notes Jane Schuldt, President
of the Site International Foundation, which recently released
a study, Incentive Travel: The Smart Business Proposition, as
part of its Incentives Move Business series. The paper focuses
on how well-designed incentive travel and motivational events
can help companies achieve corporate business objectives and
provide a measurable return on investment. “Understanding
the objectives of a program, how they align with overall
compensation and recognition, and defning what motivates
participants are keys to a program’s success,” notes Schuldt.

Fulfillment The American Management Association posted

CULTURE WARS PART 2

Simplified an article by Marie Peeler of Peeler Associates
noting that “organizational culture permeates
everything that a team does, but nowhere does it
enable or inhibit progress more than around the
strategy table. Organizational culture determines
Get the hottest in-demand brands, like Sol Republic, who will speak up and who will remain silent,
at distributor direct pricing. whether all facts will be brought to the table,
Get it personalized, gift wrapped or drop-shipped. and whether the team engages in dialogue or
advocacy. Organizational culture can make sure
Get 24-hour order turnaround on in-stock merchandise that certain taboo topics never see the light of
with no minimums. day until they potentially sabotage the plan.“
Get a fulfillment partner that makes doing business easy. She then outlines a number of ways that leaders
can help ensure an organizational culture that is
Over 100 brands, including... ultimately conducive to strong and meaningful
strategic planning.

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8 engagement strategies Vol.17 Issue 4
Engagment Strategies 11-15-13_v2.indd 1 10/17/13 2:15 PM