How do you motivate your staff? At first glance, the answer seems obvious: if people work for money, they should be motivated to increase their income. And this is true. But not always. Studies show that the motivational budget of most companies consists of 80% of salary and various benefits. According to surveys, 64% of employees prefer money as the main type of incentive from the employer. But at the same time, the majority of employees perceive money simply as a reward for work done. If you are counting on long-term loyalty and emotional attachment of the employee to the company – use types of motivation that give the employee emotions and impressions. For example, use travel and trips as incentives.
So how can incentive travel motivate employees? Let’s explore:
- Traveling gives positive emotions. Studies show that 80% of all cash bonuses and bonuses are spent by employees to pay bills or buy household items. And after a few months, most of them will hardly remember that such a bonus was paid at all. While cash bonuses are often spent on paying utility bills, buying groceries or another suit, traveling brings new impressions, a burst of positive energy, and unforgettable memories.
- Travel creates an upbeat atmosphere in the office long before the trip. Often the budget for a regular award and a travel trip is about the same, but the strength and duration of the emotions from such rewards differs many times over.
- Incentive travel can be a unique benefit to a company. Employees who work for companies that utilize incentive travel are less likely to move on to a competitor. Thus, the employer gets an increase in staff loyalty to the company and a decrease in employee turnover.
- Motivational travel allows employees to spend time together in an informal setting, get to know each other better, socialize on various topics, and network. Ultimately, traveling together helps employees become an effective team! And the company will receive a positive effect in the form of increased productivity due to the atmosphere of mutual support and effective communication in such a team.
- Although monetary incentives provide instant fulfillment of employee expectations, the motivational effect of them fades away just as quickly. “Easy come, easy go” is a proverb that is just as apt to describe cash bonuses. The positive effect of incentive travel lasts for months. And not only after the trip, but also before it – because waiting for a pleasant event always gives a sense of anticipation and positive emotions!
- Travel and trips can be not only enjoyable, but also useful – if they are tailored to the specifics of each particular company. For example, employees of an event agency will learn many times more about what a bright and emotional holiday is if they go on an incentive trip to a Brazilian carnival. And environmentalists will be able to get a closer look at the problems of global warming or pollution if they visit the last corner of our planet practically untouched by man – Antarctica. No trainings or informative articles on the subject will give as much knowledge and experience as can be gained during one trip. So motivational trips can be used not only as a reward, but also as a learning experience for employees.
- Traveling together boosts the overall team spirit of the employees. They help employees to perk up and get a new boost of energy and inspiration after crisis periods, organizational changes or simply after a long and gray winter.
- Motivational tours give employees a breath of fresh air. Workaholic employees who work too intensively, often overtime and without days off, become less efficient. At some point, they become physically exhausted, and emotional burnout occurs. Traveling gives a reboot effect, which is vital in such situations, and employees return more motivated and productive than they were before. Replenished energy reserves give employees the strength and inspiration to conquer new heights!
- Traveling saves money. If you count all the benefits that come with incentive travel, the overall positive effect is far greater than that of a simple cash bonus.
- Choosing the right travel destination decides a lot of things. No matter how much you want your employees to improve their education and learn more historical facts and useful information, you should not send them to places associated with wars, accidents and destruction, human tragedies. Choose fun and positive places where you can easily combine active entertainment and doing nothing under the bright sun with a glass of margarita in hand. Such trips make employees happy. And happy employees mean high productivity, increased sales and, ultimately, increased profits for the company.
- Incentive travel is extra PR for your company. Happy employees will tell about their trip to their relatives, friends, yoga coach and just everyone they know. After all, they are so eager to share the vivid impressions of a wonderful trip! And the more they talk about it, the better for the employer’s reputation. Incentive trips for employees are additional bricks in the positive image of the company in the labor market. In the future, this will help to attract qualified employees with an active life position to the organization.
Of course, there are situations when monetary incentives for employees are more preferable. For example, during a crisis in the country, when employees are struggling to tighten their belts to pay their utility bills or children’s education expenses. In such cases, rewarding travel would be inappropriate and employees would perceive it as wasteful and a “feast during the plague”. Therefore, when planning motivational trips, it is important to take into account the economic situation in the country, as well as the working and living conditions of the staff. Only then will such a trip really become an effective tool to encourage and motivate staff.
