Lack of training… acknowledgment… tediousness? These are the top whinge factors according to a recent study by training organisation Upskilled. Apparently these areas are giving employees plenty to complain about. Even worse, a good employee can easily turn into an infectious disgruntled character because of these, might leave and then go on to tell the world how bad you are.

The unhappiest employees, according to this survey are those from the travel, tourism, media, marketing and IT industries. Lack of proper training, no acknowledgment for good work and feeling bored are giving these employees reasons to gripe.

Of course long hours and work overload were amongst other grievances employees had.  And interestingly the study mentioned one in three doctors hated whiny co-workers, hospitality employees felt they didn’t have enough breaks and tradies grumbled about the lack of acknowledgment.  Those less inclined to moan about their jobs, or say… they’re happy employees, were farmers, law professionals and people involved in event management.

Employers should take note of what this survey revealed about the top reasons employees whinge and also what makes them chirpy. What it shows is that minor changes can create a major impact that changes the vibe of the workplace.

The study also showed that workers positively viewed the ability to work from home and also that massages appealed more than gyms or bars. Almost half of all survey participants commented they would like to see some sort of reward system introduced at work.

The final comment comes from Upskilled’s Director Michael Sexty: “Employers may not control every single aspect of the working environment, but they can make sure they are offering adequate training and providing acknowledgement for achievements within the workplace, in order to keep staff happy and motivated”. Read more here>>

We would like to hear your thoughts and what’s working for your employees?

2012 is just around the corner and now is the time to start planning, finalising budgets and engaging with key suppliers and stakeholders to implement all activities. Here are three things – although they may seem disjointed; I believe should be a priority in your considerations for your marketing mix.

1) During the last three years organisations have been cautious in the way they manage their budgets and skinny cows seem to be the norm. In reality the GFC took its toll, however we didn’t go into recession. Yes, we live in a multi-speed economy, so we need to deal with it. Plan and make sure you have a dual gear strategy. On one hand foster team spirit and improve employee morale – employees are also wearied by this economic turmoil. And on the other hand engender loyalty by demonstrating the value of your products and services. Customers want to ensure they are getting their monies worth.

2) Customers are marketing savvy and the digital era has allowed and encouraged this. Everyone is capable of driving their 15 minutes of fame via twitter, facebook, youtube, etc. Marketers have also adjusted to this new age of deeper customer engagement by tapping into social media. The key point here is to understand that consumers no longer separate marketing from the product – marketing is both the process and result, it is a product in itself. Customers don’t separate marketing from their in-store or online experience; it is the experience. In this new way of engagement, marketing is the company and the company is its people. Make sure your strategies encompass this relationship.

3) The guiding principle of all sales activities is to maximize time for selling and relationship building. Sounds obvious… but this is not always executed in the best way. Ensure your processes support your sales team so that they can focus on the job of selling and relationship building. 75% of a sales persons time is spent on pushing through stalled deals, scurrying for data to answer queries and cobbling together one-off proposals for even the simplest request. When planning your marketing mix don’t forget to look at the sales process so that they can focus on the task at hand – selling!

There are many more things to consider, but these three key points I believe are current, applicable and often overlooked.
I picked these three because: 1) your employee’s morale matters, this is the health check of your business and fundamental to its success; 2) today’s current marketing horizon is relevant and must be taken into consideration (as we are in a fast changing marketplace) and 3) focusing on and streamlining your sales peoples processes will drive your profits.

All the best and I wish you a good planning session.

What? Mocial? Yes, some marketers are using this newly coined term lately. The world is nowadays Mobile and Social. We learn, conduct business, manage finances, message, interact, share, etc. from our mobile phones, iPads or other tablets and do so via applications integrated into Google, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin … hi5, Bebo, Google+, Myspace, Skype, Tumbler, Foursquare, Blogger, Youtube, Flickr, Meetup, LastFM, Instagram, Friendster, Yammer … whew, you name! Btw, Wikipedia lists more than 200 major active social networking websites.

There’s a change into greener pastures for people to interact and transact. Their mobiles. Ruder Finn’s mobile Index Survey show that 91% of web users use their mobile web to socialise, 46% for mobile banking and 44% of youth shop over their mobile. According to Nielsen, social networks/blogs now account for one in every four and a half minutes online (22% online).

You get the point and this is no longer new knowledge… We are Mocial and so marketing incentives should embrace it. Commonly incentives have participants who work on the move, sales reps for example; however, people [whether office, site or mobile workers] look at their incentive programs after hours or during their breaks. 40% of our reward online redemptions happen during weekends or between 5pm to 10pm. The other 60% funnily enough happen around 1pm, lunch or after lunch. Which tells me that people are looking at their incentive programs and working towards their rewards or claiming them when they are doing their lifestyle things, not necessarily during work.

They look at these incentives when they are mobile, when they normally would web-socialise, message with friends, have spare time, etc., which reinforce my thoughts that incentive programs must consider the importance of utilizing mobile/social media components and facilities within programs to allow their participants to communicate, redeem, reward and engage.

When we see these numbers and I look at how often I use my own mobile devises, to do all of the above, I can only think that it all stacks up to develop better tools that could translate into mobile and social-network accessible programs. At the beginning of the year we did our first app. It gave access to participants of an incentive program into sales reports and achievements. As well, it had information on the reward and the program criteria. It was welcomed extremely positively, participants are happily using it and we are getting more enquiries on incentive apps. We didn’t develop a ‘redeem your reward section’ but I see it as the beginning of a new way to manage programs. A new way on how HR and Marketing departments conduct their business to assist in keeping people engaged.

Next month we are presenting a new app project again and hope to see more employee communication, loyalty and incentives MOCIAL solutions rolling out in the not too distant future.

Over the weekend I read a few articles about Bluescope Steel move regarding their plan to cut 1000 jobs. What grabbed my attention was the number of companies seizing the opportunity to source talent and offering different plans for the Illawarra workers.

According to the Illawarra Mercury, Bluescope plans to open a job centre to help workers find work elsewhere and more than 20 companies such as Rio Tinto, Joy Mining, Becker, Rheem and BHP Billiton have registered with hundreds of job vacancies.

Great outlet to assist these companies with the national skills shortage they face, so the bids to attract employees have commenced. Companies have to look at their offers if they want to attract this group of highly skilled employees who have also been classed among the safest workers in the country.

In my view, considerations to ensure these skilled workers choose the right company to work for should take into account not only commissions, bonuses and compensation but also non-cash incentives to attract and retain the new talent they are about to hire.

On the one hand, compensation packages allow employees to live – buy a house, pay the bills, maintain life, manage chores, go on a holiday, etc. That’s what a salary does and these employees will look at these facts with a transactional and functional approach. They will do some calculations when they evaluate a compensation system and compare the money to the work and their needs. No emotions involved, it’s cold, hard, transactional and impersonal. They will value your offer and match it to how much is worth to them.

Employees will face decisions and weigh up opportunities. They may have to move interstate, be away from their families for a period, reassess and look into their mortgages, retirement and other issues that need their attention. In this turmoil, neither companies nor employees should see this as a life rope being thrown to rescue their unemployment situation. Employees are skilled, savvy and confident. They know the mining industry will be after their talent and their decision to choose a company to work for won’t be done in a faint hearted manner.

The bigger question for the Employers is how to attract and keep skilled workers?

Whilst employees will work out the maths and see how the salary offers stack up against new employment opportunities, there are other factors and benefits that they will also be weighing up and mining companies must consider these when putting together their strategies. For an employee there is much more than just a salary when choosing an organisation to work for. They will also look at the emotional, non-transactional connections they can have with a new employer. They will look at factors beyond money – motives that address more than their basic salary needs but rather consider their individual and family goals and personal life matters. Mining companies need to find ways to drive their attractiveness with non-cash incentives, rewards, recognition and community programs that create an emotional, social relationship with potential employees and their families.

It’s hard to do the maths in your head to measure what a reward and recognition program is worth in monetary terms. Measuring how valuable perks are is difficult. For example, how much is it worth to have access to negotiated discounts on a wide range of products simply by being an employee of a company? What’s the worth of attending a company’s employee recognition ‘event’ every year? What is the true worth of an all-expenses-paid weekend-away for you and your partner, for simply changing a behaviour that improved safety? How would company A, that doesn’t offer a recognition program, stack up against company B that offers a program that rewards it’s employees for their loyalty, engagement and achievements? How about rewards for completing training? – The cost of any recognition program is cheaper when you compare it to the true cost that lack of skills, poor retention or low employee loyalty/engagement create for these companies.

Companies across the board mining or not should not confuse compensation with connection as these programs add value, create a sense of community and deeply connect with employees’ behaviour and emotions.

It would be narrow minded to think a salary package alone will entice skilled employees to choose a company. The truth is there are many different motives that will influence the Illawarra workers when they choose their next employer and the fact is they will be looking at the total package not just the salary.

The following five fundamental reasons explain why incentive programs, unlike other sales and marketing strategies, withstand economic downturns:

1. Low fixed costs, variable costs driven by performance, high potential return
2. Ability to effectively target audiences (no pay and spray)
3. Relative ease of measurement
4. Flexibility
5. Potential for both short-term and long-term results

To read the article in full, please visit here

The long and short of it is that a well implemented incentive program can effectively measure you real ROI and is beneficial in increasing your business’s bottom line.

These are challenging times and the market is tough no question, but it is also an ideal time to increase market share and for companies to differentiate themselves from their competitors.

In today’s environment it is increasingly difficult to achieve cut through that incites an action or elicits a response that is directly trackable to the $’s spent on achieving it. While above the line advertising works in getting customers into stores, there is no way of tracking or measuring any ROI.

Now more than ever sales teams or distribution networks need to be more than order takers and for some this will be a significant change of behaviour.

The aim of any sales promotion, incentive or communication program is to incite a response.

So, whilst many out there are claiming no money in the budget to run incentives they are in fact a solution that can convert foot traffic and accurately measure your real ROI for every transaction made.

Currently most companies are looking for places to cut spending and an obvious place to do so is to start with employee perks and rewards. I can understand the principle of it, but in reality you are also cutting the morale, enthusiasm, confidence, loyalty, initiative and therefore productivity from your employees.

Your employees are your most important assets and keeping them enthused is crucial, especially during these challenging times. Yes! You may think, challenging times means you no longer have the budget to reward your employees, but there are creative and cost effective ways to do this.Surprise and delight your top performers with a small gift with a personal touch, such as a movie ticket or a massage session.

When you can’t give money, give time. Someone who has been under stress would very much like a day off that doesn’t come out of his leave. Make a little incentive memorable. Open a bottle of wine at work and give a thank you speech. Thank those employees who have demonstrated their commitment and thank everyone for the good work.

After speaking with numerous marketing, franchise and operations managers over the past month I’m picking up on a common thread and general attitude between companies. The idea that it isn’t exactly prime time to be ramping up incentive tactics.

 So why is it that these market leaders are hesitant towards new ideas and incentive solutions?

 Look at it this way. 

When times are tough, morale is low thus reflecting on poor work performance. The most important thing to keep your company afloat is your employees ideas, creativity, loyalty and drive to succeed. What better way to increase work performance than to implement some form of loyalty and recognition program. 

In addition to this, what are these companies doing to stimulate sales through their channel and retail markets? Whilst their above the line sales approach may well be bringing foot traffic through the door – what approach is being taken to convert this traffic into sales? 

This is a marketplace for incentives and the time is right to be implementing and ramping up incentive tactics. 

When people think of incentive programs the general consensus is that they are predominately there for the sales force. Educating organisations about the benefits of Incentive programs within all areas of the business is a necessary lesson in the current economic climate. 

A recent article written by Teresa Russell looks at how companies are using incentives in innovative but effective ways:

Simon James, CEO of Haematology and Oncology Clinics Australasia (HOCA), admits it is unusual to provide incentives to nurses, but says they have been generally well received by both its clinical and administrative staff. HOCA is the leading provider of cancer care day clinic services in Queensland, caring for 180 to 200 cancer outpatients every day. Given the exponential growth of the aged population in Queensland, HOCA has experienced an increased demand for its services and now employs about 160 staff.

 HOCA is new to incentive schemes and recently introduced its first for several reasons. “We needed to attract people to work as nurses in a specialist sector that does not have the tax benefits that public hospitals provide,” says James. “A reward and recognition scheme was also going to differentiate us from other private sector employers and respond to a need among current employees that was highlighted in climate surveys,” he says. 

“Operating in the area of clinical care is not like sales. You have to do your work properly. When it comes to patient care, there is no alternative,” explains James. However, HOCA was interested in recognising an individual or group that went the extra mile or did something a better way, creating a helpful and innovative culture. They wanted to recognise those people who did good work, built a cohesive team and supported one another. 

It’s great to see that businesses are adapting incentive programs to work effectively for them whether it be to stimulate sales throughout distribution channels, reduce costs, or change behaviours in anyway to meet business objectives.

Motive8 has been making a bit of a splash lately and we have been seeing lots of potential clients and one question that has been coming up regularly is ‘what else do we need to be aware of?’.

We have put together a check list on things that can overlooked once you have decided to implement a program:

1. Make criteria clear and fair. Participants need to know what is expected and that they are entering a level playing field.

2. Make terms and conditions prominent. Participants need to know what to expect.

3. Communication. Don’t make a song and dance in the first week and then neglect it as the incentive will lose its relevance. See our earlier posting on how communication can drive your programs success.

4. Participants Demographic. Understand what drives their motivation. See our earlier posting on customising your program for employees.

5. Include all employees not just front of house. Administration and support staff make the back end work so don’t forget to include them.

6. Track Log-ins. If your program is online know which participants have logged in and those who haven’t. It will help you access the general vibe and take up of the program.

7. Freight cost. Will rewards be sent to home or office and will someone be available to sign for them? Will freight be post or courier?

8. Redemptions. When your participants received their rewards, ensure they attached the reward to your company.

9. FBT Liability. – whose paying for it and where does it sit. Factor it into your costs.

10. Legal team. Have your criteria and terms & conditions checked by your legal team so there are no surprises.