Success Is Not Its Own Reward

Recognition is an extremely important reward for goal achievement. This can be done in many ways, several of which don’t cost a dime. Repeated surveys consistently indicate that one of employees’ highest rated needs on the job is to receive recognition for work well done. Yet many companies continue to ignore the achievement of significant, measurable goals.

Rewards offered at each level of GoalQuest increase in value as goal levels escalate. Participants who hit one of three predetermined levels receive AwardperQs, BI’s patented non-monetary reward system that can be exchanged for merchandise featured in BI catalogs. Payout rates increase exponentially, adding to the attractiveness of selecting the higher goals.

“I’m definitely a believer in merchandise as an incentive because of its long-term value versus cash prizes,” says Kurt Paulson, director of product marketing at Shaw Industries, the world’s largest carpet manufacturer. Paulson has run successful GoalQuest programs two years running.

An automotive manufacturer discovered the motivating power of merchandise versus cash earlier this year. The company ran a GoalQuest program in two separate regions to engage dealership sales teams to drive new car sales, one offering cash and one offering AwardperQs. The region offered AwardperQs produced a total sales lift of 24.3 percent versus the prior 60-day period in which no incentive was offered, while the region that was offered cash had a comparative lift sales lift of 9.5 percent.

Merchandise also proved to be a more effective incentive for the sales force at Tyco Healthcare Mallinckrodt, a St. Louis-based manufacturer, distributor and service provider of medical products. The company has already run three three-month GoalQuest campaigns this year, and Vice President of Sales John Collins says the merchandise offered through the program has proven significantly more motivating than cash incentives offered in previous years.

“People feel good about being able to get high-quality merchandise, and they start thinking about what they want. When you have a program where people pick a couple of awards and say, ‘This quarter, I’m going to get that riding lawn mower!’ then you have a successful program,” Collins says.