Insights: Why Savvy Companies Market Their Incentive and Recognition Programs
Want to generate positive publicity for your organization? Publicize your incentive, reward, and recognition programs to attract customers, talent, supply chain and distribution partners. Just make sure your programs are designed to be equitable, transparent, and to harmonize the interests of all involved toward a common, purpose, goals, and objectives.By Bruce Bolger
An Effective Talent Recruitment Tool
Generating Meaningful PR
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Companies almost always tout their advertising, consumer loyalty, and other promotional efforts. Marketing transparent, equitable, and effectively designed employee engagement programs through public relations and social media can be equally beneficial--not only for recruitment but for customer and community good will.
Most people in the US have heard of May Kay Cosmetics, even though it has rarely undertaken national advertising on the scale of other well-known brands. Instead, its brand name has spread virally because of its supportive, community-based direct sales approach, the pink Cadillacs and other car models offered for use by top performers, and its elaborate incentive travel programs, all of which are highlighted on the recruitment portion of its web site.
Even though I would consider myself an outdoor enthusiast, I had never heard of the Cotopaxi brand until I read an article in Fortune last year about the bucket list travel offered to its employees. Workers receive a $1,000 stipend after 18 months on the job and $5,000 after five years to apply toward meaningful outdoor experiences, according to the article.BI Worldwide, a global, full-service incentive company based in Minneapolis, encourages its employees to share their appreciation for and how they use the points received for exceptional performance in Linkedin posts.
As publisher of multiple magazines and media platforms covering the total rewards business since 1989, I have experienced how difficult it can be to get organizations to go on the record about their incentive, reward, and recognition programs, or to get to the bottom of why that is so.
Suggesting that organizations may have begun to open up to publicizing their travel and incentive and recognition programs, Claymont, DE-based TeamOut | The Retreat Platform, which helps organizations find properties for corporate retreats and related activities, features five detailed case studies with the companies named: Dynatron Software, Women Deliver, an advocacy group; Akoya, a data security firm, and Publica, an ad tech startup.
An Effective Talent Recruitment Tool
This recent article published by Stonorsearch, a UK search firm, provides a good reason why organizations should tout their incentive and recognition programs and retreats for talent, as long as the programs are properly designed. “Incentive trips have long been the crown jewel of workplace perks,” the blog states. “Nothing says ‘we value you’ quite like jetting off to a picturesque destination to celebrate success, recharge, and bond as a team. Traditionally, these trips have been reserved for top performers – the sales star who smashed their target or the account manager who brought in the biggest client of the year. But in today’s evolving work environment, companies are starting to realize that leaving the rest of the team behind might not be the best approach.” The blog stresses the need to properly design the programs to ensure equity, transparency, and a focus on aligning efforts rather than fostering competition. Missteps can cause unintended consequences.
Generating Meaningful PR
In a similar vein of proudly sharing an organization's engagement practices, Scott Scully, CEO of Abstrakt Marketing, a St.-Louis business development agency, publishes in a press release that he believes that employee recognition is “a catalyst for engagement, productivity, and long-term retention in the workplace.” He challenges the “traditional performance-driven work culture, advocating for a shift toward more structured appreciation policies.”
"As the CEO of a large workforce...It can be easy to overlook the daily contributions that fuel our success. By requiring team members to recognize one another, we create a culture where appreciation is the norm, not the exception."
His company’s approach includes “personalized recognition, from small rewards like coffee gifts to unique experiences such as concert tickets. Leveraging tools like Slack, the company ensures transparent visibility of employee contributions, fostering cross-departmental collaboration and morale.”
Scully continues, "When creating recognition policies, it's essential to customize rewards and establish clear guidelines. This approach not only rewards top performers but also builds a culture of positivity and continuous improvement."
The risk of touting incentive, recognition, and reward programs: They had better be equitable, transparent, and effectively designed or your organization is likely to confront a social media backlash.
Enterprise Engagement Alliance Services
Celebrating our 15th year, the Enterprise Engagement Alliance helps organizations enhance performance through:
1. Information and marketing opportunities on stakeholder management and total rewards:
ESM Weekly on stakeholder management since 2009; click here for a media kit.
RRN Weekly on total rewards since 1996; click here for a EEA YouTube channel on enterprise engagement, human capital, and total rewards insights and how-to information since 2020.
2. Learning: Purpose Leadership and Stakeholder
Management Academy to enhance future equity value and performance for your organization.3. Books on implementation: Enterprise Engagement for CEOs and Enterprise Engagement: The Roadmap.
4. Advisory services and research: Strategic guidance, learning and certification on stakeholder management, measurement, metrics, and corporate sustainability reporting.
5. Permission-based targeted business development to identify and build relationships with the people most likely to buy.
6. Public speaking and meeting facilitation on stakeholder management. The world’s leading speakers on all aspects of stakeholder management across the enterprise.
