Incentive Travel

The Power of Positive Discipline – Incentive Programs Work!

2010-02-15T22:55:00.000-08:00

Too often when someone says the word “discipline,” the immediate reaction is that someone must be in trouble. In fact, discipline has almost become a dirty word for many people. Nothing could be further from the truth. Understanding discipline is critical to being a successful leader and manager. Discipline by definition is training and is derived from the Latin word disciplina, meaning teaching and learning. It is also defined in the Merriam Webster Dictionary as training that corrects, molds, or perfects the mental faculties or moral character.

Discipline is generally held to be in three distinct forms in an organizational context. These are:

1. Preventative Discipline - Preventing problems by carefully hiring the right people, thoroughly training them not only in the techniques of the job but also in the parameters of appropriate and desirable organizational behavior and ethical standards and in the organizations policies and procedures that ensure work is performed to the highest standard.

2. Corrective Discipline – Correction, sanction and punishment for performance or behavior that is inconsistent with organizational standards and detrimental to the good order of the organization. It serves as an example to others of the negative consequences of improper or substandard activity. Retraining to positive behavior and performance is the key objective.

3. Positive Discipline – Reward and recognition for good and desirable performance that enables the company to meet or exceed it’s goals and objectives and serves as an example to others of the value of positive contribution.

Employee Incentive Programs are molded around the concept of positive discipline. They can take many forms and are easily adaptable to virtually any kind of business. Properly structured and administered, incentive programs don’t cost the company money; they make the company money by improving the bottom line through achieving or exceeding goals that ensure your success.

However, a word of caution is appropriate as you think about creating an incentive program. Simply throwing money or goodies at people and expecting better things is absolutely the least effective approach and is doomed to failure before you toss out the first dime. Incentive programs must contain many key elements to be successful. You must carefully define exactly what it is you want to achieve, the means by which you are going to do it and set realistic and achievable goals that your employees can meet with diligent work and honest effort. The reward must be perceived as valuable by the employee otherwise there won’t be much enthusiasm to achieve it. A time frame must be established and a fair and objective measurement system must be in place so there is a high level of trust and confidence in it.

Once established and implemented, there may be some need for adjustment to deal with unanticipated issues or conditions that occur that are beyond the employee’s control. The goals that are set should be high and held to so you do not end up rewarding mediocrity or marginal performance. Nothing will demoralize and de-motivate your best employees faster than giving a non deserving employee who has not achieved a high standard a reward.
Once the program is underway, constantly reinforce good results and encourage your employees on. Once completed, make sure those who have succeeded are made to feel special and important and that you recognize their achievement.

The final step of course is the reward. Make it high in the “WOW” factor. This can best be done working with an experienced professional that can assemble a package that meets your budgetary constraints and delivers a high quality experience to the participants.

At the conclusion, jump right back into it and create a new program with goals that are a little higher. The employees will be enthused and ready to roll up their sleeves and get the job done because they have experienced the value of their hard work. Your company will continue in an upward spiral achieving more all the time.

For more information on Incentive Awards Programs, visit www.incentivetraveladvisors.com or www.meetingsonships.com or contact Jerry Vaughn, President of Inspired Journeys Inc at 877 836-1949 or information@meetingsonships.com

All Inclusives a Great Place for Incentive Programs

2010-02-02T20:58:00.000-08:00

All-Inclusives Are a Perfect Venue for Your Program. We recently completed a major Customer Loyalty Incentive Program for a large building supply company at the Aventura Spa Palace on the Riviera Maya in Cancun. It certainly reinforced the value of using an outstanding all-inclusive property like Aventura Spa to create a successful program that is perceived as very high in value by the participants.

The logisitics of utilizing an all-inclsive are much simplier and more cost effective than traditional hotel venues where you are putting together costly food and beverage programs and entertainment packages to meet your clients needs. Tours and other activities can be negotiated as part of the inclusions and you can really increase the "Wow" factor for all. The quality of the facilities and the support of on-the-ground conference managers and group coordinators make your job relatively easy. I can say of all the meeting and incentive groups I have done, the staff at the Aventura Spa was absolutely the best I have ever worked with. Their attentivness, friendliness, organization and seamless delivery was excellent. One of the critical factors in the success of an Incentive Program is in attention to detail. I have been particularly impressed with Palace Resorts in that regard. Two years ago we did a large group at the Moon Palace and our experience there was very good as well. Delivering a superior product at a reasonable price in a consistent manner makes Palace Resorts an excellent partner for our business.

For the company conducting the Incentive Program, obviously their concern is to find the best value at the best price that will deliver their message of gratitude to their guest. Without that, the program would be self-defeating. After all, the purpose is to reinforce the favorable buying habits of key customers, garner loyalty and good will and improve the performance levels of key employees subsequently improving the company's bottom line. All-inclusives deliver a lot for the money and generally at a very high standard.

Participant surveys at the conclusion of the program were very positive and indicated the objectives of the sponsoring company where not only achieved, but exceeded. The variety of activities offered as well as the amenities of the property itself seemed to deliver a very positive and enjoyable experience to the attendees.

One of the best measures of success of the program is in the repeat business you as the incentive travel company receive. When the President of the company you have delivered the program for on his way out the door to return home takes the time to say thanks for a job well done and "oh, by the way, send me a proposal to do the same thing next year", you know it went well.

For more information on incentive awards programs, contact Jerry Vaughn at 877 836-1949 or email him by clicking here.

Incentive Travel Website Enjoys Growing Success

2010-01-25T21:56:00.000-08:00

INSPIRED JOURNEYS REPORTS SUCCESS WITH SPECIALIZED INCENTIVE TRAVEL WEBSITE FOR BUSINESSES.

Inspired Journeys Inc. has been extensively involved in working with businesses to design, develop and implement well structured Employee Incentive and Customer Loyalty Programs that produce positive financial results. Recognizing there are fundamental differences in the meeting and incentive businesses, a little over a year ago Inspired Journeys President Jerry Vaughn decided to launch an independent website, http://www.incentivetraveladvisors.com/ to better focus on Incentive programs and make it easier for businesses to find helpful information and resources to build programs within their company. Incentive Travel Advisors was designed to complement http://www.meetingsonships.com/ the primary meeting website for Inspired Journeys.

After its first full year, Vaughn reports strong consumer interests in the site and a corresponding increase in incentive travel business with new corporate clients. Incentive Awards events have been conducted at all inclusive resorts in Mexico, on Caribbean, Alaska and European cruises within the past year. Clients have typically been mid sized companies and come from a variety of industries including fast food, building supply companies and product marketing companies. Each program has been met with strong participant enthusiasm and excitment and many of the companies are booking Awards programs for 2010 and 2011.

Each company reports strong results in terms of increased productivity, improved morale and increased sales. Employee support for the programs have been very strong and customers who participated in loyalty programs have demonstrated strong repeat and referral business patterns.

Properly structured and administered, Employee Incentive Awards and Customer Loyalty Programs don’t cost your business money, they make you money according to Jerry Vaughn, President of Inspired Journeys Inc. Tough economic times require innovation and creativity. While certainly not new, Incentive Awards and Customer Loyalty programs can provide increased sales, help you retain your best clients and make your business more successful while putting you a step ahead of the competition.

Incentive Awards Programs can do a number of things for a business according to Vaughn. Among them are:

Increase sales and productivity by providing meaningful rewards that have high perceived value.
Research has shown well designed and executed Incentive Awards Programs can increase sales between 22% and 28% on average.
They promote loyalty and high morale with employee’s which in turn produces a more stable workforce. Reducing costly turnover will improve the bottom line.
The cost of the award in proportion to the increased sales volume is usually low leading to increased profitability of the company.

Incentive travel programs work because they force companies to take a hard look at their products and services and the way they do business. They help companies identify specific challenges; design a strategy to meet those challenges and motivates key people to accomplish business goals. This is particularly important in difficult economic times according to Vaughn. Many of the best programs have been developed in tough times when companies look outside the box to find ways to effectively respond to these challenges.

In addition to useful information found on the website www.incentivetraveladvisors.com/ consulting services are available to assist companies in developing successful programs unique to their industry and company. Programs are designed to be highly personalized to the unique culture of the business, the objectives being sought and the personnel impacted by the program.

About Inspired Journeys Inc.:

Inspired Journeys Inc. is a Washington State Corporation specializing in Leisure Travel for individuals and groups. In addition to Incentive Travel Advisors websites, its online presence is diverse with specialty websites. Their primary website is http://www.worldvoyagervacations.com/. Inspired Journeys also focuses on Alaska Cruise and Land Tour packages through its http://www.alaskacruiseagents.com/ and www.2010alsaskacruises.com/ websites. Inspired Journeys specializes in conducting conferences, meetings and workshops on cruise ships through its www.meetingsonships.com/ website.

For More Information Contact:

Jerry Vaughn

President

Inspired Journeys Inc.
32901 First Avenue South Suite H
Federal Way, WA 98003
253 661-7199 877 836-1949
information@incentivetraveladvisors.com
http://www.incentivetraveladvisors.com/

Examples of Successful Incentive Programs

2008-07-04T10:15:00.000-07:00

Here are a few examples of highly successful Incentive programs our clients have conducted.

1, Company Wide Performance Improvement Program

A large specialty products company that was facing intense competition within its industry and an industry-wide slump of approximately 20% decided to challenge all employees to turn the situation around in the next fiscal year. They designed a program that identified what each division and work unit would need to accomplish to produce the desired result. They then placed a value on the relative importance of the performance in relationship to their unit and company goals. A multi-tiered incentive program was put in place that included benchmarks from inside and outside the organization to measure the success and effectiveness of the program. With over 600 employees in 7 work sites, it was critical to have buy-in from the entire company. The company identified 35 of the key players that would most influence the ultimate outcome of this effort. The incentive for these 35 would be an all expense paid trip for the employee and companion on a 7 day western Mediterranean cruise in private veranda staterooms. Incentive awards of varying value were assigned to everyone underneath so that employees could see appreciation for their work. At the end of the fiscal year, not only did they meet their goals but exceeded them beating the industry average by a +30% gain and one of the most profitable years in their companies history. The cost of the incentive awards in relationship to the profits accumulated were a little over 25%. A handsome reward for everyone concerned, particularly shareholders of the company.

2. Company Annual Managers Meeting and Awards Program

Individual stores of national fast food franchise chain are owned and operated by holding companies that may own multiple stores. Because the fast food industry is so highly competitive and profit margins razor thin, operational efficiency is key to profitable operations. Store managers play a critical role in achieving this and can literally make or break a store. One of the holding companies that owns and operates 37 of the franchise stores developed a very innovative point based incentive program for store managers as a means of achieving this efficiency. Point values are assigned for items like reducing costly employee turnover (the industry average is nearly 300% in a fast food restaurants), reducing down time on equipment by regular and thorough preventative maintenance, high mystery shopper scores, innovative local marketing to move featured products, reduction of customer complaints and a wide variety of other tasks that reduce real dollar expenditures and improve store profitability. Each year the holding company conducts its annual meeting either on a cruise ship or a nice land resort and those store managers who have achieved a certain level are allowed to bring their families on the trip with expenses for the employee and spouse fully paid by the company. In addition to business meetings, the company does a very special awards ceremony on the last night that highlights the best performers that have helped company increase profitability for the year. The camaraderie of the store managers and healthy competition between them is refreshing to see and a testament to skilled owners who know how to get the best from their employees.

Types of Incentive Travel Programs

2008-06-26T12:14:00.000-07:00

First Things First ...

One of the first decisions you must make is what type of Incentive Travel Program you want to implement. That is function of the goals you set and your plan for how to achieve those goals. It must carefully look at the return on investment (ROI) you stand to make versus the overall costs of the program. Once you know what you want to achieve, the following types of programs can be used individually or in tandem with one another.

Types of Incentive Travel Programs

www.meetingsonships.com
· Customer Loyalty Programs
These programs are often structured to help stave of new competition by providing incentive to your long time customers to do business with you.

· Individual Incentive Awards
This type of award is for when only one person from the company will be traveling as a reward or recognition for something they have achieved individually. Often times a spouse or companion is included in the award.

· Group or Team Awards
This type of award is for when a group or team achieves a result that is deemed of significant value to the employer and the employer rewards and recognizes the group or team for the exceptional contribution. This can be a predefined goal or awarded for exceptional performance initiated by the group or team.

· Company Wide Performance Campaigns
This type of award is when the company sets an overall goal to achieve something specific and measurable within a designated time frame and recognizes that every division, function and activity within the company plays a role in achieving that goal. Specific performance goals are set within each unit to benchmark the contribution required to meet or exceed the goal. These may be structured as points programs where points are award for successful achievement of predefined tasks that lead to improved company performance overall and in specific operational areas.

· Sales Incentive Awards
This type of award is utilized to motivate the sales force to achieve increased sales over and above what would normally be expected. These programs typically have a defined time period, are multi-tiered and have specific measurement criteria and identify the reward to be earned at each tier level.

· Incentive Programs Combined Meetings or Training Programs
These programs typically combine an important business function such as an annual meeting, specialized training or directors meetings. The award program ties in based on achievement of predefined goals and measurement system wherein the award is graduated based on the level of accomplishment. To learn more, visit

· Product Launch Campaigns
In order to promote a new product or product line, awards programs are designed around who can move the most product into the marketplace in a specified time period. The reward and recognition are proportionate to the perceived importance of introducing the product to the largest number of consumers possible.

Dealer Incentive Programs
This type of award program seeks to build brand loyalty and promotion with the retail outlet and encourage the dealer to direct sales toward your product or product line over another. The opportunity to attain a reward deemed of value to the dealer increases your market share.

· Member-Get-a-Member Campaigns
This type of award program is specifically geared to membership based organizations wherein you use the credibility and experience of current members to increase your membership base. The recruiting member is essentially a testimonial for your organization and is generally the most influential type of new member recruitment tool.

· Tenure Recognition Awards
These awards are provided in recognition of an employee or associates tenure with the company. For example, when an employee reaches their 10th year with the company they may be given a trip to reward their longevity. As motivators, these are not particularly effective as you are typically awarding existence and not necessarily performance.

*A Note on Goal Setting
Remember, to be effective the goal must be specific, achievable and measurable. To the extent possible, it should be challenging and fun. You must also provide the participant with the tools necessary to be successful. The reward for achieving the goal must be perceived as valuable by the recipient or your program will likely struggle.

A Prescription for Failure
One important thing to keep in mind with Incentive Awards programs is that the fastest way to undermine it is to reward marginal or problem employees with the same rewards you are giving your best employees or top producers. While your marginal employees will love it, you will demotivate your best people who will see your program as meaningless. Another mistake is to make the goals so easy to achieve they become irrelevant to actual improved performance.

Tough Times Produce Great Programs
Some of the best, most effective incentive programs have come about in the most difficult economic times or when competition is the fiercest. It is often what sets successful companies apart from those who go out of business. Smart businesses look for ways to do better and achieve more by thinking outside the box. Incentive Travel Programs are a highly useful tool in accomplishing that.

Incentive Travel

2008-06-10T11:09:00.000-07:00

INSPIRED JOURNEYS INC ANNOUNCES NEW INCENTIVE TRAVEL WEBSITE FOR BUSINESSES

Properly structured and administered, Employee Incentive Awards and Customer Loyalty Programs don’t cost your business money, they make you money according to Jerry Vaughn, President of Inspiered Journeys Inc. Tough economic times require innovation and creativity. While certainly not new, Incentive Awards and Customer Loyalty programs can provide increased sales, help you retain your best clients and make your business more successful while putting you a step ahead of the competition.

Inspired Journeys Inc. has been extensively involved in working with businesses to design, develop and implement well structured Incentive and Customer Loyalty Programs that produce results. Previously, incentive programs were consolidated with World Voyagers meetings at sea operations at www.meetingsonships.com/. Recognizing there are fundamental differences in the meeting and incentive businesses, Vaughn decided to launch an independent website at www.incentivetraveladvisors.com/ to better focus on Incentives and make it easier for businesses to find helpful information and resources to build programs within their corporation.

Incentive Awards Programs can do a number of things for a business according to Vaughn. Among them are:

Increase sales and productivity by providing meaningful rewards that have high perceived value.
Research has shown well designed and executed Incentive Awards Programs can increase sales between 22% and 28% on average.
They promote loyalty and high morale with employee’s which in turn produces a more stable workforce. Reducing costly turnover will improve the bottom line.
The cost of the award in proportion to the increased sales volume is usually low leading to increased profitability of the company.

Customer Loyalty Programs can build business, promote customer loyalty and increase your bottom line. Does Customer Loyalty Pay? A mere 5 % increase in customer retention can result in a 75% increase in customer value according to Fred Reichheld, author of "Loyalty Rules". This is an important reason to focus on building customer loyalty. A well structured and publicized customer loyalty program with key clients can stave off competition from new businesses in the marketing area.

In addition to useful information found on the website www.incentivetraveladvisors.com/ consulting services are available to assist companies in developing successful programs unique to their industry and company. Programs are designed to be highly personalized to the unique culture of the business, the objectives being sought and the personnel impacted by the program.

About Inspired Journeys Inc.:
Inspired Journeys Inc. is a Washington State Corporation specializing in Leisure Travel for individuals and groups. In addition to Incentive Travel Advisors websites, its online presence is diverse with specialty websites. Their primary website is www.worldvoyagervacations.com/. World Voyager also focuses on Alaska Cruise and Land Tour packages through its www.alaskacruiseagents.com/ and http://www.2010alsaskacruises.com/ websites. Inspired Journeys specializes in conducting conferences, meetings and workshops on cruise ships through its www.meetingsonships.com/ website. Most recently, Inspired Journeys added a highly specialized website www.incentivetraveladvisors.com/ to assist businesses in developing effective employee Incentive Awards and Customer Loyalty programs.

For More Information Contact:
Jerry Vaughn
President
Inspired Journeys Inc. 32901 First Avenue South Suite H
Federal Way, WA 98003
253 661-7199
information@incentivetraveladvisors.com
http://www.incentivetraveladvisors.com/