case study/Case Study: A Leading Business Services Company 1

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Case Study: A Leading Business Services Company 1

Client Learns What Would Really Motivate Sales Force

Situation
The client, a leading business services company, had been offering a rewards and recognition program to its top sales associates for many years. Although the company had added new business units and increased sales staff, it had continued to offer the same travel incentive program with no differentiation by level of sales, account or business unit size. While the feedback from winners was generally positive, the client realized that 80% of its budget was going to reward 20% of its sales force, often the same people each year. While it remained committed to rewarding its top performers, it wondered if it could optimize its investment by engaging more of its sales force. The client turned to Maritz based on that company’s deep understanding of how rewards and recognition programs can impact employee motivation.

Solution
Maritz believes that receiving rewards and recognition that is not meaningful is the same as receiving none at all. Its experience had shown that broadening the choice of rewards, strengthening communications, and giving managers more insight into how employees view rewards programs, could result in large gains in levels of motivation. Using its proprietary solution – Maritz Motivation Insight - Maritz set out to provide a fact-based approach to decision-making, using the voice of the direct sales force to drive program design and reward strategy aligned with the company’s most important business goals.

After gaining a clear understanding of the client’s situation, audience structure, and business objectives, Maritz developed a customized survey to get feedback on the existing incentive program, and a general sense of how employees rated the overall rewards and recognition efforts of the company. To learn what combination of attributes would make sales associates work harder to achieve goals, the survey included a number of “what if” scenarios that offered variations on elements such as program length, earning objectives, reward types, program communications, etc. The survey was sent to all potential participants, not just those who had won trips previously.

Results
With regard to the current rewards and recognition programs and alternative scenarios:

  • 24% of new hires didn’t know about the program.
  • 30% of the respondents said they were not being recognized in any way.
  • 52.6% of people were motivated by the existing group travel award.
  • But, by adding an option for individual travel the company could motivate 73.4% of its people.
    • And by making that individual travel option points based, with points stored on a card and redeemable for other options, the company could motivate 91.2% of its people.
  • The company could increase its minimum requirement for top performer recognition without decreasing motivation.
    • 100% to 102% of objective.
  • It could drive greater motivation by starting with a lower progress reward payout.
    • Tiered rather than flat payout structure.

Based on these findings it was recommended that the Client;

  • Develop a cross-business unit program that does not focus solely on top-performers and group travel.
  • Move the Middle and motivate the next tier to realize improved performance.
  • Design a program to ensure motivation flexibility.
  • Make rewards meaningful and motivating.
  • Communicate early and often.

For more information, please visit Maritz at www.maritz.com or call (877) 4 MARITZ.