Why you should work with an employee incentive planner
Or rather should the question be ‘Why would you not work with an employee incentive planner’? Put simply, you do not want your employee incentive to fail. Failure can come at a considerable expense to an organisation, having invested time, money and effort into the set-up and launch of an employee incentive. There is however no common reason for failure of an employee incentive scheme and the best way to overcome it is to work with an expert employee incentive planner to mitigate any potential problems and downfalls.
In this blog we draw upon our years of experience in designing and managing employee incentives for organisations and highlight the value that a planner can bring to your business to ensure success. We discuss the common problems that can occur with employee incentives and how to overcome them, and where an employee incentive planner can help.
If your employee incentive will result in an incentive travel trip you may also be interested to read our blog on 5 Tips for Organising Employee Incentive Trips.
What do employee incentive planners do?
Employee incentive planners are professionals who design, implement, and manage programmes aimed at motivating employees and improving their performance and productivity. They often work as an extension to a company’s HR team, providing additional skills and services that may not be readily available internally.
An external employee incentive planner is often well positioned to provide a balanced and impartial needs assessment of the organisation. Helping to identify areas where incentives can potentially drive improvements and understand employee preferences of reward types.
As a specialist in employee incentive programmes, planners will have developed and designed programmes for other clients. This experience is of great value and enables you to leverage not only their expertise but potentially their technical systems and design learnings.
A planner will help you to align your employee incentive with your company’s overall strategy and culture, they will be able to advise on budget allocation and support in rolling out the programme across the organisation and manage costs accordingly.
The complexity of employee incentive programmes will involve compliance and legal considerations. Whilst a planner cannot provide tax advice, they can provide guidance and work with HR and Legal teams to avoid potential legal issues.
In summary, employee incentive planners’ responsibilities typically include:
- Organisation Needs Assessment
- Reward Analysis and Recommendations
- Programme Design and Development
- Set Programme Goals, Metrics and KPIs
- Budget Management
- Roll Out and Implementation
- Continuous Monitoring and Evaluation
- Compliance and Legal Support
- Launch and Employee Communications
Why work with an incentive planning company?
Employee incentive planners play a crucial role in fostering a motivated, productive, and satisfied workforce by strategically using rewards and recognition. There is no common reason for failure of an employee incentive scheme but business owners may encounter challenges if their programme isn’t implemented correctly. Failure to communicate the new incentive may result in lack of uptake and engagement. Similarly, not setting appropriate metrics may mean a programme that is misaligned in your industry or amongst competitors.
Working with an incentive planner offers several benefits including:
Enhanced Employee Motivation: Tailored incentive programmes that align with employees’ needs and preferences can significantly boost morale and motivation.
Improved Performance: Well-designed incentives encourage employees to perform at their best, leading to higher productivity and better overall performance.
Retention of Top Talent: Effective incentive programmes can increase employee satisfaction and loyalty, reducing turnover rates and retaining top talent within the organisation.
Alignment with Business Goals: Incentive planners ensure that reward systems are aligned with the organisation’s strategic objectives, driving employees to contribute towards these goals.
Cost-Effectiveness: By optimising the allocation of resources for incentive programmes, planners help maximise return on investment and ensure cost-effective use of the company’s budget.
Customisation and Flexibility: Incentive planners design programmes that can be customised to suit different departments, teams, and individual employees, providing flexibility to address diverse needs.
Compliance and Risk Management: Professional planners ensure that all incentive programmes comply with relevant laws and regulations, minimising the risk of legal issues and ensuring fair practices.
Data-Driven Decisions: Planners use data and analytics to track the success of incentive programmes and make informed adjustments, leading to continuous improvement and better outcomes.
Employee Engagement: Engaging and motivating employees through well-structured incentive programmes can create a positive work environment, enhancing overall employee engagement.
Expertise and Best Practices: Incentive planners bring specialised knowledge and experience in designing and implementing effective programmes, leveraging industry best practices to achieve optimal results.
Clear Communication: Planners ensure that the details of incentive programmes are communicated clearly and effectively, helping employees understand and participate fully in the initiatives.
Innovative Reward Strategies: Incentive planners stay updated with the latest trends and innovations in employee motivation and rewards, incorporating new and creative strategies into the programmes.
At FMI Agency no two projects are the same. We treat each brief with the due care and attention it needs to be successful. We tailor solutions to our client’s brief and ensure that the employee incentive is designed is appropriate to your goals, needs and budget.
5 reasons to work with an employee incentive planning company
1. Expertise and Experience – Specialised knowledge in designing effective incentive programmes.
2. Time and Resource Efficiency – Frees up internal resources by handling all incentive planning details.
3. Enhanced Employee Engagement – Creates sophisticated programmes that boost motivation and satisfaction.
4. Data-Driven Optimisation: Utilises analytics to track and optimise programme effectiveness.
5. Compliance and Risk Management: Ensures programmes comply with legal requirements and mitigate risks.
Incentive planning with FMI
We are one of the UK’s leading agencies when it comes to delivering employee incentive programmes and campaigns. We support, organise and deliver corporate rewards, incentive travel, employee recognition schemes, engagement plans and ambassador programmes. We work as planners with some of the biggest brands in the world to create and deliver engaging, unique and successful employee incentives programmes that drive genuine results.
If you would like to engage a new employee incentive planner then please contact us using the form below and we can start the process.
