Successful Meetings - November 2009 - (Page 13)

PLANNER’S WORKSHOP incentive insights Incentives Inc.’s Ley Borlo and ChipRewards Inc.’s Joshua Klapow discuss incentives The Power of Choice ORLO: Should choice be a prime consideration in determining the type of award system for use in an incentive or recognition program? If so, who should define the choices: the company or the participant? KLAPOW: Choice is straightforward from a scientific perspective. If awards or incentives are being given to drive behavior, then they must be meaningful to the recipient. There is simply no way around this. Without a doubt, the most powerful method for coming up with meaningful awards and incentives is to let the individual choose. Every time we—as program developers—choose reinforcers, we run the risk of choosing incorrectly. BORLO: I’ve read that too much choice can be demotivational. I find this interesting, because I have experienced just the opposite. Do you feel that there can be such a thing as too much choice? KLAPOW: Let’s go back to the scientific underpinnings of this question. Individuals can become overwhelmed by too many options, but not within the context of prizes or rewards. Offering a universe of choices when it comes to rewards allows the program developers to hedge their bets on what individuals deem meaningful. Remember that meaningfulness is not a static concept. What is meaningful to me now may not be tomorrow. Our needs, wants, and desires change over time and with circumstance. So while we may offer a million choices, the individual may only find 100 of them meaningful. While we may be forced to limit options because of costs or logistics, whenever we limit options we increase the chance that what we offer will not be perceived as meaningful. And when it is not, behaviors will not be modified. BORLO: Many companies have tried to develop award systems specifically for the demographic they are trying to motivate. In my experience, this is virtually impossible. How important is it to try to match the awards to the participants? Would the client be better off having a system with unlimited choice? KLAPOW: If we have the ability to match the demographic as well as the individual perceptions and current social circumstances of the individuals to the awards, then our programs should have an impact. Still, matching awards and participants based on age, gender, and socioeconomic status is not necessarily going to work. Two people of the same age, gender, race, and economic status may have two very different ideas of what is meaningful. So it goes back to the fundamental notion that when awards are predetermined, we risk getting it wrong. SM Ley Borlo is a partner at Incentives Inc., and developed www.awardemployees.com. He can be reached at leyb@incentivesinc.com SAV E 10% ON YOUR M ASTER BILL. YOU WIN. For more offer details, visit www.intercontinental.com/ successfulmeetings Joshua C. Klapow is a clinical psychologist as well as the chief strategy officer and chief behavioral scientist for ChipRewards Inc., a consumer health incentive company. He can be reached at jklapow@uab.edu Terms and Conditions : Offer available at participating InterContinental Hotels & Resorts properties in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central/South America. Meeting must be booked and conducted between July 1, 2009 and June 30, 2010 to qualify for the offer. Subject to availability and black out dates. 10% discount applies to the master bill of any qualified meeting or group stay, exclusive of gratuities and taxes. For full details and complete terms and conditions, visit www.intercontinental.com/successfulmeetings. ©2009 InterContinental Hotels Group. All rights reserved. SuccessfulMeetings.com I November 2009 I SM I 13 http://www.intercontinental.com/successfulmeetings http://www.intercontinental.com/successfulmeetings http://www.awardemployees.com http://www.intercontinental.com/successfulmeetings http://www.SuccessfulMeetings.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Successful Meetings - November 2009

Successful Meetings - November 2009
Contents
Editor's Letter
Spain Hosts MITM Euromed
Meetings Law
Incentive Insights
Management Matters
Mouth For Sale
Golf Meetings
Corporate Social Responsibility
Places + Spaces
International Roundup
Paris
Hong Kong
Scotland
Colombia
Mexico
London
Copenhagen
Switzerland
Las Vegas
Dallas
Boston
Bermuda

Successful Meetings - November 2009