It happens far too often, that after carrying out workshops, incentive programs or teambuilding trainings, I arrive at the same conclusion after talking to the clients. There are still far too many lousy providers out there, who misuse the terms incentive programs and team building, to make a quick profit and leave the cosumers high and dry. I still find it hard to accept some companies advertise themselves as incentive program organizers, but what they in fact offer are one day company trips with a few sports activities and a guided tour of Piran.
The negative effect of not choosing a proper organizer is that the client companies don’t really see the benefits an actual incentive program can have to increase their competitiveness and productivity, but only see it as an additional expense.
When choosing the right organizer a client can boost morale and loyalty of its most valued employees, which will ensure a stable future for the company and long term improvement in quality which is a key element in customer and partner satisfaction.
We have to be aware that organizing an incentive program requires a large amount of experience, skill and flexibility. We must never neglect the importance of choosing the right location, which has to stand out in some way, yet also provide all the leisure the clients require. All the details of the program must be compliant with the client’s wishes and business objectives. Since they sometimes find it hard to decide which of the many world’s destinations to choose, we have to be there to understand their needs and requests and fulfil them all. We have found the element of positive surprise to be very useful, since it upgrades the quality of the program as a whole. We have to remember these are programs with a high added value and represent a reward for the most successful and valuable employees. These are usually teams within the company or individuals who manage successful projects and are at the same time role models for other employees.
Have you ever noticed how many companies advertise team building programs on their websites? Last year I called one of them out of curiosity and inquired what they recommended for a one day team building program. Their answer: “a whole day tournament in darts, which can be carried out anywhere they have dartboards. This will certainly strengthen friendly relations among employees.” I got chills when I heard firsthand what some people offer as team building. It was fairly obvious that the gentleman who gave me this information had no idea (and here he is not alone), that team building is first and foremost employee education where trust, communication, organisation and motivation within a team are strengthened through different techniques of team work and workshops. This leads to an analysis of team dynamics and individuals. Programs are devised into one-day or longer and are periodically repeated to achieve desired goals and to also measure the progress. After one day of playing darts you will certainly laugh at the suggestion that team building is useful and provides measurable data.
With the right team building programs you will find it much easier to utilize the skills and potential of your employees. With the help of “practise to practise” models and FSNP (forming, storming, norming, performing), developed by Maya team as first in Slovenia, all the acquired knowledge during the training is successfully transferred to the work environment. The results can be used for a range of staff development and even succession planning purposes, as some of the personal attributes of your employees and teams may be overlooked in the everyday routine.
Now that we are clear on how incentive or team building programs should be carried out we are but a step away from the level of excellence. The level, where our clients trust us completely because they are certain their objectives will be met and their staff will be satisfied, motivated and full of new energy, experience and ideas. How do we then achieve the level excellence of incentive products? I’m sure you’re aware there is no magic wand to help you with this issue, therefore we must combine all the elements of a quality incentive or team building program with professionalism, creativity and fun. Even though I’ve just mentioned fun at the very end of the article, it is and was the key element of all the high quality products, which satisfy even the most demanding costumers.
