Incentivize Your Team with Travel Benefits

Whether you provide your employees a Top 100 place to work, or are in an industry that demands low pay and tough working conditions, incentivizing your staff can be difficult. 

Consider this example of the power of travel incentives:

Every year thousands of young men and women apply to be flight attendants, why? They have long hours, cramped conditions, generally unhappy customers in the best of weather, and very unhappy when bad weather hits. The reason is that when they clock out, they could find themselves somewhere amazing, and being paid for it.

Whether serving drinks at 30,000 feet or selling your latest product, travel is a huge motivator. Cash bonuses fade quickly, but provide an experience that makes someonefeel something as emotionally satisfying as travel can be, and you'll have amuch more dedicated and motivated employee.

For many companies, incentive travel is offered if certain objectives are achieved. For others, travel is a longevity reward or a team building benefit (see our section on Team Building).

• According to the U.S. Travel Association, forevery dollar spent in travel, businesses will see revenues increase by an average of $12.50, resulting in an average profit increase of $3.80. There are very few investments that will return 380% profit, but travel is one of them!
• Incentive programs have been proven to increase sales, boost productivity, retain employees, hold on to top talent, promote teamwork, and decrease turnover.
• The International Society for Performance Improvement has found that incentive programs often increase the individual performance by 22% and team performance by 44%.

A well-designed travel incentive program will have a lower out-of-pocket cost than a similar sized wage-incentive plan. A cash bonus can easily get overlooked when it goes to pay bills or lower debt. Give your staff member a fabulous vacation and they will return grateful and with pictures that remind them of how great it is to work for your firm.