Everyone wants to be a winner – and when the prize is a fabulous vacation spot, winning is even better. Although individualized incentive trips are a great alternative if a group trip is not possible, you get far more ROI when a group trip is planned. Very simply, the group comes back after a fabulous trip and shares stories with coworkers. As word gets out, it pushes everyone on your team to work a little harder so they aren’t left out of the fun and enjoyment.
Customize your group trip
As additional motivation, you can customize your group trip with added experiences that your team would not otherwise be able to enjoy. Even if attendees on the incentive trip can afford their own vacations, adding unique features will make it one they will rave about well into the future. I recently came back from the South of France, where I had arranged a road rally in vintage cars – Cobra, Rolls Royce, Ferraris previously driven by famous people like Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt and Marcello Mastroianni. Leaving Cannes, we stopped in Eze, Villefranche sur Mer, LaTete de Chien. We lunched on top of a mountain in the picturesque village of Saint Agnes, 500-feet above sea level, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. We ended the tour on the Grand Prix Race track in Monaco. At the end of the day, everyone was saying that it was one of the best days of their lives. That memory alone will stay with them forever, whereas a cash incentive might have been spent paying household bills and quickly forgotten.
Engage with your team
Incentives are also a great way for upper management to engage with their team. In this global economy, we tend to work at the speed of sound, with little time to catch up with what is going on in each other’s lives. Being on the golf course or a day trip to the beach on a Catamaran is a great bonding moment for management and their sales teams.
Another great idea is to add Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to your incentive. It may involve giving your time or needed goods to a children’s charity. If visiting an area such as the Dominican Republic, incentive recipients could bring much need goods to local residents that were displaced from the earthquakes in Haiti. In general, most people really like helping those that are not as lucky as they are and it is a great teambuilding exercise.
So, what would motivate your team?