Top 7 questions about Incentive Travel are answered... Why should I run a trip with an incentive programme? Why offer a place on a trip instead of giving cash or tangible rewards? Where should we go?

1. Incentive Travel 101
your questions answered
By JoanneKelly,
Head of CR Events

2. Why should I run a trip with
an incentive programme?
Engaged employees - an incentive programme that includes a trip, simply put,
gives you a better employee; a dedicated, harder worker that’s more engaged
within your company. This increases sales for your business and helps boost
employee awareness of the company brand.
Motivated employees - holding a trip is a fun way of recognising and rewarding
your employees’ hard work. It makes them feel appreciated, motivating them to
continue to work hard (and work harder) to win a place on next year’s trip.
Job satisfaction - a trip also gives staff something to look forward to, which
boosts job satisfaction. They return from the trip buzzing with excitement, which
filters down the rest of the team. This helps to improve morale, while encouraging
others to work harder so they can enjoy a future trip too.
Q:

3. Why offer a place on a trip
instead of giving cash or
tangible rewards?
Cash can be swallowed up in a pay packet and quickly forgotten
about.
Trips give memories you can’t put a price on – memories your
employees will associate with your company and that last a
lifetime.
While tangible rewards, like sports gear and smart phones, are
more personal than money, they don’t give those experiences and
memories. And, who doesn’t love a holiday?
Q:

4. Does the trip come out of the
employees’ holiday or the
working week?
This depends on your company – whether or not you’re happy
to run the trip in business hours. It can also determine how
long you go for.
It’s worth remembering, the trip can be classed as business-
related if it’s educational, or will involve networking.
It’s still worth ensuring travel to your trip destination happens
over the weekend, so employees are out of work for less time
or use fewer days of annual leave.
Q:

5. Where should we go?
Your trip destination depends on factors like your audience, your
incentive programme and company culture, but almost always starts
with your budget.
With a limited budget you could fly to Dublin, Ireland, for a few days,
while a bigger budget can take you further field – the US or Japan,
perhaps.
Age groups are important and can impact your destination and
itinerary– a younger group might like somewhere with adrenaline
fuelled activities and a vibrant nightlife, while older staff might prefer
somewhere more relaxing and cultured.
Group sizes are a factor too – a costly long-haul trip would work well
for a group of five, while a larger trip of over 100 might be better
closer to home.
Q:

6. How long should we go for
and when?
The length of your trip depends primarily on your budget and
destination. Typically, a European trip should be three to four
days, and four to six days for international.
You should want your employees who have won a place on a
trip to feel like they’ve been rewarded, they shouldn’t feel like
the trip is over as soon as they arrive.
When you go depends on the weather, yes, but also how many
trips you want to run a year and your incentive programme.
Q:

7. What should be included in
the trip itinerary?
Your trip itinerary needs to suit your target audience and age group.
A younger group might enjoy extreme activities like zip wiring or
water skiing, while older employees might prefer a cultural experience
– a castle tour or walk through a national park.
Try to include some visits to iconic landmarks – a trip to San Francisco
wouldn’t be the same without a day at Alcatraz, or a walk over the
Golden Gate Bridge. Also, consider doing activities your staff might
not otherwise get to experience – a memorable private session
feeding elephants in South Africa, for example.
Include a mixture of organised team activities (staff can opt-in and
out-of) and free time - particularly if the trip’s open to employees’
spouses or partners.
Also, consider featuring an educational element – a product launch or
training day – as your top sales people will probably be in one place.
Q:

8. How can we maintain
momentum over the incentive
period to ensure we get a good
ROI from incentive travel?
It’s best to run an incentive programme for at least three months,
so your business has chance to hit sales targets and meet any
objectives set out, like raising product or brand awareness.
You could run a six-month programme too, especially for a long-
haul destination.
Hold some sales floor days, to help build momentum and drive
awareness of the incentive. This helps to keep the incentive front
of mind, build up your staff performance and reaffirm their loyalty
to your company.
Q:

9. About CR Events
We do Events...really well. From team events and sales floor activation days to large-scale
conferences and bespoke once-in-a-lifetime incentive travel experiences, we've got it covered.
Our knowledge, expertise, passion and processes are designed to help you get the most out of
your event and ultimately your investment.
Winners of multiple awards – including The Drum UK Event Awards, C&IT Excellence, CRN Sales and
Marketing, Incentive and Motivation, and Eventia.

10. To find out more about our ideas for incentive travel and get the most
from your employees, get in touch.
Visit us: www.corporaterewards.co.uk / www.cr.events
Call us: 0370 405 2020
Email us: hello@cr.events
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