For much of the time employees are in meetings, meeting participants are simply a captive audience. In cases such as these, participants are very likely to “tune out” and miss important information that is being disseminated. This is where the meeting planner can step in and be of invaluable assistance. To avoid situations in which meeting participants “zone out” and either daydream or doodle, meeting planners can make meeting preparation assignments. While this may sound like a meeting planner doling out homework, it actually helps meeting participants take a more significant role in the incentive meeting.

There are several types of meetings that can be held, and these include: problem-solving meetings, sales meetings, brainstorming session, and other types of less formal meetings. With problem-solving meetings, the participants may be made aware of the problem to be discussed ahead of time. They can then be asked to think of a possible solution and potentially share this solution with the group. For sales meetings, participants could be asked to discuss successful strategies they have learned. In a brainstorming session, participants can be asked questions related to the topic of discussion and provide potential solutions are answers. There are many ways in which incentive meetings can be tailored to encourage meaningful employee participation.

In today's business world, when employees hear about meetings they often grimace. While meetings are an essential part of business, meetings are often over scheduled and under utilized. Workers may begin to feel as though meetings are interrupting their productivity. For this reason, meeting planners must be thoughtful, diligent, and resourceful when planning meetings – even incentive meetings. Businesses desire for their incentive meetings to be effective, successful, enjoyable, informative, and motivating for their top employees. By following a few guidelines, meeting planners can ensure they get the most participation from employees.

Meeting planners need to make certain that the meeting has an agenda and that all participants are apprised of this agenda. Not only should individuals be aware of the meeting agenda, but they should also be aware of the objectives of the meeting. Information provided to meeting participants should include items such as topics of discussion, presenters, location, date, time, and any other pertinent background information. This can help participants to be well-prepared for the meeting. It will be the job of the meeting planner to ensure the meeting begins on time, presenters are well-prepared, and that employee participation is encouraged. Evaluating the effectiveness of the meeting and noting any suggested improvements will also be beneficial.

One of the largest problems that incentive meetings have is a loss of control over attendees who would rather be at home cleaning their bathrooms. Even participants who enter a business meeting with the best intentions can become bored and restless if equipment is malfunctioning or there are lengthy pauses in the presentation due to an agenda that isn’t working out as planned.

A great way to guarantee quick results at an incentive meeting is to hold your meeting in a venue that offers desirable after-meeting entertainment options that is not available until all work is completed. When your meeting is composed of busy individuals who have other things to do, they will settle down and do their best to complete the work-at-hand in a fast and productive manner.

Combining a structured incentive trip with fun participant activities requires some creative thinking and a calculator. In reality, a business incentive meeting can be held in any appropriately setup conference room that comes complete with reasonably priced comfortable accommodations, food and beverage choices, and an easy-access location that allows for all transportation concerns.

Cruise ships have luxury accommodations, free food, no transportation needs after reaching the point of departure, and conference room facilities that are available with state-of-the-art equipment for passengers to use. These floating hotels also offer quality entertainment options, health spas, room service and activities for traveling family members to enjoy themselves too.

A few quick clicks on the calculator will show you how the price of a cruise meeting will beat the traditional lodging, restaurant, and transportation costs of a business incentive meeting from many locations inside of the United States today. Even with airfares involved to get to the port-of-departure, with many of the vacation industry discounts being offered today, a cruise can be the most economical way to conduct your next business meeting. In fact, a cruise can save you as much as 40 percent over the price of a land based venue, due to the fact that it is all inclusive.

An all inclusive cruise event can save you up to 40% compared to hotel venues since so much is included. Meals, meeting rooms, A/V, coffee breaks, activities, entertainment and even room service are part of the all-inclusive cruise fare.

Not everyone in the office can get the big promotion and the corner office, but that does not mean that there are no other rewards to dole out to encourage performance and loyalty. In fact, some of those rewards can be tax deductible while simultaneously offering an immediate and direct benefit to the company, such as incentive travel where meetings or other events are part of the plan. Here’s how it works:

• Corporate travel and meetings are very common, but usually the top few people in any department get to go. If a new promotion has been handed out, consider letting the runners up to the position go as sort of a second-place prize. This shows them that even though they may have come so close to getting that coveted promotion, that they are not truly that far away. Special perks are still available, and Joe’s corner office as much as perk as it is a ball and chain.
•  It is usually best not to announce the travel meetings or travel events as a secondary prize before any decision making is done regarding who gets which promotion. Instead, try approaching the proposition of meeting travel as a conically prize as a way to reward those that try so hard to please and perform their duties with diligence. Loyalty and hard work deserve rewards, and those rewards are even better when they help smooth over potentially ruffled feathers while still putting the needs of business first.

If a business or organization typically plans incentive meetings within the same city in which the business is located or only a few hours a way, employees will probably not be as motivated to earn a spot on these trips. Even meeting venues in cities that are on the opposite coast of the U.S. may not be the enticing motivator businesses hope they will be. While some employees will be intrigued by travel within the states, many ambitious, top-rated employees have their sights set beyond the U.S. The types of employees that will most likely be the top producers in a company typically have dreams of faraway destinations.

While traveling to distant lands can be expensive, there is a way that businesses can offer this travel without overburdening their budget. An incentive cruise is an excellent way to offer this international travel to deserving employees. While incentive cruising, businesses can hold productive and profitable meetings at sea while allowing employees the opportunity to travel the world. A ship charter is often less expensive than land venues, and an incentive cruise helps employees to network and build relationships. A ship charter to a distant land could be the thing a business needs to highly motivate capable, competent, and talented employees.