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.

There has been a lot of talk of government restrictions on corporate travel. Frivolous expenditures in other departments has brought meeting travel under scrutiny. However, if planners study the guidelines and make the government a partner instead of an adversary, they can make the recession work in their favor.

First, Look at the Bright Side

No one likes a perennial Pollyanna, but if you look at the positive things the guidelines will do it can help you work your way into a special place in the companies you serve. It will make you a better planner. When you talk to your clients your voice will have a new spirit of confidence. You will have ready solution for their problems. You will be able to give them more value. Read the rest of this entry »