Successful incentive programs will not only increase company profits but can also raise morale and inspire employee loyalty. Your ideal incentive program should include both of the following features:

• Empowering people to do the thing you enjoy doing
• Recognition – in all its various forms

Recognition of a well-done job creates greater autonomy, increases visibility within your organization, and showcases success.

"There are two things people want more than sex and money… recognition and praise." – Mary Kay Ash, Founder, Mary Kay Cosmetics

"People want to feel what they do makes a difference." – Frances Hesselbein, President, The Drucker Foundation

Top recognition incentive programs to motivate staff include rewards of money or travel.  People love to travel to destinations that are different from their own environment.  Trips to exotic destinations such as Hawaii or an incentive cruise to interesting ports of call are among the most popular incentives.  

As a meeting planner, you are concerned with so many things that it can be easy to overlook the smaller things. However, one thing you do not want to forget–or eliminate–is how to make your event stay in the minds of participants for a long time. This is not only good for your client, but for you as well. Not only will your client remember the event, he or she will remember the planner who made it so.

Although having the right meals, the right place, the right equipment, the right space, etc., are all crucial components, finding a way to turn the event into a keepsake is also important. Here are some ways to make your event unforgettable. Read the rest of this entry »