Incentive - March 2008 - (Page 26)

INTERVIEW customers and clients (more on that in a minute), but some of it also comes in the form of recognition from management. To be effective, these moments of recognition and the rewards should include a few key attributes, according to Levesque: They must reflect effort on the part of management (no one-size-fits-all, mechanized thank-yous); they should be based directly on feedback received from customers and clients, even though they may be celebrated within the company (what Levesque calls the “Internal/External Meld”; he mentions screening videos of client testimonials at awards ceremonies as an example); and the recognition event or reward should be tied to a “hero story” or empowering narrative of an employee doing outstanding work that can be retold in workplace newsletters or meetings. The key is relevance and authenticity in the rewards and recognition, that they “make the good work [the employees] are already doing even better,” as Levesque puts it. He’s certainly not alone in emphasizing these points about incentives, considering that many incentive companies have incorporated these issues into the planning of programs, and some are offering ‘how to recognize’ training for managers and incorporating customer feedback into incentive award ceremonies. “I say to managers, ‘Get creative. You’re asking your employees to get creative about ways to delight customers,’” says Levesque. “[Managers should also] get creative about tying in rewards and incentives so that it has maximum motivational effect. So that other employees, who might be envious of a trip to Orlando or Honolulu, will be much more envious of the red carpet treatment of The more workers feel they matter, the more motivated they will be to work harder and engage themselves more deeply in their work. This is a point Levesque returns to consistently in his work with clients and in his writing, a concept he first began formulating during a trip to Walt Disney World several decades ago. Witnessing the effort the company and its workers dedicated to creating a full-scale experience for visitors got him asking what exactly it was that could create such a dynamic. “I wanted to understand the mechanics for keeping a group of employees fired up “I say to managers, ‘Get creative about tying in rewards and incentives so that it has maximum motivational effect.’” being on stage and receiving the attention for pleasing customers and being congratulated for improving customers’ lives.’” and enthusiastic about delivering wow-factor customer experiences. My personal research began then, and in a sense has never stopped,” says Levesque. From this initial interest, he moved fullsteam into the corporate training industry, working as a trainer throughout the mid80s, and in 1988 became the first full-time consultant for Achieve Group (a provider of leadership development and training programs that is today part of Tampa, Fla.–based Achieve Global). His position as lead instructor at Achieve’s Service Quality Academy allowed him to put his ideas into action, working with around 350 international corporate clients over the years, planning and implementing initiatives to improve their corporate culture. These experiences informed Levesque’s first book, The Wow Factory: Creating a Customer Focus Revolution in Your Business (Irwin, 1995), where he laid out the structure of the “Customer Focus Process” in which customer service fuels employee motivation and vice versa. As he’s gone on to become a senior consultant at Boston-based Novations Group Inc. and has founded his own company (Customer Focus Breakthrough, based in California), and is currently consulting in both capacities, Levesque has built further 26 | Incentive | March 2008 | incentivemag.com http://incentivemag.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Incentive - March 2008

Incentive - March 2008 Contents Editor’s Note: Delivering on Diversity In The News Cover Story: Leveraging Diversity in the Workplace Incentive Interview: Paul Levesque on Why Awards Fail Case Study: AEIS’ Max!-imum Incentive Program Mine Employees’ Creativity with Innovation Incentives Incentive Must-Reads The Third Annual Gift Card Roundtable My Turn: Motivation or Bribery? Everybody Get Together In Her Shoes: Why Bosses Should Be Flexible Incentive Primer: Passport Problem-Solving potentials Here and Now Is CES Electronics Heaven? China and Crystal: More Than a Pretty Face Travel News Florida: What’s New on the Beach? Smooth Sailing for Incentive Cruising Come To Hawaii And Take It Fast Last Word: But Enough About You

Incentive - March 2008

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