Incentive - September 2008 - (Page 38) CASE STUDY Members of the Orkin President’s Club meet at San Francisco’s Pier 39 before embarking on a tour of Alcatraz prison The Presidental Treatment Expanding its incentive program beyond the sales team has led to big rewards By Peter Hildebrandt T he ever-present Orkin Man is that way for a reason: Pests are always poised to invade our homes and businesses, whether we’re ready or not. Maybe that’s why one annual Orkin incentive has been such a big hit: It always takes participants far from home and work. For 35 years, the Orkin President’s Club has given Orkin employees the chance to win a trip to a different enjoyable location. They’ve traveled to Montreal, St. Thomas, Cancun and dozens of places in between. New York City is this year’s location, and the total number of attendees is up to 650 people, which includes about 300 employee winners, each with a spouse or friend as a guest. A small group of VIPs also attend each year, including the president, CEO, division vice presidents and others who act as hosts for the event. Originally the President’s Club was just for the salespeople of the Atlanta-based company. Incentive In the early 1980s the program was expanded to include service employees (those people who actually crawl under your home to treat for insects) and branch managers. The program has grown to the point where virtually everyone in the company, numbering 8,000 employees, has some way to compete for President’s Club. Support staff may compete in two ways. The best branch in each of Orkin’s five divisions, the four best regions in the company and the single best division in the company bring their entire staff, including administrative and other support staff. The second way that support staff compete is by nomination, with each of Orkin’s five divisions selecting one outstanding administrative staff person to attend from anywhere in that division. Gary Rollins, CEO of Orkin’s parent company, Rollins Inc., was Orkin president when he started the incentive. Now Gary’s son is president and helps handle the arrangements. Employees all have an individual threshold PROFILE Orkin Industry: Pest control Challenge: Find a way to motivate a wider range of employees with incentives Solution: Expand the President’s Club sales incentive program by selecting winners based on best region or division and by nomination, allowing virtually everyone to be eligible for the award ROI: Those who win the award enjoy it so much they are inspired to work hard enough to win it again: 60 percent are repeat winners 38 | | September 2008 | incentivemag.com http://incentivemag.com
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