Incentive - October 2008 - (Page 16)

COVER STORY recognition program for its direct sales force. It wanted to create a consistent worldwide sales reward and recognition system. Cisco placed an emphasis on embracing a globally consistent program, so that each region had the same opportunities to win. The idea was that a global program would be equally motivational across the sales force and easier to administer. Cisco’s Chairman’s Club will return to Lana’i in 2009, where the recreation options are so motivational Cisco partnered with Maritz Inc., which helped it develop a structure to reinforce retention and loyalty of its top performers. Cisco also intended to increase sales force effectiveness and provide recognition for its best salespeople. “We started getting feedback from our individual sales contributors that our recognition programs were lacking motivation and did not allow for a broad enough group of sales winners,” explains Castle. “We went out and conducted benchmarking studies with other high-tech companies to build a solid strategy regarding sales recognition. As we looked at different compensation levers, we decided to focus more on incentives that get winners recognition from the leadership team.” The company came to the realization that focusing on rewards other than cash has significant merit and is more memorable for the sales representative. The company polled the entire Cisco sales force both quantitatively and qualitatively about incentives and motivation. A new recognition program was rolled out that included not only the Chairman’s Club top-tier incentive, but also other new incentive programs—all of which allowed the program to achieve an overall rating of 4.52, based on a fivepoint scale, the first year. Requirements to make it into the Chairman’s Club include: exceptional individual sales achievements, contribution to Cisco’s overall revenue goals and exhibiting behaviors that support Cisco’s cultural expectations, which focus on exceptional character. Winners excel at leadership, teamwork and collaboration, innovate new products and/or demonstrate exceptional response to a customer’s needs that are outside the norm, such as how to provide a network infrastructure to a third world country in its entirety. Entry into the Chairman’s Club is subjective, it’s not just based on numerical requirements. Two other levels of recognition were developed as well. Sales “achievers” consist of approximately the top 60 percent of the company’s sales force, and sales “champions” consist of the top 10 percent. All salespeople attend the Cisco Global Sales Meeting where winners are recognized. This key celebration program is where Cisco delivers a motivational experience that will empower sales teams to generate future revenue through communication, motivation and recognition. During this meeting, top-performing Cisco sales reps are recognized in front of thousands of executives and peers by making it in to one of the three tiered programs. Many winners have commented about the tremendous sense of pride Cisco’s Circle of SUCCESS etting to be an employer of choice takes a circular effort, according to Cisco Systems’ management. “We know we couldn’t be a great place to work if we didn’t have customers who want our products,” John Earnhardt, Cisco’s senior manager of global media operations, wrote on the company’s blog earlier this year. “We wouldn’t have great products if we didn’t have great engineers who want to work at a great place…and our innovative products and technology are borne from what our customers want. So, thank you, customers, for making Cisco a great place to work!” Cisco Systems is a $39.5 billion company that is committed to its approximately 65,000 employees. And this isn’t just a well-crafted publicity ploy. The company has been ranked on Fortune’s 100 Best Places to Work for the last 11 years, ranking sixth this year. The company was founded in 1984 by two members of Stanford University’s computer support staff, Len Bosack, who was in charge of the computer science department’s computers, and Sandy Lerner, who managed the Graduate School of Business’ computers. Cisco became one of the nation’s fastest growing companies by providing the networking equipment that connected individuals to the Internet. Cisco hardware, software and service offerings are used to create Internet solutions that make networks possible, providing easy access to information anywhere, at any time. G 16 | Incentive | October 2008 | incentivemag.com http://www.incentivemag.com

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

Incentive - October 2008 Contents Editor's Note Headlines Cover Story: Face Time with Senior Executives is the Top Motivator of Cisco Systems' Chairman's Club Winners Incentive Interview Safety Incentives: Safety Drives a Limousine Service's Motivational Efforts Case Study Primer Learning: Diving into Incentives for the Mind Enhances Both Loyalty and the Bottom Line Research: Travel IQ Travel News Florida Coast to Cost Caribbean Escape Potentials Here and Now Gadgets & Power Tools: High-End Roars Seen at the Motivation Show Advertisers Index Off the Cuff

Incentive - October 2008

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