Neal R. Voron
President,
Voron Communications
Developer of
EnergizeYourEmployees.com
and Author of
"The Obstacle Course"
ENERGIZING
AND MOTIVATING
EMPLOYEES...
Web Sites...
is a service of
VORON
COMMUNICATIONS
Neal R. Voron
EnergizeYourEmployees.com
c/o Voron Communications
8001 Castor Avenue, PMB 119
Philadelphia, PA 19152
Phone: 215-742-2440
Fax: 215-342-3788
URL: http://www.EnergizeYourEmployees.com
EnergizeYourEmployees.com is dedicated to bringing you information and resources to energize, motivate, and inspire your employee team.
Energizing Your Employees With Incentives...
author of “Incentive Toolkit 2005”
EnergizeYourEmployees.com
In September 2003, after 12 years of experience with employee incentive programs for one of the largest entertainment and information companies in the world, Andy O’Bryan left a well-paying job to launch Principal Visions LLC, an employee motivation and consulting firm assisting both the small business and large corporation with their employee incentive and motivation needs.
His prior experience as Regional Marketing Manager for Time Warner Cable involved creating, implementing and tracking incentive and motivational programs for customer service and technical employees. The programs were highly successful, he said, leading to dramatic improvements in office and field sales, and resulting in marked increases in revenue, morale and overall employee satisfaction.
Andy knows about energizing employees with incentive programs. In his current role as a writer, consultant, and public speaker, he shares his knowledge to help clients use incentives to motivate their employees.
EnergizeYourEmployees.com contacted O’Bryan and asked him to share some insights about energizing employees...
EnergizeYourEmployees.com: Andy, you consult and speak on the topic of motivating and energizing employees. Who should care about this topic and why?
Andy O’Bryan: Employee motivation should take place in every workplace that has 2 or more employees. And while you can start any time, it works best as a pro-active approach as opposed to reactive. Any manager or supervisor who is interested in growing their customer base, retaining their employees and keeping a high level of morale should care about motivating and energizing employees on an ongoing basis.
Low employee morale is a slippery slope, and can easily and rapidly spread to all areas of the business including the precious customer who can always sense when an employee is not happy. And if a customer believes this, then they will eventually go to your competition, where they may very well have more motivated employees. In addition, low morale inevitably leads to high employee turnover, which leads to increased costs for recruiting and training new employees. Then there’s no guarantee these new employees will be happy either. It’s a vicious circle really.
EnergizeYourEmployees.com: In what ways can organizations motivate and energize their employees?
Andy O’Bryan: They can do it in a variety of ways: incentive programs, relaxed policies and procedures and an overall culture of fairness, decency and genuinely positive interpersonal relationships that are built up over time. There needs to be a sense of consistent trust between employer and employee at all times. Trust is the foundation of all employee motivation efforts.
EnergizeYourEmployees.com: You have written a book, Incentive Toolkit 2005, which goes into great detail about creating employee incentive programs. What is an employee incentive program, and what is the incentive for an organization to utilize one?
Andy O’Bryan: An employee incentive program is simply a means to an end. It’s a way to entice employees to help you hit a goal. Any goal. There are all shapes and sizes of incentive programs which are outlined in the book, and many ways to conduct them effectively. But to answer the second question, the incentive for an organization to utilize such a program is to accomplish simultaneous objectives: hit or exceed company goals, boost morale, reduce employee turnover and set long term objectives for motivation.
EnergizeYourEmployees.com: Why are incentive programs important for motivating and energizing employees? Isn’t a paycheck and an employee’s sense of pride enough of an incentive for top-level performance?
Andy O’Bryan: Not anymore. In some cases an employee taking pride in his or her work is indeed enough. But in this day and age of companies competing for quality people, skyrocketing employee recruiting costs and a constant need for positive cash flow growth and hitting stockholder forecasts and other business objectives each month, incentive programs have become an integral part of doing business. And employees have come to expect them.
EnergizeYourEmployees.com: Can you provide an example of a valuable, low-cost incentive program that any organization can implement?
Andy O’Bryan: One of the things I consult with businesses on is running incentive programs geared toward the time of year. It’s fun to come up with different ideas for growth and motivation centered around a holiday or seasonal event. The good thing about these is that your concepts are already there. Employees know about the upcoming event and they are already in that frame of mind. You can then, very affordably, go in and piggyback off that seasonal mood and create an incentive goal based on that theme. For instance, with Halloween an employer could create an incentive program where if they hit a sales goal they could win a Halloween costume party for the office complete with catered food and prize giveaways. The possibilities are endless.
EnergizeYourEmployees.com: Are there different types of incentive programs that work better for different types of employees?
Andy O’Bryan: Every employee is different, and there is no magic formula that will make everyone happy. This is where feedback is crucial. An employer needs to follow up after an incentive program is over and determine whether it was effective and, perhaps just as important, enjoyed by the employees. If it wasn’t, then there needs to be some communication to find out what will work better the next time. In many cases it’s a matter of trial and error, but my ebook outlines proven strategies that work across all types of businesses and employee structures, which increases your chances of generating excitement with as many employees as possible.
EnergizeYourEmployees.com: Should each department in a company have its own incentive program, or is a company-wide incentive program better?
Andy O’Bryan: I recommend a two-pronged approach.
First, you should have an incentive program for each department, focused on each one’s specific goals. If you don’t do it this way you risk alienating certain groups of people who have no way of hitting a goal that may not apply to them as much as it does a different department. For instance, if you have a sales goal for the sales department, a numbers goal for the marketing department, and a quality control or safety goal for the technical, supply side or manufacturing departments.
Then, as the second side of the incentive, you create one goal for the company to reach. It could be a month end budget goal or some other all encompassing target that everyone has a vested interest in attaining, for the sake of the big picture. There are many other details to such an incentive program, and this is what I consult companies on for maximum effectiveness.
EnergizeYourEmployees.com: Please share an incentive program success story... How have companies you’ve worked with benefited?
Andy O’Bryan: I ran one incentive program where people had to go on a cross country road race (not literally of course). Each participant was assigned a “vehicle” and for each sales goal they hit they could move to another state. The person who got across the country, hitting the most states along the way (by achieving their sales goals) was the winner of a real trip to anywhere in the US they wanted to go.
Employees benefit from this type of incentive because it’s fun and different, even for those who don’t win anything. Creative incentives, when rolled out, maintained and followed up on effectively, make employees look forward to coming to work every day, and could mean the difference between success and failure over the long haul for many people in your workforce.
EnergizeYourEmployees.com: Are there certain things to avoid when setting up an incentive program?
Andy O’Bryan: There are many pitfalls on the way to a great incentive program, and all of them must be avoided to ensure total success and maintain one’s credibility for the sake of future programs. I outline them all in the ebook and spoke about them at this year’s Incentive Show in New York City. Among them are things like unrealistic goals and time frames, in-fighting and other competitive tactics among participants, frequent winners, unclear instructions, and gratification that is not immediate. There are several others that can derail an incentive program as well, and a good manager needs to be mindful of all of them beforehand.
EnergizeYourEmployees.com: Where does one start when setting up an incentive program? Do you need to hire a consultant, or can a company handle things itself?
Andy O’Bryan: Consultants are not necessary for the actual setting up or maintenance process. I’m a consultant and I can tell you this without hesitation (at the risk of losing business!). However, a consultant is helpful for coming up with the creative aspects and can guide the management team down the right path to long term employee motivation, and this is something that I specialize in. If the manager running the incentive doesn’t have enough time to do all that’s involved, then try delegating the administrative tasks. There are also some great online incentive programs out there now that can help companies set up a totally turn-key program, where the employees can check their progress, shop for and pick out their rewards electronically. If anyone would like information on these sites or my services they are more than welcome to contact me via email at: ajobryan(at)aol.com
EnergizeYourEmployees.com: You very generously make a free e-course, “The 17 Secrets to Incentive Success”, available via e-mail at 17secrets(at)aweber.com. What types of secrets are these, and how powerful can they be for my organization?
Andy O’Bryan: Shhh, they’re secret! So I can’t tell you... (just kidding). Of course, it’s only a secret if you don’t know about it, and many of these may already be known by managers that are currently running top notch incentive programs. These “secrets” are simply some insider tips on how to motivate people more effectively, ranging from good food to great follow-up procedures and all things motivational in between.
EnergizeYourEmployees.com: How can someone sign-up for the e-course?
Andy O’Bryan: You can use the email address above, or go to the website for my ebook, at http://www.IncentiveToolkit.com.
EnergizeYourEmployees.com: How can Incentive Toolkit 2005 assist an organization in setting up an employee incentive program?
Andy O’Bryan: I’m glad you asked! Incentive Toolkit 2005 gives everything from soup to nuts on how to set up, maintain and follow up on any incentive program for any size company. It explains the pitfalls to avoid during the planning process, gives a sample checklist, tells you how to set the right goals, create the proper budget, and even gives some off the shelf creative ideas for incentive programs you can start up tomorrow. I take all the guesswork out of all aspects of incentive programs in this ebook. It’s like I’m sitting there next to you helping you every step of the way, from implementation to tracking and ongoing employee motivation and retention. I also throw in some bonus items to sweeten the pot, such as personal email consulting, transcripts of interviews I’ve done with a couple of leadership icons, Beverly Kaye and Marshall Goldsmith, and some other ebooks that should be on every manager’s desktop.
EnergizeYourEmployees.com: How can someone obtain a copy of the book?
Andy O’Bryan: Just visit http://www.IncentiveToolkit.com or order directly by phone at 1-888-367-4429.
EnergizeYourEmployees.com: Andy, besides your book, how else can you help organizations motivate and energize employees? Do you offer other products or services?
Andy O’Bryan: Yes! I meet with management teams across the country to help them motivate their workforces through incentives and other tactics. I am also available for keynote addresses and motivational seminars on a variety of topics. For a menu of topics, folks can send me an email at ajobryan(at)aol.com or call me at 1-888-367-4429.
EnergizeYourEmployees.com: Tell us briefly about AudioMotivation.com, the motivational resource membership site you co-founded with Josh Hinds, developer of The Motivational Mecca!...
Andy O’Bryan: AudioMotivation.com features interviews averaging 20-25 minutes in length with the leaders in personal and professional development. It’s a subscription based site that appeals to individuals for their own ongoing success guidance, small and medium sized businesses for employee motivation, all the way up to large corporations for sales training, employee retention and corporate development. We interview motivational speakers, best selling authors, sales trainers, CEO consultants and renowned educators, picking their brains and going beyond the scope of their published works and seminars.
The site is http://www.AudioMotivation.com and you can become an annual member with access to all of the interviews for just $49.
EnergizeYourEmployees.com: How can readers obtain a copy of the “AudioMotivation Digest, FREE – Special Report”?
Andy O’Bryan: Just send an email to amdigest(at)aweber.com or visit the site, located at http://www.AudioMotivation.com.
EnergizeYourEmployees.com: Thank you, Andy, for your time and insights into how to motivate and energize employees. Feel free to add any additional comments or resources you wish to share...
Andy O’Bryan: These past six months have been quite a ride, between interviewing 60 people for the AudioMotivation site and completing The Incentive Toolkit 2005 ebook, which will also be published as a non-fiction work in a couple months. Quitting my job and going headlong into the unknown was certainly a risk, but like anything else worthwhile, risks are a necessary part of the process. I wish your site visitors all the best in their personal and professional growth. If anyone has any questions, comments or feedback just send me an email or give me a call.
Neal R. Voron, the developer of EnergizeYourEmployees.com, is the president of Voron Communications ( http://www.voron.com ) and co-founder of RyKy Records (tm). He is also the author of “The Obstacle Course”, a self-help/inspirational novel about overcoming obstacles.
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