Communications Plan

The key to running a successful incentive program is communications. Effective communications follow a life-cycle approach that include the following stages: Pre-Launch Communications, Launch Communications, Active Program Communications, and Close-Out Communications.

The importance of regularly communicating with program participants cannot be minimized. If executed properly, program communications will build excitement, improve motivation, and ensure peak performance.

Let Xceleration improve your incentive program with effective communications. Contact Us to get started.

Program Development - Pre-Launch Communications

As you start planning your incentive program, it is imperative that you outline an effective pre-launch communication plan. To begin, you want to communicate your program's objectives to each of your corporate executives. Work with each group to design criteria for their employees, and make sure you receive final approval on all program rules - BEFORE you announce your program. Too many programs fail because the proper executive buy-in is not received prior to the program launch.

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Program Announcement - Launch Communications

When you announce your incentive program you have three key program elements that need to be clearly communicated.

• Criteria – Communicate the program criteria for each group of employees.
• Awards – Communicate what your employees will win if they achieve criteria.
• Information – Provide employees with a resource to receive additional information.

The faster this information is communicated to your employees, the quicker they will become focused on the objectives at hand. If these three areas are covered on launch day and understood by the participants, your incentive program will be off to a great start.

Here are some ideas to ensure your program is announced effectively:

1. Educate executives and upper-level management prior to your employee launch. When your program is announced to a large audience, you will need your managers to help "spread the word" throughout their teams.



2. Set up employee conference calls on your launch date to review the program timeframe, structure, criteria, and awards. Conference calls allow you to effectively answer questions for a large audience simultaneously, thus, eliminating many of the individual questions in the future.



3. Don't forget the posters! Promotion is the key to many successful businesses and your corporate incentive program is no different. In an effort to ensure your audience stays focused on the corporate goals, a simple program poster to hang at each office location is an effective tool.

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Program Support - Active Program Communications

The most frequently asked questions during an incentive program are always the same: "Where are my results? How am I doing?"

It is the nature of competitive employees to ask, and it is your responsibility to get the information to them as soon as possible. Post your rankings frequently (monthly recommended), and watch your employees swarm to check their status. For your top performers, a mid-program look at how they are doing will provide additional motivation to achieve the higher program thresholds and awards.

Also, don't let your participants ever forget an incentive program is in progress. Send out weekly e-mails, announce the program on company conference calls, send out fax broadcasts, and post updates to your company website. Find the best intra-communication resource available to your employees and exploit it.

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Program Conclusion - Close-Out Communications

A common mistake for many corporate incentive programs is the lack of post-program communications. Don't think that when your program timeframe is over, your communication responsibilities are complete. In fact, in the weeks after your program, you can actually have the greatest impact on your audience.

Here are a few ideas:

1. Announce the top performers to all of your employees. Everyone wants to be recognized by their peers, their management, their executives, and whoever else will remember their name. It is a common attribute of all humans - we want and crave attention. So don't miss this opportunity to give it to them.



2. Seek feedback from your participants. Send out a post-program survey. Want to know what worked for your audience, and what should be changed? Just ask them. Simply produce a short (10-12 questions) survey asking your participants what they thought of program communications, criteria, structure, awards and results. Also ask them for constructive suggestions. You will be surprised at how much valuable feedback you receive.

Let Xceleration design an effective communication strategy for your incentive program.

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