Find Little Risk in Company Rewards

While there may be skepticism from some end-buyer companies, McCloskey said that is only to be expected. “When I first make this suggestion, many employers [protest], … ‘That is not the kind of recognition program we were thinking about. We want to build something where our staff can collect points and cash them in for things.’” But again, she pointed out a combination of the two
programs is key.

Wurst shared an experience from her company: In one case, “The end-user organization assigned performance goals to a group of employees. The top-performing employee received a trip as a grand prize.” Then, in terms of the promotional product involved, Wurst explained the recipient also was given a Crystal D Illumachrome Wedge award with a four-color photo of the destination in the background—the “final touch” according to Wurst. “The award was etched with the location and dates of the trip. In this case, the crystal award reminded the recipient of his or her achievement long after the vacation ended.”

For Berkowitz, the final touch is the relevance of the item to the end-user’s life. “Although
electronics and the newest gizmos and gadgets are popular at this time, our innovative Picnic Plus products are timeless and not a quick, disposable fad. Personal and family leisure time has and will always continue to be an important component of our culture
and our products complement these values,” he said.

McCloskey believes distributors should be prepared and even offer to help an employer survey its staff to gain insight into what type of incentive will help retention. She shared, “The answer is that not one gift will motivate every employee. Distributors need to know this and come in prepared to talk about the different ‘types’ of employees and how each employee is motivated differently.”

“Reward those employees with products that are useful and will enhance their lifestyle,” added Berkowitz, “rather than a decorative gift that may sit on a shelf, be left in a box or thrown away.”