The longevity of a company may depend on various internal and external factors. Some of them, more often external, may be out of control and independent of the actions of the company; however, if a company does as much as there is in its power, it has more chances to cope with difficulties such as harsh competition, declining market share, etc. The wellness of employees is one the things which are at least partially in the power of a company.
Employee wellness means both their physical comfort as well as psychological well-being. The reasons why a company must care about the wellness of its employees are very simple: happy employees perform better. Happiness is often achieved by satisfying a particular need. Therefore, to squeeze the best out of their employees, companies should look for ways to satisfy their employees’ needs. One of the fundamental human needs is the need for recognition.
The need for recognition is much related with man’s role in society. For an employee, work is often the place where he or she can realize their abilities, socialize and thus get self-satisfaction from it. However, the mere sense of self-actualization is not enough: feeling noticed and recognized is equally important.
By recognition, people emphasize the person’s role in their social environment. The recipient is shown that he or she is accepted and appreciated. Last but not least, the act of recognition reinforces the sense of belonging, which positively affects employee commitment.
A smart way to recognize deserving employees is giving travel incentives. Incentive travel is officially defined as a management tool used to motivate and/or recognize participants by providing a special travel experience. Companies use incentive travel to attract clients, or, in the case of employees, increase productivity and the level of performance.
The growing popularity of travel incentives may be associated with their effectiveness. A survey ‘2006 Incentive Travel Buyers Handbook’ carried out by the magazine Incentive shows that 75% of respondents find travel incentives a successful tool, with 53% noting it as very or extremely effective. Furthermore, in the age where collecting experience is an ever more frequent practice than collecting things, travel seems to have become the most desired reward.
The reason why travel has proved an effective tool of motivation is that travel is a special type of incentive as it not only makes participants feel appreciated, but is also a way to satisfy a variety of other needs, such as the need for novelty, the need for physical activity, the need for knowledge, the need to rest from work and so on.
By giving rewards, and particularly travel incentives, a company invests in its most valuable asset – human resources, and – as the experience of many corporations has shown – these investments may bring huge benefits related with staff performance and thus business success.
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