Incentive travel policies are changing: new challenges require new strategies

Sales are no longer the only department getting travel incentives

While numerous incentive programs have customarily centered around top employees and executives, companies working on their incentive travel policies are presently searching for ways of expanding the targeting of their programmes beyond the sales department, allowing employees from other branches to access (and compete for) travel incentives. The rational is simple: travelling is a powerful motivator and the benefits in terms of productivity are tangible: why should they be limited to one department, rather than extend to the whole company?

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How the pandemic prompted companies to change incentive travel policies (in unexpected way)

During the pandemic, there was no travelling. For almost a year (longer, in some Countries) there were also no office work, no hanging out with colleagues and no in-person meetings. Many companies started investing in employee wellness to counter-balance remote-working burnout, anxiety and isolation. Some of them started organising virtual tours and events, in lieu of travel incentives and team building activities. This led to discussions about travelling and the sharing of incentive travel experiences, which unexpectedly extended the motivating power of such incentives beyond the categories of employees that had been enjoying them in the past. When travel bans were lifted, many companies found it natural to extend such benefits to broader tiers of their hierarchy.

Exclusive experiences are in, group trips are out

The way we travel, in general, is changing. Incentive travel is no exception: most of us still don’t feel comfortable in large crowds and group trips tend to be less appealing than solo- or couple-experiences. There is also the issue of cancellations and re-booking: rescheduling a solo-trip due to a temporary travel-ban or health concern is way easier and allows for much greater flexibility than reorganising an incentive travel experience for a large group. Companies, therefore, are changing their incentive travel policies to focus on individual top performers – regardless of the department they operate in – rather than rewarding entire teams. Logistics and pricing, however, are not the only elements in play in this shifting of the incentive paradigm: the whole concept of “one size fits all” is being slowly but inexorably dismissed. Companies listen to employee feedback on issues such as the choice between office-based, remote or hybrid working solutions: why should incentive travel policies be any different? Not everyone enjoys group activities or even wants company on a trip and, if the travel experience is not appealing, it will lose its motivational power entirely.

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