Wanted: A Discussion on Travel Incentives

Incentive and recognition awards (particularly those that include travel) have been the subject of recent criticisms in the media. Grab a cup of coffee, put on your thinking cap and read these three statements:

Incentives for motivation are more important than ever before.

Many publicly traded companies are revising and in many cases canceling their travel awards.

My prediction is that . . .companies will bend and cancel most, if not all, the incentive travel for 2009 if there is any hint that it could be at the expense of jobs or other business expenses that seem more "normal."

These statements belong to Paul Herbert. Paul is the brains behind Incentive Intelligence, a recognized authority on incentives and performance motivation, and part of the team at Fistful of Talent.

Do you agree with the statements, or not? Hold that thought.

Here are some travel facts: the travel industry, including business and incentive travel, contributes more than $730 billion to the U.S. economy; business-related travel generates 2.4 million American jobs, $244 billion in spending and $39 billion in tax revenue at the federal, state and local level; meetings and conventions account for over $100 billion in annual expenditures; meetings and events are responsible for nearly 15% of all travel in the United States;and the U.S. Commerce Department predicts a loss of 247,000 travel related jobs in 2009

This information was provided by our friends at Fistful of Talent. They are interested in fostering a dialogue on what could be a developing issue affecting businesses across the country and are placing Paul at the helm this discussion. Paul wrote about Nortel and Wells Fargo, thinks incentives are more important than ever before and that 2009 will be a problem for incentive travel awards.

What do you think? Let Paul know and join the discussion. Every voice is important.

Comments

[HR Maven]

For education, our $$ comes from tuition dollars. There is incredible political pressure to keep tuition increases down so that means other costs need to be trimmed. We are allowed to travel but only if we are presenting or participating in a conference.

I realize that engagement is a critical component of any job. Mostly I am hearing employees say, 'I am grateful to have a job right now.'

It's a double edged sword - we are all intertwined. I don't have much of an answer on this.

[Lisa Rosendahl]

I am in the stands on this one. Our $ is as equally scrutinzed and when it comes to patient care vs travel - patient care comes first. Each organization is very different and there can be a world of difference between them. It will be very interesting to see this unfold on the field and and to hear the different perspectives.

[Tourist Destination Blog]

Because of recession and the world financial crisis it's much more better to have a stable job, than expecting an incentive. It's not bad to think about incentives as long as it is related to the business operation and it has a job order.