Viewpoints Don’t bank on incentives As the banks turn their back on sales incentives, Edenred’s Colin Hodgson asks what can be learned from them? The ripples caused by the crisis in UK banking has reached the world of reward and incentives. The decision of HSBC to remove all sales incentives for its frontline staff puts it alongside Barclays and the Co-operative Bank as institutions who are attempting to put clear blue water between customer care and product sales. Coming in the wake of the scandals around the widespread miss-selling of Payment Protection Insurance and financial products to small businesses, the news is not surprising, as the banks look to prove that they are looking after their customers’ interests, rather than chasing sales and profit. Despite this, I think the story is still an important one for anyone who is involved in reward and incentives to reflect on. For a start it demonstrates just how potent incentives and reward can be in driving employee behaviour and getting them behind particular goals. Equally powerfully, it shows the importance of getting those goals and behaviours right, ensuring they are ethical and, importantly, that they aren’t in conflict with what is in the customer’s best interest. Lastly, as the banks are now realising, it reminds that deploying every person in your organisation to sell isn’t necessarily the best way of increasing revenues from your customers – in fact, it may have the opposite effect. The lesson I think we should learn from this is incentives cannot and should not just be about selling and sales. Although they will always have a place in the sales team, a sound strategic approach to incentives will look right across an organisation and look at all the factors which deliver value from customer relationships. Incentives change behaviours, which means it is imperative that the right behaviours are being targeted and rewarded like serving customers well, fixing things when they go wrong and acting on customer feedback. And because these are high stakes issues, that has to involve sensible checks and measures which ensure the business and the customers are benefitting. The banks are showing that they are learning this lesson – I can think of many other organisations who would benefit from following their lead. Colin Hodgson in sales director of incentives and motivation at Edenred. Twitter – @ColinWHodgson Latest viewpoints How to keep employees motivated through times of growth Debra Corey is Group Reward Director at Reward Gateway, the world’s leading provider of employee engagement⦠Share A gift for engagement Gail Cohen, Director General of the UK Gift Card and Voucher Association (UKGCVA), says this is an exciting time for an industry that is poised for growth Share What Rewards do employees value the most? Debra Corey is Group Reward Director at Reward Gateway, the world’s leading provider of employee engagement⦠Share UKFast’s MD tell us why he supports Employee Motivation Day CEO and founder of UKFast, Lawrence Jones, discusses the importance of employee motivation, and why the company is⦠Share Millennials: How to motivate Debra Corey is Group Reward Director at Reward Gateway, the world’s leading provider of employee engagement⦠Share Running Heroes brings innovation and rewards Running Heroes are bringing unparalleled motivation to thousands. The sedentary bad habits of modern societies may⦠Share It’s the small things that make a difference Introducing a meaningful system of incentives or rewards can help retain and motivate staff and also recruit the best⦠Share Thinking big Bill Alexander, CEO at Red Letter Days for Business Share Standing out from the crowd with risk-free promotions The internet and mobile devices are powerful weapons in consumers’ armoury, enabling them to seek out the lowest⦠Share Taking the initiative Jamie MacKenzie, Marketing Director at Sodexo Benefits and Reward Services, tells us about the company’s latest projects Share Post navigation The Jamie Oliver Group appoints JourneyHR for training and development
Don’t bank on incentives As the banks turn their back on sales incentives, Edenred’s Colin Hodgson asks what can be learned from them? The ripples caused by the crisis in UK banking has reached the world of reward and incentives. The decision of HSBC to remove all sales incentives for its frontline staff puts it alongside Barclays and the Co-operative Bank as institutions who are attempting to put clear blue water between customer care and product sales. Coming in the wake of the scandals around the widespread miss-selling of Payment Protection Insurance and financial products to small businesses, the news is not surprising, as the banks look to prove that they are looking after their customers’ interests, rather than chasing sales and profit. Despite this, I think the story is still an important one for anyone who is involved in reward and incentives to reflect on. For a start it demonstrates just how potent incentives and reward can be in driving employee behaviour and getting them behind particular goals. Equally powerfully, it shows the importance of getting those goals and behaviours right, ensuring they are ethical and, importantly, that they aren’t in conflict with what is in the customer’s best interest. Lastly, as the banks are now realising, it reminds that deploying every person in your organisation to sell isn’t necessarily the best way of increasing revenues from your customers – in fact, it may have the opposite effect. The lesson I think we should learn from this is incentives cannot and should not just be about selling and sales. Although they will always have a place in the sales team, a sound strategic approach to incentives will look right across an organisation and look at all the factors which deliver value from customer relationships. Incentives change behaviours, which means it is imperative that the right behaviours are being targeted and rewarded like serving customers well, fixing things when they go wrong and acting on customer feedback. And because these are high stakes issues, that has to involve sensible checks and measures which ensure the business and the customers are benefitting. The banks are showing that they are learning this lesson – I can think of many other organisations who would benefit from following their lead. Colin Hodgson in sales director of incentives and motivation at Edenred. Twitter – @ColinWHodgson
How to keep employees motivated through times of growth Debra Corey is Group Reward Director at Reward Gateway, the world’s leading provider of employee engagement⦠Share
A gift for engagement Gail Cohen, Director General of the UK Gift Card and Voucher Association (UKGCVA), says this is an exciting time for an industry that is poised for growth Share
What Rewards do employees value the most? Debra Corey is Group Reward Director at Reward Gateway, the world’s leading provider of employee engagement⦠Share
UKFast’s MD tell us why he supports Employee Motivation Day CEO and founder of UKFast, Lawrence Jones, discusses the importance of employee motivation, and why the company is⦠Share
Millennials: How to motivate Debra Corey is Group Reward Director at Reward Gateway, the world’s leading provider of employee engagement⦠Share
Running Heroes brings innovation and rewards Running Heroes are bringing unparalleled motivation to thousands. The sedentary bad habits of modern societies may⦠Share
It’s the small things that make a difference Introducing a meaningful system of incentives or rewards can help retain and motivate staff and also recruit the best⦠Share
Standing out from the crowd with risk-free promotions The internet and mobile devices are powerful weapons in consumers’ armoury, enabling them to seek out the lowest⦠Share
Taking the initiative Jamie MacKenzie, Marketing Director at Sodexo Benefits and Reward Services, tells us about the company’s latest projects Share