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The Incentive Research Foundation (IRF)’s latest Top Performer Study revealed that top-performing organizations stand out for how they prioritize flexibility, emotional impact, and alignment with participant preferences.
The study explored companies’ most successful strategies for designing reward and recognition programs. The IRF surveyed 600 participants from U.S. companies with at least $100 million in annual revenue who have significant influence over their incentive reward and recognition programs. It defined top-performing companies according to eight sales and talent-focused criteria, with 22.5% of companies making the cut as top performers and the remaining designated as comparators.
The research found that top-performing companies are deliberate in how they connect reward programs to broader business strategy. All of the companies in the survey rated their program alignment to corporate goals positively, with 59% describing that alignment as excellent. A full 99% also reported strong executive backing.
During a session based on the study at this week’s Financial & Insurance Conference Professional (FICP)’s Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., a panel of experts including IRF President Stephanie Harris shared their interpretations — and some personal anecdotes that illustrated the findings.
Incentive Travel is Popular, But Not for Everyone
Nearly all of the companies in the study offer a mix of rewards: gift cards (94%), points-based rewards (93%), travel (93%), and merchandise (79%).
Panelist Kelsey Nicol, vice president, strategic accounts at One10, was surprised at this finding until she personally experienced the positive impact of a points program. Her husband, an insurance broker, was able to collect enough points to win a Crate & Barrel gift card and purchase a bookcase that she had set her heart on.
“We now have it in our home and we put our memories in it,” she said. “It’s something that I can pass down to my son or daughter, or to my grandchildren — a beloved piece of furniture that has an emotional connection to that company.”
Perceived Value and Personalization
Harris was most surprised to learn that perceived value was more important to top-performing companies than actual spend. “I expected that they would be spending so much more than other companies, and while as a median number they do spend a bit more, the focus is more about the experiences that people can’t get otherwise.”
The research showed that top-performing companies are committed to providing recognition that feels personal, desirable, and is proportionate to the achievement, whether through the quality or uniqueness of the award, or the perceived prestige.
Gone are the days when companies chose one gift for everyone. “It’s important to understand who your attendees are, as well as the generational change groups are going through,” said Rutger Hoorn, vice president, global sales and strategic partnerships, Ovation Global DMC. “So whatever you see on your Instagram feed is what you’d like to see come to life in your own programs.”
The C-Suite Must Be On Board
“To me, that’s the most critical piece,” said Harris. “I’ve seen too many programs where the planners come back from the trip and stroll into the C suite with their survey results and no one cares, because that’s not what was driving the C suite’s decision-making to invest in that program to begin with.”