The One Thing You Must Do in 2009 to Increase Enagement with Employees and Channel Partners

I've heard you get more hits if you put together a list of things like "top 10" or put a "one thing you must do" in the title.  But this isn't link bait - there really is one thing you must do in 2009 to drive business this year and in the future, while reducing costs and increasing the return on the money you do spend in 2009.

And here are 5 reason you NEED to do it and why 2009 is the year...

1.  I'm not the only one saying you should do it...

The Hay Group conducted a survey (with 2,589 respondents from 91 countries) to understand the extent to which companies have altered or are considering altering their reward programs.  Slides from the webinar I attended here.  To paraphrase the third to the last slide:

Make sure rewards programs are working. Organizations should re-examine:

− Reward strategies to ensure they are aligned with business priorities
− What their employees really value
− Performance metrics, goal setting and alignment processes
− Ensuring the right mix of base, incentive, equity and benefits
− Job grading and market pricing processes to ensure a solid reward infrastructure
− How rewards (tangible and intangible) are communicated and managed

2.  Other companies like yours are already doing it...

Based on the Hay Group survey between 9-12% of global companies surveyed are looking to increase their efforts in non-financial incentives, top performer retention expenditures and training

3.  Your current programs were designed under assumptions that are no longer valid

In most cases the programs you currently have in place were designed a few years back, before the financial industry meltdown, before Mr. Obama became president, before the stock market started to drop, before job losses made headlines... you get the idea.  Your program was designed and launched with very different sets of "probabilities."  My guess is they are not getting the results you want - and probably can't given the new realities for the business markets.

4.  Your employee base is thinking survival

Doom and gloom is a sheet covering all business news today.  Even good news has a caveat attached that it might be short-lived.  If you believe in Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, bonus points may not be the best way to fufill increasing worries about security.

5.  Your channel is feeling the same pinch as you and need a trusted partner to work with

You probably designed your programs to drive incremental or increased sales.  In today's world, staying even is a hurculean feat.  You need to make sure  your parnters in the channel see that you understand their needs and their burdens and your programs should reflect that.

2009 is a year when taking a step back in order to see where to take your next two steps is not a luxury as much as a requirement.

While it may be what we do for a living here at i2i - it's what you need to do for success!

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• How not to communicate an incentive program... (incentive-intelligence.typepad.com)
• Challenging Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs (billbennettnz.wordpress.com)