i2i - Incentive Intelligence: Social Media Will Change Incentive Programs

June 12, 2009

Social Media Will Change Incentive Programs - If Companies Allow It

This post wouldn't have happened were it not for social networks. Well, it might have but it didn't and it makes a better intro to say it did.

This morning in my twitter stream I saw this...

And this response...

And while these tweets referenced social media (or more accurately social networks) as a way to influence behavior for wellness, as Sarah Chambers pointed out - it can affect a lot of other behaviors. (BTW - if you are on twitter - follow both @femelmed and @sarahchambers - great tweets. Also - follow us @incentintel)

And the reason is because we, as humans, are influenced to a huge degree by what we think others like us think and do. We are hardwired so to speak, to want to know and want to follow the behavior of those we identify with - or those we want to be like.

It's called the principle of consensus or social proof.

A Study - Consensus or Social Proof

A study was done to determine the most effective way to influence hotel guests to reuse their towels in order to save water (and money.) The study tried three different approaches - an incentive, reciprocity and social proof. Here are the results:

In the first stage they offered an incentive and 38% participated - in the second stage they told the guests they ALREADY made the donation - invoking the principle of reciprocity - and participation jumped by over 30%. But when they told the guests that THE MAJORITY OF THE OTHER GUESTS PARTICIPATED IN THE PROGRAM participation went up by over 40% - clearly showing that people were more influenced by what they thought others like them were doing than an incentive or the fact that the hotel had already made a donation.

Social Media in Motivation and Recognition Programs

Social networks allow information to surface and let's people see what others LIKE THEM are doing - making it more likely they will follow that lead. If a salesperson can see that other salespeople like them are making sales and finding leads - they are more likely to work a bit harder. If your employees see others working outside their job descriptions to help the company - they will want to do the same.

Using social networks isn't just posting the top performers at the end of the program - that's still necessary. Leveraging social networks in your program is about having a continuous stream of information that shows people are hitting targets, trying new ideas, helping other departments - reinforcing those behaviors and communicating that these behaviors are common and are standard operating procedures.

But Most Companies Won't Allow It To Happen

The sad part is this - most companies won't allow it to happen because not only do social network tools allow the good to surface - they allow the bad. There is the possibility someone will slam the program, the company, the manager. And that will be all she wrote for social networks. Most companies don't want the bad news - only the good. But social networks doesn't discriminate - they are simply the mirror of the masses. As a company you can look in the mirror and appreciate the good - and work on the bad - or you can choose to not look in the mirror. Kinda like the Matrix - the blue pill or the red pill - you choose.

From an employee standpoint - they want you to look in the mirror - they want you to know what is good and what isn't up to snuff. Management is the one with "body image issues" and is avoiding the mirror.

Add social networking tools to your next program and see the real picture of your program. You really can't lose. Either you'll see that it's great - or you'll see that it's not - and then you can fix it. Where's the down side?