Nothing stays the same.  That’s a #fact.

Change is a big part of our “new normal.”  If you’re not changing you’re falling behind. 

What was isn’t and what is won’t be for long. 

Change makes being in business tough and uncertain.  And when faced with a lot of uncertainty we look for things that bring us comfort and joy.  And those things are typically things that worked in the past… or at least have been “approved” in the past.

I’m speaking mostly of your reward and incentive programs. 

What you did in 1990 and what you did in 2000 or even 2010 is comforting.  You know how to do it.  You got budget approval to do it and you have results that showed it worked (I hope you do… gotta measure everything!)

The natural reaction in an unfamiliar environment is to seek out the familiar and the comfortable.  And you’re probably doing that when it comes to incentives and reward programs.

Cancel the Program

Here’s some advice.  Cancel your program (at least figuratively – but I’d even suggest literally.) 

Do you really need that program or are you just comfortable with it?  When was the last time you just thought – “Do I really need an incentive with that channel on that product?”

Or… “Do we really need the employee of the month program with the cool, close-to-the-door parking spot?”

You might – but you might not.

Just because you have doesn’t mean you have to.

Will they even notice?

I used to manage a marketing team of about 20 people.  They traveled all the time to client offices and that cost needed to be tracked and managed.  Therefore I had to approve expense reports.  Part of the process for my company at the time was to include a form that ostensibly was designed as an “approval” form that the employee was supposed to submit before travel, get my approval and then travel.  The form was to be turned in with the employees expenses.  I signed off on the expenses and they went to Accounting for payment.

Often – very often – the form was forgotten and I’d have to go and ask for it.  It wasn’t that hard – just a pain in the butt and one more thing to remember.

But I started thinking… “Why does Accounting need that form?”  I didn’t need it since it was designed as an “approval” form and I was the one providing approval to travel.  They – Accounting – didn’t need it because I submitted the expense reports and approved them with my signature.

Who needed the form? 

The answer – no one.

I asked Accounting if we had to fill out the form and of course they said yes.

But not wanting to leave it at that I simply stopped including it.

Funny thing is – no one even noticed.  Not once did I get a call from Accounting asking for the form.  Not once was an expense report kicked back because that specific form wasn’t included.

Fast forward a couple of years – not one person in the company was submitting the form anymore. 

No one needed it.  No one cared.

But no one really reviewed why it was there in the first place (‘cept me) so they just kept doing it.  The bottom line on the form was it was requirement established in the 1950s and had held on through the 1990s (there is more to the story but I won’t bore you with it.) 

Cancel the Program

What if you cancelled the program?  Would they notice?

If you didn’t have the program in place – would you launch one exactly like it?  Probably not.

Take some time to envision a future without your current programs.  Times change.  Rules change.  Technology changes.  People change.

All those things drive the decisions you make on the programs you run. 

Two things will happen if you cancel the program – either your phone will ring and/or your email box will explode or nothing. 

Nothing is a good outcome too.