Colombia-MICE is part of the Pelecanus Travel Group. We are located in Bogota, Colombia. We are specialized in corporate travel and all services around Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions.
According to the Incentive Federation (2015), 46% of US companies have chosen to use incentive travel as a means of motivating their employees. This number is growing as these activities have achieved very good results. So, incentive travel is proving to be an excellent option for the success of your business.
Below we present the most important goals that an incentive trip can achieve for a company and its employees.
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What is incentive travel?
Incentive travel can be viewed as a tool or strategy that rewards employees of a company for their high performance in achieving specific goals. It is also an effective method of motivating employees.
Incentive trips can be carried out for individual employees as well as for groups. However, it is more common to do these trips for groups. Relationships between the different participants and areas of an organization can then also be improved.
Such trips require very careful planning, from the destination to the activities to be undertaken, to ensure all set goals are met, such as the well-being of the participants.
Incentive travel is of great importance to the global tourism economy, as in recent years this sector has become one of the fastest-growing segments of the MICE tourism industry. According to SITE (Society for Incentive Travel Excellence), it is worth approximately $75 billion globally and $1.2 billion in Latin America.
Benefits of incentive travel for companies and employees
Incentive trips offer several advantages for both companies and employees.
Benefits of corporate incentive travel
Attracting and retaining talent through incentive activities
It is crucial for a company to keep talent within the company. It is therefore important to motivate the best employees and thus attract new talent. This is directly related to the competitiveness of a company.
With rewards such as incentive trips, a company is perceived better and more positively by employees, which is reflected in the results of their activities. On this occasion, the employees feel appreciation and feel comfortable and belonging.
In addition, such trips are a good reason not to look for other job offers, according to a study by INC magazine. 79% of people who leave their jobs cite “lack of appreciation” as the main reason, while 72% of employees who receive a travel award say they feel greater loyalty to the company.
Productivity increase
A happy employee is a productive employee.
If you want your team to meet and exceed the goals you set, a travel incentive can be a solution.
According to the Incentive Research Foundation, when properly designed and executed, incentive programs can increase sales productivity by 18% and achieve a return on investment (ROI) of 112%. Because when employees know that their work can be rewarded, their commitment and thus the productivity of the company increases.
It also encourages creativity in tackling personal and group challenges, which is important when developing new strategies or products and in times of crisis. Employees will be better prepared for challenges and will always strive for the best possible result.
Improved corporate image
The company’s brand is strengthened for employees, customers, partners and suppliers. A high-profile incentive trip, both internal and external, is the perfect way to contribute to the corporate image.
A responsible company that cares about the well-being and satisfaction of its employees, motivates them, understands them and also offers this kind of remuneration and appreciation will always be the first choice of its customers.
Strengthens organizational culture
An incentive trip is not only useful to reward employees, strengthen working relationships or improve a brand’s reputation. It is also an opportunity to reinforce the company’s values, mission and vision to all stakeholders of the organization through targeted activities that put the principles and values into practice.
It is also an ideal place to encourage employees, regardless of their position, to express their opinions and propose new strategies that contribute to the organizational culture of the company. Because building a positive corporate culture also plays an important role in employee retention. On a scale of 1 to 10, Millennials rate the importance of workplace culture at an 8.5, according to Thruue Inc.
Benefits of incentive travel for employees
Experience new things
Incentive trips create unique moments for the participants. Getting to know new places and activities that do not normally take place at their workplace and sometimes not even in their free time can reinforce or even trigger innovation impulses.
Making new and above all positive experiences also lead to a greater feeling of happiness. According to a study by the Department of Psychology at New York University, happiness makes people strive to experience more positive experiences because they increase their self-confidence, allow them to get to know themselves better, recognize their strengths, and gain tools for new challenges receive.
Increased motivation
The SITE (Society for Incentive Travel Excellence) states that 72.8% of incentive travel participants say the emotional impact of incentive travel is extremely positive and rewarding.
As already mentioned, incentive trips are an excellent motivational tool; they are a new experience that encourages employees to do their jobs more efficiently in the future.
It strengthens bonds and improves interpersonal relationships.
Spending time with co-workers in places other than the office is one of the best ways to strengthen interpersonal relationships.
By including team-building activities in an incentive trip, one can develop the following skills in a targeted manner:
- Camaraderie.
- Team cohesion.
- Troubleshooting.
- Healthy competition.
Incentive travel offers the opportunity to strengthen teamwork, because not only are unique experiences shared, but also communication, empathy and cooperation are encouraged. This is very important for the success of any business because, thanks to the above factors, it facilitates the achievement of goals, and promotes multidisciplinary work and a better work environment.
Appreciation of the work done
One of the main goals of an incentive trip is to recognize employees for the optimal development of their work. According to the SITE study, 88.6% of employees who were able to accompany an incentive trip say that they feel more valued by their company.
Feeling and receiving recognition from superiors is one of the best feelings an employee can experience. When employees learn that their tasks have been performed optimally, self-esteem increases and performance can continue to improve.
Equal opportunity
A very important point among the benefits of incentive travel is that it creates equal opportunities for all employees in a company.
These types of rewards, which are neither financial nor targeted to a specific group, are ideal for motivating employees to do their jobs even better, regardless of their position or department in the company.
We hope this information about the benefits of incentive travel has given you an incentive. We also invite you to consider Colombia as a travel destination for your business in the future. We would be very happy to find the perfect solution for your needs and to work with you to develop a tailor-made trip.
