Taking a ‘high morale’ stand is the way forward in travel. Isabel Choat takes a closer lookFOR the past four years, Going Places has consistently increased its profits. The company claims the secret behind its success is simple: a motivated work force. “If you want to deliver sales, you need happy staff with very clear motivation,” says managing director Peter Shanks.
And one of the best ways to motivate people, according to policy adviser at the Institute for Personnel and Development Angela Baron, is to congratulate them when they have done well.
Going Places did just that at the end of 1997 when it held its biggest-ever staff party to celebrate the year’s achievements. The entire workforce of 5,000 employees attended the event held at the NEC in Birmingham with comedian Mark Lamarr and pop group The Lightening Seeds providing the entertainment. “It was purely a motivational exercise. We wanted to say a big thank you,” says Shanks.
Going Places is not the only company to have recognised the power of motivation.
“More and more employers are managing their employees better because they are realising that it’s the people that give them competitive advantage. Products and processes can be copied but the workforce is unique,” said Baron.
This year American Express is taking 10 members of staff to Prague where they will be wined and dined as a reward for their exceptional customer service. The 10 lucky winners were announced at a big company party held at London’s Cafe Royal last week.
The Amex scheme, dubbed Heroes, was developed last year in response to an internal survey which showed employees wanted more recognition for their successes.
“Employees are realistic in terms of their pay. They know we can’t just keep hiking up the salary but they want to see different ways of rewarding,” says commercial director Andrew Pilkington, who is planning to make the Heroes Award an annual event.
As well as annual events, most companies have systems in place to give employees a pat on the back on a more regular basis.
At Amex, managers are responsible for rewarding staff who work ‘above and beyond the call of duty’ with an appropriate gift on an ad hoc basis.
“It might be perfume, wine or theatre tickets,” says Pilkington.
BTI UK Hogg Robinson, Going Places, Lunn Poly and Carlson Wagonlit all operate employee of the month schemes.
Lunn Poly also runs an incentive scheme whereby staff are awarded credits for excellent customer service and exemplary performance which can be exchanged for vouchers to be spent at high street stores including Next.
A spokeswoman said the company’s investment in rewards and incentives had paid dividends. In a recent survey, 81%of staff said Lunn Poly was a good or excellent place to work. Employers are also looking for more unusual ways to motivate their staff, according to MotivAction, a company that organises team-building and motivational activities.
“Companies put a lot of money into staff and once they have trained them, they don’t want to lose them through boredom or unhappiness. People are more likely to stay with a company if it is not all work. There has to be an element of fun,” says MotivAction’s marketing manager Melinda Phipp.
She believes that having fun is doubly important for industries such as travel where most of the workforce tends to be young and lively.
MotivAction, which in the past 11 years has grown from a one-man operation to a company with a 150 staff and a database of hundreds of clients, offers a whole host of activities from clay-pigeon shooting to whitewater rafting. The wackier options on offer include Bond Days where teams have to overcome various obstacles to successfully complete a 007-style mission.
This type of activity can be much more motivating than a cheque or voucher, says Phipp. “These events create a buzz that lasts for ages and when you see the managing director of your company all covered in mud it makes you realise he is human.”