If there was any question that people embrace the opportunity to experience something new through a work-sponsored incentive trip or other type of corporate outing, it was dispelled during my research for this issue’s cover story.
When I posted a call for stories and sentiments on the topic, the response was instant and glowing. People shared tales of high tea in Dubai, spa days and Caribbean cruises. Some experiences clearly had a big budget behind them, while others were more modest. The common denominator: people remembered them—even when they occurred years ago.
A content manager in Palm Beach, Florida, said she has been recognized in many ways over the years by her employer, but the two that stood out to her were a spa day her manager gave her and another marketing colleague in 2012, and a twice-annual boat trip the company’s marketing team takes. Both, she emphasized, were on work days, so as not to cut into her own time.
“These two stand out the most because they represent an acknowledgement of the sacrifice of time for the greater good of the company, which was given back in the form of these experiences,” she wrote. “I was able to share them with at least one (and now many) others on my team. It’s been a bonding experience as well (not just for us, but between us and our executive team).”
Those aren’t budget-busting endeavors, but look at the ROI!
“Bonding” is the word we heard repeatedly when we spoke with those who have enjoyed company-sponsored experiences and some who fund them. Jeff West, a Texas-based retired sales coordinator for a Fortune 500 insurance company, fits in both categories. West says decades ago, his mentor dipped into his own annual bonus to pay for trips for top performers. West did the same each year once he held a leadership position.
“I’ve never had anybody yet who failed to appreciate a cash bonus, but I’ve also never had anybody say, ‘That was the best cash bonus I’ve had in my whole life,’” he says.
West says that many of the team members he treated to Caribbean excursions and themed Christmas parties turned around and did likewise as they were named to management positions. It became a perpetual pay-it-forward venture.
That, in my mind, is all the testament you need to buy into the value of work-sponsored experiences.
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