Awards Budget: Award levels are to be related to the earning power and the tasks required of the participants. For open ended programs, 3-7% of the participant's annual income should be available in awards. The percentage allocated should be based on the length of the program, the participant's income, and on the profit margin in your industry. For closed-ended programs, approximately 85% of the overall program budget should be available for awards.

Open-Ended Budget: Program that sets the award allocation based on a percentage of the goal achieved. (Most Sales Incentives, Purchasing, and Suggestion Programs use open-ended budgets.)

Closed-Ended Budget: Fixed amount of award dollars allocated for the entire program. (Most Safety and Attendance Programs use closed-ended budgets.)

Communication Budget: Each participant should receive their own copy of the awards catalog that is customized with your program theme, company logo, and program rules. Also, the milestones of the program should be communicated to the participant with positive, lively mailers (such as a single level merchandise flyer sheet) and reporting forms (such as status reports, top achievers recognition, and educational reinforcement). Communication of your program will encourage teamwork, competition, and will reinforce the program objectives. All communication should carry the program theme, creating ongoing enthusiasm.

Administration Budget: Data Management and the tracking of the accomplished objectives are crucial to the success of all programs. Reporting and acknowledging progress to the participants in a timely fashion is also a must. This ensures that the participants are recognized for their efforts and are motivated to continue their performance. The administrative process of tracking participant performance and the issuance of points can be handled internally by you, Gifts-To-Give or a combination of the two. Activity Statements, Achievement Point Checks, or Stamps, are the most common vehicles used for recognition of goals achieved. It is recommended to issue points on a monthly basis. Look to the Administration section for more specific details.

Promotion Budget: Promotional Products carrying the program logo and theme should be distributed throughout the program. These items should be useful and serve as a constant reminder of the program objectives. For programs running a year, it is recommended to promote the program quarterly.

Incentive Travel Supplements: To add flexibility and excitement to merchandise incentive programs, Gifts-To-Give offers Individual and Group Travel. Our Incentive Travel Department provides all the services of a comprehensive travel agency. A professional staff of travel consultants and modern computer reservation system allow us to provide the expertise and information to meet your unique needs.

Individual Incentive Travel allows participants the option of using award points they have earned to design the vacation of their dreams. Participants can arrange a customized travel plan with one of our agents, or can select from one of our pre-packaged locations.

Group Incentive Travel enables the top producers or drawing winners to experience a fully tailored group trip. Our travel department is dedicated to organize your entire group travel plans, from transportation to special events. You can select any location worldwide or even a specific sporting event (the World Series, Super Bowl, U.S. Open, etc.).

Every participant in an incentive point program should receive their own copy of the award catalog to make sure they are aware of the benefit to them. Incentive programs boil down to that basic philosophy, "What's in it for me?" You need to show your employees or customers that if they meet the company's objectives (working safely, selling more, buying more), they will earn valuable awards. That's why it is so important to distribute a catalog to each participant.

When the participant in your program takes the award catalog home with them, other members in their family have a chance to look through it. It is very common for a spouse or a child to ask the participant to work toward earning a specific item(s). Now, not only is the company encouraging the participant to perform, but a family member is as well. If a catalog is not distributed to each participant, the likelihood of the family's involvement is greatly reduced, thereby losing an invaluable element to the success of the program.

If you are considering using one catalog per location, or leaving a copy of the catalog with a supervisor for employees to share, we discourage it. Catalogs are not a cost factor but an investment in your program, almost like an advertisement on television. Remember the philosophy is simple, "What's in it for me?" An effective comparison is when a child sees a commercial for a toy they want. The parent says, "If you keep your room clean for a week, I will get it for you." The objective is to keep the room clean, the measurement is one week, and the reward is the toy. Hence, the child keeps the room clean and earns the toy. The incentive for a clean room would not be as effective if the child never saw the commercial. The same applies to the awards catalog.

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