A Different Point-of-View: Why Bashing Millennials is Wrong

We've all read our fair share of "generational" articles and, for that matter, probably harbor your own thoughts on the degrees of fact or fiction that apply. This is especially true when it comes to either B2B or B2C marketing for the purposes of promoting relationships through motivational incentive and loyalty based programs. I encourage you to read the article published in Fast Companies titled Why Bashing Millennials Is Wrong - click here.

Here were my thoughts...

Individually, we're all wired a bit differently in terms of our social norms, beliefs and values. There are strong commonalities when we breakdown our population into demographic buckets based upon age (i.e., traditionalists, baby boomers, generation x and generation y, etc.). This is clearly due to key influencers of the time; for instance, the technological explosion that continually shifts attitudes and behaviors in how we work, relate and interact with one another. However, the important point here is that we can't assume or stereotype too much solely based upon simple generational cuts alone. We need to go deeper and focus on what best works for a personal, business or individual perspective; especially when it comes to the areas such as education, communication, motivation and others.

Overall, the focus shouldn't be about millennials in the workplace, but rather more so about how we better engage different people in varying ways to drive performance in the work place. The ability to help individualize work experiences and engagements through areas such as meetings or even motivational efforts to leverage unique talents and skills has and remains a key towards driving a diverse workforce. This is NOT just a millennial issue; it's about "how you engage others" to best achieve both individual as well as business level performance objectives.

Incentive Travel Council Names SFN Group Director as 2010 Advocate of the Year

Great news, the Incentive Travel Council has posted the following press release regarding the annual Advocate-of-the-Year Award. Read on...

The Incentive Travel Council (ITC) of the Incentive Marketing Association (IMA) recently named SFN Group Director of Business Meeting Services Dahlton A. Bennington, CMP, CMM, as the recipient of its 2010 Advocate of the Year Award. In its second year, the award recognizes an individual, business or organization that demonstrates outstanding leadership in enhancing, educating and/or promoting incentive travel as a value driver for achieving performance.

According to Incentive Travel Council President Jim Ruszala, “Bennington was selected for successfully merging four unique incentive travel programs from six specialized businesses into one ‘best-in-class’ program called Performance Forum.” He explained Bennington was able to achieve buy-in from all the participating interests by:

-Clearly communicating program criteria, monthly rankings and final results;
-Strategically aligning qualification metrics and limiting subjectivity;
-Providing opportunities for both producing and supporting employees to participate;
-Offering meaningful business meeting content; and
-Successfully executing the new program.

“Bennington wisely convinced her CEO to participate with the Incentive Research Foundation Case Study detailing the Anatomy of an Incentive Travel Program, which helped to highlight the value of incentive programs to all the stakeholders, benchmarked the program’s ROI and paved the way for an increased budget to further drive performance for the company, “ said Karen Renk, CAE, Incentive Marketing Association executive director.

Upon receiving the award, Bennington told her colleagues, “I believe within each of us is a voice and, if we can take better advantage of the tools we have and better articulate our value in what we deliver to drive performance and engage associates, we will continue to elevate our industry.” She also pointed out the value of the IRF study to the industry in terms of the measurement information it provides about the ROI, engagement, cultural and efficiency aspects of incentive travel.

The ITC Advocate of the Year award debuted in 2009 with the Texas Roadhouse Restaurants as the first recipient. The national restaurant chain was recognized for its public support of incentive travel programs as cost-effective business investments.

Behavioral Economics of Incentive Travel

Reacting to recent input from members and industry sources, the Incentive Travel Council of the Incentive Marketing Association released a perspectives paper on the Behavioral Economics of Incentive Travel in conjunction with the 2010 Motivation Show in Chicago. This paper covers the economic, business and participant impact experienced through Incentive Travel strategies. A great read for anyone wanting to continue in driving continued business performance - click here for a link to the full paper.