Incentives and Vuvuzelas – Deafening and Irritating

I’ll admit – I’ve never watched a World Cup match until this year.  Credit HRevolution, Bill Boorman, Steve Boese and twitter.

I met Bill Boorman at HRevolution – Steve and I go “way back” in twitter/internet time and the World Cup was something they were tweeting back and forth about over the last few days.  So I jumped in.  

The US played England (not UK – get it right) on Saturday in the World Cup.  While I’m not a huge fan of soccer – football – or Futbol – depending on your point of view – it was an interesting match.  Due to a rather ugly goal on the part of the US the match ended in a tie 1-1.  We live to fight another day.

But the real take away from the match was the damn vuvuzelas.  

Vuvuzela Thy Name is Insanity

I know it sounds like a Dr. Seuss word but it’s a real thing – a one-note stadium horn blown at South African football matches.  The World Cup is being held in South Africa – hence the vuvuzela.  However, if the twitter stream is any indication of the love of the vuvuzela it ranks up there with Hitler and Jon Van Der Sloot.  Not a popular thing.  Not to mention discussions on hearing loss and interfering with play on the field.

As I started to watch the match – the incessant droning of the vevuzula was simply annoying.  Then it became irritating.  Then I started pulling out what remained of my hair and began writing the number 23 on all the walls of my house.  The noise, the noise.  There is nothing as madding as the single-note cacophony of the vuvuzela.  

But… miraculously, after about 45 minutes it faded into the background.  It became invisible (or silent since we’re talking auditory not visual?)

The Top Performer Program is the Vuvuzela of the Incentive World

Now, many companies run an annual top performer program whereby the top 10% or the top 20% or the top 11.67845% (depending on the stupidity of the program) earn an award – usually a grand travel award to…South Africa (note:  don’t use vuvuzelas as room gifts – you’ll thank me later.)

Initially, these programs get everyone going.  They’re excited. They can’t wait.  They work their butts off.  But a funny thing happens about 4 months into the program.  The percentage of folks below the cutoff start to realize – they ain’t gonna earn the award.  They can’t keep up with the top 10% or the top 11.67845%.  They know they are at 12% or 15% in the rankings.  They stop competing.

But the company still sends out the communications to everyone.  Mailers about South Africa and the vuvuzela horns.  Emails about working hard and earning the travel award.  Standings reports showing the individual just how far from earning the award they are (hey boss… thanks for the reminder.)  

News Flash:  The only ones who care about these communications are the folks ABOVE the cut off.

The program becomes the incentive vuvuzela – it starts out as a annoying, then irritating, then maddening – then… nothing.  

They stop paying attention.  And they stop performing.

The sad thing is the next time you run the same program these folks will go through those same steps – only faster.  They will start out trying, and then they will see the first round of results and remember back to last year when they hear the siren call of the vuvuzela and remember the pain.  They will then go through the steps in the fastest way possible to get the point they are oblivious to the sound of the incentive vuvuzela.

Don’t do this to your folks.  

Target Not Blanket

Sure recognize your top performers – but don’t make it be the only thing you communicate to the entire audience.  Target your communications so that those that may actually have a chance of earning the trip get the big trip communications.  Structure something in the program for the other 88.32155% who won’t get the opportunity to go to South Africa (maybe ear plugs?)

Want to hear the vuvuzela?  Check out this video and be prepared to go mad!

Email readers may need to click through to the site to get the video feed…