The Incentive Research Foundation interviewed several dozen incentive program managers and consultants, technology vendors, and other industry experts to explore software needs and trends, and found that although the top two user requirements are seemingly contradictory, successful solutions are available.
Incentive program producers seek applications that are simple to use and integrate easily into existing complex software platforms. At the same time, however, planners need the ability to customize software programs for very specific data collection needs and stay current with the latest updates.
The report found that by using software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications, incentive producers can invest relatively small amounts in a subscription service which offers the latest version for each program. While tools and personalization options change with industry trends and an organization’s requirements, the interface can remain stable so users don’t have to retrain with each iteration, and so application-programming interfaces can integrate with existing tools simply.
Detailed industry interviews found that while many organizations still rely on spreadsheets to run incentive programs, forward-thinking organizations want to leverage data collection to get insights. The report says, “Nothing is in greater demand in the IET incentive and events technology world than improved analytics, reporting, and insights.”
In fact, SaaS apps generate so much data that one end user suggested, “You should use the rewards program to incentivize referrals, but you should also distribute job postings to employees who have been recognized in the past for the same skills, experience, etc. needed in the job vacancy…Managers get all the data they need on recognition.”
Click here to read the full report.
