To learn or not to learn? That is the question employees often ask themselves in today’s constantly changing world where continuous learning is strongly encouraged if not mandated by the organizations they work for.
As organizations seek to reskill and upskill employees, some are turning to incentives to increase employee engagement in training and help reinforce the knowledge and skills they are learning.
Indeed, 72 percent of Learning and Development (L&D) professionals use incentive, award, and/or recognition programs in their current role, according to a Training magazine survey of 215 L&D professionals. The majority of the respondents were managers/supervisors (27 percent), training/organizational development specialists (21 percent), executive-level managers such as CEO, CLO, CHRO, COO, CIO, or director (19 percent), or instructional designers/developers (17 percent).
How are they incorporating incentives into training?
- 52 percent use incentives for completion of training
- 49 percent use them for performance recognition
- 47 percent for achievement of a certification
- 44 percent to recognize top performers
- 34 percent for training attendance (in-person or virtual)
- 23 percent for gamified training competitions
- 13 percent as a reward for taking elective training courses
- 18 percent for demonstration of a skill
Determining the Type and Amount of Incentive
More than half (56 percent) of respondents said individual training managers or leaders select the type of reward to be offered, while 24 percent said HR makes the decision. Some 16 percent of respondents survey trainees on what type of reward they would prefer.
The majority of respondents (34 percent) said they spent up to $3,000 on training-related rewards in 2023. Some 21 percent said their spend was between $3,001 and $10,000. Ten percent said they spent more than $20,000, while 3 percent spent between $10,001 and $20,000. For 2024, the average spend is estimated to be $6,000.
In terms of the price bracket for training-related awards, the sweet spot was between $5 and $24 (31 percent of respondents) per award, while 22 percent opted for between $25 and $49. Some 18 percent chose between $50 and $99, with 12 percent going up to $199. Only 8 percent spent $200 or more per award.
The most popular award was gift cards (61 percent). This was followed by:
- A physical award with public recognition: 44 percent
- Branded merchandise: 43 percent
- Experiential events/trips/lunch with the CEO, etc.: 22 percent
- Cash: 17 percent
- Days off: 15 percent
- Charitable donations: 5 percent
Gift Card Lift
On average, respondents awarded 143 gift cards in 2023, spending an average of $5,450—that number dropped to $4,000 for estimated spend in 2024. The majority of respondents (47 percent) gave gift cards worth between $25 and $50, followed by between $5 and $24 (30 percent).
For those who use gift cards, the overwhelming majority (75 percent) offered a retail gift card such as Amazon or Starbucks. Fifty percent used a digital gift card via e-mail or text delivery, while 40 percent used an open loop gift card such as Visa, Mastercard, or AMEX. Some 34 percent offered a physical gift card. Most respondents used gift cards for performance recognition (52 percent), recognition of top course performers (40 percent), achievement of certification or completion of training (39 percent and 34 percent, respectively), and gamified training competitions (26 percent).
More respondents delivered the gift cards via e-mail (63 percent) vs. in-person (50 percent). Only 15 percent distributed them at a team meeting.
Incentive Effectiveness
Overall, training incentive programs seem to be working. Some 40 percent of respondents said their training awards program was effective (31 percent) or very effective (9 percent) in the last year. Another 40 percent said it was somewhat effective. Only 13 percent said it was somewhat ineffective (8 percent), ineffective (2 percent), or very ineffective (3 percent).
The numbers were similar for gift cards specifically: 46 percent for effective or very effective and 49 percent for somewhat effective vs. 5 percent for ineffective.
So if you’re looking to boost training participation, engagement, and effectiveness, a little recognition/appreciation can go a long way—especially if it comes in the form of a little retail therapy.