• Home
  • /
  • Blog
  • /
  • 3 Reward Program Lessons Learned from Underbelly:Squizzy

gift card gansterWhat will the ongoing ratings be for the latest instalment from the fantastically successful Underbelly series – Underbelly: Squizzy and what can we, as reward providers, learn?

Recent reviews show disappointment from would-be-fans.  But why is that so?  It has all the ingredients for a satisfying watch so why was it so underwhelming? Andrew Banks reckons there are at least 6 reasons:

  1. The ads
  2. The way it was filmed
  3. The best bit was Greg Fleet (apart from Jared). (he was in it for less than a minute!)
  4. Where was the happy love-making?
  5. The (lack of) atmosphere.
  6. It didn’t hold my attention.

Reward program providers can learn a lot from this:

The Ads: Like any good reward program, this show was communicated (and then some). They got us all excited but then we waited …and waited – I feel like I have been waiting for it for about 2 years so to be honest I was probably a cynic before I watched the first episode. Then, when we finally got to see the first episode, the show was littered with seemingly non-stop, untimely ads. Don’t make these mistakes with your reward program – Get your ducks in a row – your communication and implementation strategies must be aligned and your ongoing timing impeccable.
The way it was filmed: Banks says he “never felt fully in the scene as there was no real build up to anything and things moved at such a pace that it jerked itself through two hours of fancy camera angles for the sake of it.” Your reward program should integrate and align employee goals and organisational objectives and become part of the culture rather than sit outside as an add on. It shouldn’t be a case of ‘Quick! Pick someone for employee of the month this month!’, or ‘Hand out those cinema vouchers before they go out of date’.
It didn’t hold my attention. So many reward programs fade out of their individual honeymoon period. So many factors can upset the best laid plans: unachievable goals, overly complicated points systems, not rewarding the right behaviour, a lack of cohesiveness or non-motivating rewards can all lead to disinterest or even contempt.  Using eftpos gift cards as the motivational reward will at least ensure you get the reward side of your program right because recipients get to choose the reward they want, freeing up your time to focus on the more strategic aspects like objective alignments, culture and communication of your program.
 
I’m not done with Underbelly yet – like a faithful servant to the series – I’ll be checking in again next week to see if they can re-engage me.
You can check out other tips for successful employee reward programs here