Incentive & Motivation

What a difference two decades make. From those first few flying lessons in High Wycombe, Acorne Plc has grown to encompass a huge range of experiences, to the point it finds itself at today – working with more than 500 suppliers across 1,200 locations.

Whether it is a one-man operation providing microlight experiences, or an international hotel chain, Acorne continues to expand its supplier base using its understanding and expertise to offer clients bespoke services and management of schemes.

That attention to detail is one of the reasons Acorne holds the industry position it has today – one of the biggest players in the gifting, voucher, experience days and leisure activity markets. The business places a great deal of emphasis on customer care and quality of service and its Quality Assurance professionals are on the road, working closely with its suppliers to ensure they meet Acorne’s exacting service level agreements, handle the volume of business consistently well and provide an experience that matches customers’ expectations.

Managing director Paul O’Brien explains: “Businesses and consumers will have given a reward in order to make a statement of their feelings toward the recipient, such as pride, thanks or prestige, and it is our job to ensure the experience delivered is exciting, enjoyable and commensurate with the intended sentiment.”

It was the quality, expertise and range of its suppliers that helped Acorne turn its relationship with Virgin (Acorne was the first non-Virgin company approved to redeem the then newly launched Virgin Voucher) into a commercial success.

Three years after setting up its own experiences division, Virgin decided it wanted to continue with offering but didn’t want the administration that went with it. Acorne stepped in and agreed to draw on its own supplier base, as well as white label and handle the administration.

To make this work Acorne entered into a brand licensing agreement for Virgin Experience Days and Vouchers – these services are fully owned and operated by Acorne and have gone from strength to strength ever since.

In more recent years, Acorne has acquired the Leisure Voucher business from Whitbread Plc and bought experience provider Exhilaration from lastminute.com. With the former, Acorne bought the rights to the scheme and took on some of the key staff that ran it, thus reviving the scheme offering paper vouchers redeemable at the likes of Premier Inn, Beefeater and Costa Coffee.

With its eye for timely acquisitions and commercial partnerships, Acorne has weathered the storm of the recession and come out relatively unscathed. In fact, the business has just enjoyed a highly successful financial year and its attention is clearly focused on the future.

In line with its innovative nature, the business has recently given clients the option to use their own brand on gift packs and will shortly be launching the high-end Virgin Gift Card and a number of other gift card products throughout the year.

As O’Brien says: “It’s our strategic objective to be the number one experience company in the UK and Ireland, in terms of volume and quality. Our aim is to be at the forefront of experiences; in the voucher and gift card market we want to increase scale of our operations, and we want to have the must-have product in the leisure sector.”

Key facts

Acorne can boast household names including Boots, Tesco, NatWest, Marks & Spencer, Aviva and Thomson Holidays among its clients

The business maintains a “modest” team of 43 specialists, largely based in Acorne House, High Wycombe

Acorne’s portfolio of brands consists of Virgin Experience Days, the Virgin Voucher, Exhilaration, lastminute.com, Leisure Vouchers, and Wahanda

The Acorne Virgin Experience Days team has consistently topped the Virgin Group’s monthly Customer Satisfaction tracker since 2007, while the Leisure Vouchers team is a National Customer Service Awards winner.

Acorne plc, the gift experience and voucher specialist whose portfolio includes Virgin Experience Days, The Virgin Voucher, Leisure Vouchers and Exhilaration, has announced its results for the year ended 31 March 2011.

Turnover and profit for the year (before tax) rose substantially to £17,912,105 and £1,442,555 respectively, despite tough economic conditions.

2010-11 Financial Highlights:

• Turnover up 25% to £17.9m                               (2009/10 £14.2m)
• Profit before tax £1.44m                                   (2009/10 £562k)
• Total assets less current liabilities £1.9m           (2009/10 £1.1m)

This positive growth trend has continued into the first quarter of 2011-12. Plans for the remainder of this financial year are upbeat with several new products lines and joint ventures in the pipeline.

Richard Gyselynck, founder and director of Acorne plc, said: “We believe we hold the strongest balance sheet in the experience sector. This financial strength and transparency continues to reassure customers and suppliers. We look to the future with optimism and continue to seek profitable growth, whether by acquisition or organically.”

Experience days specialist, Acorne Plc, has launched a team events service for business clients.

The name behind leading brands Virgin Experience Days, The Virgin Voucher, Leisure Vouchers and Exhilaration, Acorne now offers group packages at popular venues, designed to reward, motivate and build strong bonds through shared experiences.

Acorne offers a dedicated event co-ordinator to help organise the day and plan bespoke touches with business clients.

Talking about the new group packages, Acorne’s head of business development, Darren Ziff, says: “The group packages have been created in response to popular demand from our business clients. Anyone interested in booking a team-building event or just a good day out to enjoy together, can check out the opportunities we have by geographical region or activity and choose from popular or more quirky events, with a member of the award-winning Acorne Plc customer service team making sure it all runs smoothly.”

Virgin Experience Days has launched a mobile version of its website, in what the company believes is a first for the gift experience market.

“A growing percentage of the population uses mobiles to access the Internet,” says Chris Smith, marketing director for Acorne PLC, brand owners of Virgin Experience Days.

“We identified strong growth in customers accessing the website via mobile technology and designed this platform using a simplified, clean design to ensure they can easily access our website to browse, research and buy experiences while still receiving all of the information they need.”

With GPS technology, users are also able to check location distances for activities they are interested in purchasing.

What could be better than a time-out treat? Leisure incentives are an ideal way to reward or motivate hard-working staff…

Life is becoming ever more stressful – fact – and the increased number of hours spent at work doesn’t help. People are pulled between work and family commitments, which doesn’t leave a lot of time for relaxation. Even the Prime Minister David Cameron talks about the importance of GWB – general well-being – as well as GDP, while the quest for that elusive work-life balance has been ongoing for years.

Stress is one of the biggest reasons for absence from work and costs businesses £millions; but putting aside stress-related illness, the virtual cost to employees of low morale and lack of motivation, is a good enough reason on its own to build leisure incentives into your business plan.

Multiple choice

With so many products on the market, where do you start? Justine Clement, MD at experiences provider Unmissable, says: “Everyone’s different, so when planning leisure incentives the number one rule is to remember one size does not fit all. That’s why it’s important when planning leisure incentives to offer a range.”

One way to ensure you get it right is to purchase  vouchers, that way the recipients can decide on the activity or experience for themselves. Or, you could opt for something you know will appeal to lots of people, such as a dining experience or short break.

Companies such as Unmissable and Virgin Experience Days offer hundreds of options – from vineyard tours to mountain boarding, fast car driving to cookery courses, so there’s something to suit everyone.

“From the recipient’s point of view, one of the key reasons why leisure incentives are popular is they are seen as very personal – a bit of a treat – and something to look forward to and savour,” says Simon Kent, MD of Applied Intelligent Marketing. “Personal treats are one of the first things to go when the budget is tight, so especially in today’s economic climate, leisure incentives are very well received.”

Relaxation Day

Take it easy

As a means of motivating, incentivising and rewarding staff, experiences are extremely successful – they provide the individual with something different. “The opportunity to escape from the daily grind and everyday norm, even if it’s for half a day will appeal to the majority of people,” says Clement. A leisure activity incentive might only be half an hour, but the duration is irrelevant versus the need to provide an experience the recipient wouldn’t ordinarily have thought of doing. A leisure experience, when used as a promotional or incentive tool, is unparalleled as it’s such an emotive experience.”

Taking time out with a spa day is one way of de-stressing and relaxing. SpaFinder offers gift vouchers, virtual vouchers and cards for beauty and body  therapies at almost 6,000 venues in 79 countries. The company also recently launched its Glambition health and beauty experience, redeemable at more than 650 UK venues, including spas, gyms and makeover studios.

“A luxurious spa experience is an indulgence that not all people can afford, and therefore is a popular reward or incentive for employees,” explains Cassandra Cavanah, executive director for SpaFinder Europe. “However, while this can be an extremely pampering treat, its true benefits to business lie in preventative health and wellness.

“Employers are recognising more and more the benefits of offering de-stressing and relaxing experiences for employees.”

For those who prefer a good cup of tea to a full-body massage, food and drink activities are also widely available – from afternoon tea at a top London hotel to a chocolate workshop, Indian cookery to cupcakes and cocktails. Or, how about a round or two of golf, a horse-drawn carriage ride to a country pub or a trip on an old-fashioned steam train.

“Experience-led campaigns have injected life, fun and enthusiasm into tough trading times. They create a buzz and personal interface for motivation programmes, sales promotions and employee benefits,” says Chris Smith, marketing director at Acorne PLC (Virgin Experience Days, Virgin Vouchers, Leisure Vouchers and Exhilaration). “Their success is built on the human desire to try new activities and share these life experiences with others.”

So not only do you benefit from de-stressed, happy and motivated employees – and hopefully decrease your staff absence levels, but you provide the stimulus for shared happy memories. After all, while a cash bonus is quickly spent and forgotten, an enjoyable experience, activity or leisure break will be remembered for years to come.

Marston employees enjoy leisure rewards

As part of its Key Holder staff development training programme, Marstons Inns & Taverns uses Virgin Experience Days to reward employees. The programme comprises on-the-job training, theory and training courses, with Virgin Experience Days gift cards awarded to staff who reach targets. For example, attaining supervisor level gains an employee a £100 gift card, while reaching assistant manager level merits a £250 gift card.

“We want to recognise the effort that goes into achieving Key Holder status and show our appreciation with something different,” says training manager Suzanne Harrison. “Virgin Experience Days have a wow factor and allow staff to choose an experience they perhaps wouldn’t buy for themselves.”

Eating and drinking are necessary for life – but they are also indulgent pastimes. What could be nicer than enjoying a delicious meal in an expensive restaurant, washed down by fine wines? It’s an experience, a celebration of luxury and not something you have to do to survive. In the same vein, you wouldn’t give a present of sliced bread and cheese, but offering someone a hamper filled with delicious goodies including cheeses from around the world and bread hand-made by artisans, elevates the gift to a whole new level.

When it comes to corporate incentives and rewards, food and drink are popular because they appeal to everybody, they can be shared among colleagues and, if you choose correctly, they have a high treat value. Expensive chocolates or vintage Champagne for example, are unlikely to be purchased by the recipient as a matter of course, so they are also aspirational.

Out and about

At this time of year with summer just around the corner, picnic hampers are ideal for corporate rewards and incentives for individuals. Or, you could think big and hold an outdoor event to which you invite all of your staff and perhaps clients. Go it alone with hampers that include crockery, glassware and cutlery, or opt for an event organised for you at a country house hotel. If the great outdoors holds no appeal whatsoever, consider venues offering afternoon tea or wine tasting experiences, a riverboat cruise with dinner (indoors) or even a trip around a brewery, arranged to suit your company.

“While household budgets get ever tighter, people have had to rein in their personal leisure expenditure,” explains Tracy Finn, head of Harrods Corporate Service. “The tailor-made incentive is perceived as an unexpected luxury to relish and enjoy, and lets recipients associate their work with something fun and relaxing, a respite from the stresses and pressures of their working lives.”

A personal touch

People like receiving presents and, being recognised for their achievements at work, has the added bonus of making them feel truly appreciated by their employer. As Rachel Marshall-Roberts from Grantham-based Hay Hampers says: “Successful, growing companies do need to motivate and inspire their staff and continue to build new relationships with customers.”

As rewards, edible gifts, such as chocolates, Champagne, wines and whisky, are popular and have profited from the growing interest in quality food, adds Marshall-Roberts. “They are readily consumed, shared and discussed for the enjoyment they give. They are not excessively priced or extravagant and can add a bit of luxury to a corporate event or business meeting,” she says.

Food and drink are also becoming creative, taking centre stage in a number of activity offerings. Virgin Experience Days, for example, offers a selection of foodie gifts and days out. Chris Smith, marketing director at Acorne PLC, the name behind the brand, says its afternoon tea package is a bestseller.

“It’s not every day you go to a luxury hotel or prestigious venue and indulge in afternoon tea but it’s a lovely tradition and I think that’s why it is so appealing. All our food and drink experiences are indulgent treats,” explains Smith.

He adds: “Our corporate partners are always looking for different ways to motivate their employees, and with the busy pace of life these days, leisure experiences provide an ideal opportunity to take time out of a busy schedule and relax in the company of friends or family members.”

And isn’t that what it’s all about, after all? When you’ve worked hard, receiving a reward that allows you to indulge as well as relax, tastes ever so good.

Staff lunch

The Tasting Room at Harrods in London caters for parties of up to 16 people and offers a menu of traditional fare including fillet of Scottish beef and baby vegetables.

Sommeliers help you match wines to each course, chosen from a range of more than 3,000 held in the Harrods wine shop.

“The Tasting Room lets recipients experience something out of the ordinary, a one-off, tailor-made, bespoke incentive,” says Tracy Finn, head of Harrods Corporate Service. The Knightsbridge venue also offers full conference facilities.

Harrods Tasting Room