Ideas For Incentive Programs in Kenya

October 4th, 2010 @ admin // No Comments

Incentive programs in Kenya are quickly becoming the most sought after event solutions for both national and international companies.

Some of the most important and effective ways of keeping staff motivated and productivity levels high are by regular appraisals. Giving individual staff appraisals is much more affective then group appraisals, as this gives the member of staff the sense of belonging and shows that you are appreciating their efforts and input at work. There are also other ways that are just as effective in motivating and keeping staff comfortable in the work environment.

Using incentive programs is also a very effective method for keeping up with staff morale and showing management appreciation for the efforts the team have made. These programs can range from being simple gifts of pens or a special parking space just for you, to trips to a luxury spa or adventure trails. Some programs can be just as exotic as a trip to Tahiti, depending on how well paid you are and how generous your managers are.

Some incentive programs may include a certificate for being the employee of the month, normally given to staff that have gone the extra mile or made a dramatic difference in their productivity level. Most companies have these in place giving others the motivation to work hard to that level. Incentive programs are part of what makes a successful business and enables a better rapport between each member of staff.

Other incentive programs might include extra vacation time, travel vouchers, merchandise rewards, cash incentives and personalized gifts. The gifts would need to be carefully selected allowing for staff to feel like that they are truly appreciated. Rewarding the staff as a whole as a good way to encourage staff to bond and communicate with each other. The more staff gets to know each other, the higher the chance that they will work well collectively.

Studies have shown that incentive programs and staff rewards can increase performance at work by 25% for each employee. There are many reasons why staff are rewarded or given a bonus, often these reasons differ from the reasons the staff themselves believes to be the real reasons of why they should be rewarded. This depends on the nature of the work you do, whether it is achieving a sales target or completing a set task for a high paying client.

Category : General / Services

5 Wrong Moves that Could Derail Your Corporate Event

September 27th, 2010 @ admin // No Comments

Many corporate events are derailed when committees or representatives from the client organization refuse to heed common sense advice from event planners.

Some of the requests that corporate event planners receive can make us feel as if we’re entering The Twilight Zone. What is disturbing is the lack of a practical focus. Some client organizations appear to be particularly resistant to following the advice of professional event planners who are familiar with specific destinations. Instead, they seem to be interested in engaging firms that will work as order takers to implement their plans no matter how flawed. Even if they are considering an event in the wrong location, during the wrong season, with the wrong geography, and the wrong timeframe, some client organizations are not open to modifying their plans.

As the recession deepens, this seems to be increasing. It will become easier for prospective clients to find your competitors that are hungry enough for business to deliver exactly what they request. As an event planner who is interested in growing their business, it can be a challenge to walk that fine line between pleasing your client and giving them your best professional advice.

Here are 5 wrong moves to avoid no matter how much pressure you are facing from clients or prospective clients.

1. Wrong Location

A prospective client from India insisted on staying at an airport hotel. They then proceeded to request an activity that would take place in downtown Nairobi. They simply would not listen to advice that, given traffic patterns, it would have been more prudent to stay downtown, even if it were just for the night before their planned activity.

Despite the fact that they wanted to explore the heritage areas, a prospective client from UK insisted on staying at a beach resort for the duration of their time in Mombasa. They would not listen to advice about where to stay for that part of their itinerary to avoid traffic gridlock. The company booked an event planning firm with no experience in Mombasa. They had a terrible time and received numerous complaints from employees who were stuck in traffic for hours at a time.

When planning an event, transition times and traffic patterns have to be taken into account. No group will thank you if they end up stuck in gridlock or stuck on a highway because predictable inclement weather has caused a 30 or, heaven forbid, 200 car pileup. It’s much better to encourage clients to plan their arrival and movements for low traffic periods. It’s also a good idea, to split the itinerary between hotels in different areas to give the group more comfortable access to certain attractions and activities.

2. Wrong Season

A prospective client from Asia insisted on an itinerary consisting of beach activities in Mombasa in January. Firms did not make the shortlist if they advised the company’s representatives that, with temperatures soaring past 40C, the group would be very uncomfortable and there could be significant  hot weather health risks for some members of their team.

Do some initial checking to determine if the requested activities are appropriate for the season in which your client will be having their event. Make sure that you give them a realistic picture of what is and isn’t doable in certain locations at specific times of the year. Never compromise group safety just to please a client. You could be held liable if someone suffers illness or injury.

3. Wrong Geography

A firm from the Nairobi would consider no option for dinner other than an outside BBQ in downtown Mombasa. They refused to stay at a beach resort in the Coast for a few days where an outdoor BBQ would have been more practical and enjoyable. They also rejected the Mombasa Island location that was recommended. They seemed determined to have their dinner downtown, despite the pollution, smell, and risk that the garbage strike would not be over by the time they arrived in Mombasa.

Make sure that you give your clients solid advice and point out things they may have missed. It is important for you to have the integrity to advise clients that their preferred activity is a poor fit for the season or location and encourage them to either change the activity or change the date of their event.

4. Wrong Timeframe

This is such a regular occurrence that examples are probably not needed. Suffice it to say that many organizations insist on subjecting employees to wall-to-wall speakers well into the afternoon. Then, they try to cram team activities into a short timeframe when everyone is exhausted. No amount of input from the event planner or facilitator will get them to modify their plans.

When groups feel rushed and pressured and they are too tired to enjoy the event, this will reflect poorly on you as the event planner. To avoid making a wrong move, encourage your clients to either cut content or increase the length of their conference or program to realistically incorporate all desired activities. They may end up spending a little bit more money but you’ll end up with attendees who are pleased instead of frustrated and resentful.

5. Wrong Budget

A regular occurrence in the event planning industry is awarding business to firms that low ball their quotes. This usually happens because their budget is just too low.

Just this week, a Nairobi firm called and requested a recreational event for a team of 14. They expected to pay less than 20.000Kshs.

A couple of days later, another Nairobi firm requested a recreational event for a team of 18. All that they had budgeted was 1.000Kshs per person INCLUDING taxes.

It’s time for a reality check. As a general rule of thumb to give your clients, let them know that the smaller their group, the higher the price per person they should expect to pay. If a group is small, they should not be expecting to pay anywhere near under 1500Kshs per person.
Let your prospective clients know that, when their budget is unrealistic, they are setting themselves up for something similar to the bait and switch technique used in retail. It gets played out in 1 of 2 ways:

- corners are cut and the event is watered down significantly (e.g. a scavenger hunt is provided when an Amazing Race was booked).

- once planning is well underway “unforeseen items” that jack up the budget are identified and its too late to switch event planners.

At the end of the day, when the event doesn’t work well and they’ll be the ones who will be embarrassed every time they have to face their co-workers.

Event Planning: Let’s Get Real

Especially in this economy, there will always be competitors that will take a company’s money and give them exactly what they ask for…. even if it isn’t realistic or practical. It’s great for a client to have ideas and a vision for their event but a reality check from you, an event planning professional that knows your destination, is vital.

How can you avoid the embarrassment of a poorly executed event?

How can you greatly reduce the likelihood that you will be “ripped off”?

You’ll greatly increase the likelihood of planning a successful event if you don’t automatically cave into pressure and tell clients and prospects exactly you want they want to hear. With your next event, keep these 5 wrong moves in mind. Take the time to identify pitfalls and raise a flag of caution when they are considering options that are not advisable. Then, really encourage them to consider taking the advice for which they are paying you. This may cost you some business but the events you organize will be executed much more smoothly.

Category : General

Looking for a professional emcee or moderator?

September 20th, 2010 @ admin // No Comments

Do you have an event and are looking for a professional emcee or moderator? Your corporate emcee is the first and last impression the audience gets of your event so make sure you pick someone who can think on their feet, is interesting, can engage any audience and prepares meticulously for every event.

Fresha Events is proud to work together with one of East Africa’s best corporate speakers and emcee, Mr. Derek Bbanga. Derek is in increasing demand as a speaker, moderator and emcee at businesses, conferences and events. Some of the companies and institutions he has been invited to speak at include the Africa Venture Capitalist Association, association of Kenya Insurers, Barclays, Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, Forever Living Products, Indigo Telecommunications, Kenya Shell, Kenya Forestry Service, National Museums of Kenya, Rotary Clubs of Kenya, Public Relations Society of Kenya, Unilever, Young Professional Business Women’s Association, Strathmore Business School and MBA program, among many others.

He was recently the keynote speaker at PricewaterhouseCoopers East Africa’s annual business conference. In 2009, Derek was emcee for the GE Thought Leadership Conference. At the same event he moderated the high level panel discussion which included GE’s President for Middle East and Africa. He was the moderator for the BBC World Service Trust launch of The African Media Development Initiative (AMDI) – the biggest ever survey of the media across sub-Saharan Africa. He was also emcee and moderator for Pay TV company GTV’s inaugural press conference launch in Kenya. Derek was also emcee and moderator for the launch of the Africa Investor Awards.

Whether your next corporate event is a:

• Conference
• Awards ceremony
• Gala Dinner
• Product launch
• Trade Show

As a communications professional, Derek strongly believes coming across in an interesting, entertaining and informative way is essential. He believes in thorough preparation which is the key to success. He always brings four important elements – energy, enthusiasm, effort and enjoyment.

Fresha Events can arrange the following courses and presentations for your next event.

• ½ day corporate awareness course
• 1 day corporate awareness course
• 2 day corporate awareness course
• 1 hour presentation / talk
• 2 hour presentation / talk
• One-on-one consultation
• Student training
• Corporate Emcee services

Category : General

Creative Wedding Ideas

September 16th, 2010 @ admin // No Comments

Wedding is a special day for every bride and groom. Everyone wants his/her wedding to be the best wedding. For organizing a best wedding some special and intelligent arrangements are always needed. We are listing some of the very creative wedding ideas, which can help you a lot to organize a well planned and a best wedding. Creative wedding ideas:-

Reception Ideas: Banquet halls are very common for wedding receptions. If you want to arrange something special then give your celebration a natural beautiful venue like a garden, the beach or any museum.

Catering Ideas: Offer a seasonal and family-style menu. More important if your menu reflects your heritage culture that would be best and your quests will always remember your special menu.

Flowers & Decor Ideas: Instead of using artificial flowers, make use of natural flowers. Make other decorations with beautiful ribbons and balloons.

Entertainment Ideas: If you want a live music over a DJ, then consult with your musician about he theme that you have decided for your special day. A very special music should be there on the entrance of bride.

Photography Ideas: Hire a creative photographer for your special day and ask him to get some nice shots for every moment.

Cake Ideas: Wedding cake should be very special and well decoration with names of bride and groom. You can also thing a particular shape for your cake and can order for the same.

Attire Ideas: Brides usually wear two dresses on the wedding day. One is on reception and one after that. For reception you can select something very shiny and attractive with lots of beads and other work on the dress and second dress may be something simple as compared to the reception dress.

Stationery Ideas: If your culture is most important for you and you really want to celebrate your big by giving importance to your culture, then do some research and find a stationer who offers multi-cultural invitations and announcements.

Favor Ideas: Give your guests something special that they could enjoy for years. A small bag of seeds to plant will remind them of your special day every time they smell the flowers.

Fresha events will help you organize your most important day with flair, style and finesse. We have a large gamma of wedding proposals and suggestions that can transform your wedding into a truly unforgettable event.

Category : General