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Professor Shares Incentive Program with Local Call Centers
Charleston Regional Business Journal
June 27, 2005

By Holly Fisher, Supplements Editor

Good managers know employees respond to rewards and incentives. But few realize that immediate incentives work best.

That is the theory of Brooks Mitchell, a behavioral scientist and professor at the University of Wyoming. Mitchell is putting fun back into the workplace by using a program that rewards employees for specific behaviors or for meeting established company goals.

Through his company, Snowfly Performance Solutions Inc., Mitchell has developed a software program that gives employees an opportunity to play an online game as a reward. The games are in the form of online slot machines, punch cards and prize wheels.

As a reward, the employees might receive two pulls on the slot machine for a chance to win points. Those points accumulate in the employees’ accounts and can be redeemed for prizes, days off or spent as cash using a stored value card (similar to a debit card).

Mitchell’s program works because of “random intermittent reinforcement.” It is the same concept that causes people to flock to Las Vegas, explains Mitchell, who previously sold computer software to Las Vegas companies.

“The thing I learned from talking to executives in Vegas is that 85 percent of their revenue comes from slot machines. Slots are random reinforcement—you put a coin in and pull the slot. You’re doing it for the idea that when I pull this lever, something really big could happen to me. That’s random intermittent reinforcement.”

These immediate incentives are beneficial because employees are rewarded immediately. If a manager simply adds a bonus to an employee’s paycheck, it becomes an entitlement, Mitchell says.

Also, this type of system allows employees to pick their rewards. “The biggest mistake most companies make is having these reward catalogs,” Mitchell says. “They are making the assumption employees want something from the catalog, and it’s probably twice as expensive as what you could go to Wal-Mart and get it for. Why don’t you let your employees decide what they want?”

Snowfly’s incentive concept is spreading quickly throughout the call center industry. Mitchell says his program works particularly well in call centers because those employees are already sitting at a computer and have online access. About 20,000 call center employees play the games daily, Mitchell says.

Playing requires about 90 seconds a day, so companies are not seeing valuable time wasted at the online slot machines. The program is Web-based, so employees can even play at home on their own time. The cost varies with the size of the company but can range from $3 to $5 per employee per month.

Phyllis Dodrill has been in the call center industry for 28 years, working for airlines and American Express. “I have tried every type of motivation in the world to get call center agents happy and stay happy,” she says.

When she joined Alliance Data Systems in Atlanta as director of customer service, she received a trial copy of the Snowfly program. Three years ago, her office implemented the program.
“There’s just nothing like it,” she says. “It not only changes behaviors, but your reps are excited because every single day they have pulls that turn into points, so they have something to look forward to every morning.”

At Alliance Data Systems, employees can trade their points for gift certificates to local businesses, such as Wal-Mart or grocery stores. The certificates for gasoline have been particularly popular lately, Dodrill says. Employees can also save up their points for days off with pay.

Employees also are rewarded for getting to work on time, receiving compliments from customers, for participating in weekly employee surveys and for completing training programs.
Dodrill says she cannot think of one downside to the program. “It’s worth its weight in gold for my company. We’re a large company with different divisions. At first, the utilities division was the only one using (Snowfly); now it has gone companywide.”

Using incentives in the workplace is not a new concept—look at sales commissions. But the Internet makes it easier to provide incentives to all employees, Mitchell says.

“The desire to win something is just eternal,” Mitchell says. “We’re just trying to put some of those principles back into work.”

Mitchell is hoping to expand his performance incentive software into the area of executive and management wellness. “Incentives are the missing link in getting people to exercise or check their blood pressure,” he says.

Holly Fisher is the supplements editor for the Business Journal.

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