A member of the Chamber of Commerce Professionals Group on Facebook asked about providing incentives for chamber ambassadors:

I am considering a mini- membership challenge with our ambassador group for a part of the summer. What type of rewards/incentives do you provide to volunteers as a reward – and what are your benchmarks?

Effective motivation incorporates two things – multiple types of incentives and an end time. Here’s how to implement them.

There are two types of incentives, monetary and non-monetary. Monetary incentives are anything with a cash value – money (of course), gift cards, a free massage, etc. Non-monetary incentives can be prestige, bragging rights, a pat on the back, and/or the top position on a leader board. Chambers considering this type of challenge will be rewarding people who are motivated by both.

Motivating with Incentives for Chamber Ambassadors

Instead of figuring out what motivates each ambassador, a successful chamber ambassadors program will cover both types.

Awarding points for desired behavior such as recruiting activities that are then publicly displayed on a leader board will take care of your competitive, non-monetary motivated ambassadors. But these points should then be redeemable for something of monetary value, enticing those monetarily motivated.

A point system works well because it provides visual representation of success, acts as its own motivator (I need to get 3 more points, what am I going to do?) and shames people into competition. A point system also allows you to bestow credit in increments. This works well for membership challenges because you can reward a token number of points for bringing a new face to a mixer even if they don’t end up joining.

Displaying the points publicly is the most effective way to super charge the competition but it may not be the most appropriate. “Public” needs only be in front of the ambassadors and staff in charge of the challenge. It doesn’t (necessarily) mean a bulletin board on Main Street.

Some people want more than a gift card. They want the challenge in becoming number one, while others are happy with the “money.” A point system is a great way to cover the bases for both monetary and non-monetary motivated people.

Guest post by Christina Green