Pioneering Excellence

Madison is a global leader in employee recognition and incentives, pioneering digital programs since 1995. As an employee-owned company, we deliver recognition, events, and incentive travel solutions that strengthen culture and drive results.

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Designing Sales Meetings That Drive Business Outcomes, Not Just Attendance
Annual sales meetings often represent one of the largest internal investments an organization makes each...
employee traveling
What Actually Drives a Successful Incentive Travel Program After 20 Years in the Field
Incentive travel has never been about the destination. That may sound surprising in an industry that...
employees working together
Sustainability Without Operational Discipline Is Just Messaging
Sustainability is now standard language in meetings and incentive travel. RFPs reference ESG commitments....

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Employee Engagement

Knowledge Center

Knowledge Center

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Blog

Every Interaction Creates a Reaction

How many times have you given a message without considering how it will be received? Do you often communicate thinking that you just need to get the information off your chest? Think about the last email you sent or received; did you write the email with yours or the reader’s…

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person working on their laptop
Blog

How Rewards & Recognition Can Support Flexible Working Practices

Over the last few years flexible working has been a hot topic in business. Many organizations have adopted new working practices designed to give employees the freedom to work from anywhere and at any time. Benefits of flexibility The benefits of such flexibility mean employees can integrate their home and…

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people working and talking each other
Blog

Not All Salespeople Are Created Equal

Are you giving people large rewards for their sales but still not quite getting the output you want? Unfortunately, managing a sales team to success can be an expensive game: “Sales force compensation represents the single largest marketing investment for most B2B companies.” Harvard Business Review (HBR) So how can…

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two people talking
Blog

The Unwritten Rules of Employee Advocacy

Do your employees enjoy working for you? Are they publicly enthusiastic about being a part of your company? Are they telling their friends and family about the benefits of your services and/or products? Employees are your brand Did you answer yes to the first question above; did you hesitate at…

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people working in the office together around computer
Blog

Rewarding Employees With the Future in Mind

Do you reward behaviors that will help your employees to stay in their role or grow out of it? Are your team members future leaders or managers? Are they getting the rewards conducive to moving them towards that path? Do those rewards also support the growth of your organization? Rewards…

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person leading showing coworkers
Blog

Are Your Leaders Fair and Just?

“The relationships leaders forge with employees is the cornerstone of leadership.” Journal of Applied Psychology The idea that leaders impact employees is nothing new. Leadership has gained much attention over the last few years with the aim of creating purposeful, efficient workplaces that tailor to the needs of employees both…

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two people talking to each other at work
Blog

Why On-boarding Recognition is Key to Employee Retention

Employee poaching and staff turnover are on the rise, and employee engagement has flat-lined at around 31% of the workforce (according to a survey performed by Gallup earlier this year). These issues are fueled, in part, by employees feeling under appreciated for the work they do. Employees may leave of…

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Blog

Employee Communications: A New Angle

How critical is employee communication? Consider this: companies on the low end of the employee engagement band are also the ones who put little to no effort into it. Internal communication initiatives are vital tools for building and sustaining a culture of trust and transparency. It’s what bonds everyone —…

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person working looking stressed/angry
Blog

How to Handle “Radioactive” Employees

With Halloween just around the corner it’s time to take stock in what’s really scary. Ghosts and goblins? Not so much. Actively disengaged employees on the other hand? Yikes! When we talk about employee engagement, we usually focus on the positive side of the scenario: increased productivity, reduced attrition and…

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Sustainability Without Operational Discipline Is Just Messaging
Sustainability is now standard language in meetings and incentive travel. RFPs reference ESG commitments. Hotels promote certifications. Destinations highlight environmental initiatives. Carbon calculators appear in proposals as a matter of course. This evolution is positive and necessary. However, the presence of sustainability language does not guarantee sustainable execution. There is an increasing gap between what is promised and what is operationally delivered.
Why Recognition Is the Most Powerful Tool to Protect High Performers
Organizations often treat recognition as a perk — something nice to have, something extra. But for high performers, recognition is not a perk. It is protection. High performers carry tremendous emotional and cognitive weight. They take on more work. They solve more problems. They mentor more peers. They generate more impact. And they do it all without asking for much in return. But every human has a tipping point. And without recognition, high performers hit theirs much faster.
The Myth of the Unbreakable High Performer
High performers are often described with an almost mythic quality: resilient, unstoppable, reliable, self-driven, limitless. They are the employees leaders depend on — the ones who say yes when others hesitate, who push harder, who deliver when the stakes are highest. But there’s a dangerous flaw embedded in this mythology: High performers are not unbreakable. They are simply quiet about the breaking. This misconception is costing organizations dearly.
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