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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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....
Lake Tahoe
Planning a Corporate Retreat in the U.S.? Here’s Why South Lake Tahoe Belongs on Your List
South Lake Tahoe isn’t your typical meeting destination. Nestled where California and Nevada meet, this...

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Performance Management

Knowledge Center

Knowledge Center

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Blog

How to Kickoff Your Recognition Program

Planning to implement a social recognition platform? That’s a move that will improve performance, but to get there quickly your people — or more specifically your managers — need to be prepared. Your communications and training plans must address two key issues: that recognition is important and that the act…

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Blog

SPOILER ALERT: Where “Whiplash” Went Wrong

J.K. Simmons won an Oscar for his portrayal of a negative band conductor in the movie Whiplash. I saw the flick last weekend and have no complaints there. His performance was first rate. I did, however, have a problem with one of the final scenes; the one where he says…

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Blog

Maestro Gives You the Flexibility to Meet Challenges Head On

Sales compensation planners have a lot to worry about. Depending on the business model, variable pay schemes can account for the largest portion of a rep’s total income. The people who devise their plans need to get them right. And by right I mean they need to be motivational, efficient…

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Blog

So What Color Was That Dress Anyway?

Gold and white? Blue and black? More importantly, what did it teach us? We all see the same things, but interpret them differently. In the case of the multi-colored dress it was the physiological variations within our eye structures that changed our individual sensations to light and thus our perception…

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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

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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people working together
Blog

The Number One Killer of a Sales Culture

An effective sales process is an orchestrated path of steps that all lead to “yes.” However, putting a sluggish salesforce on that very same path will likely lead to “no.” Why? Because this carefully coordinated course established by sales ops requires more than simply following the steps. The process is…

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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 loves to showcase beaches, rooftops, and luxury properties. But after decades of designing and operating programs across the globe, one thing is clear. A successful incentive program is not defined by where you go. It is defined by what it drives. The real purpose of incentive travel is behavior change. Revenue growth. Market expansion. Retention of top performers. Cultural alignment. If those outcomes are not clearly defined at the beginning, no resort, no experience, and no production value will compensate for it. The most
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.
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