news

October 2009

Redefining ROI - 1to1 Guest Blog

With all of today's financial pressures, everyone wants to show return on investment. The problem is, not everything has an easily measured ROI. More specifically, since ROI is actually a financial measure, sometimes--many times--what we really need to be satisfied with is simply measureable results. Consider my recent conference experience...Read More.

Up Close With Meeting Planner Connie Nau

Anyone who has ever worked as a planner knows that there are plenty of challenges on a daily basis, but today’s sluggish economy has forced people in the planning industry to do business in a different manner. “The most important thing that meeting planners can do now is to measure the results of their meetings or events and incentives. A credible results measurement process arms executives with appropriate data that enables them to respond intelligently to inquiries by media, stockholders and customers.”  Read More...

IMA Awards CPIM Designation

Six incentive marketing professionals were presented with the Incentive Marketing Association’ Certified Professional of Incentive Management. This year’s recipients include Todd Hanson, President and Founder of Catalyst Performance Group.  Read more...

We Can Still Win The War

ROI has been the battle cry of the incentive and meeting community for over a decade. We were all believers – it is critical to prove the ROI of the meetings, events and incentives. 

It’s not that we doubted their value. We all knew that incentives and meetings created results. It’s intuitive. Therefore, we sent out surveys to gauge levels of satisfaction. When we did, we sometimes proudly claimed to have demonstrated ROI.

Then came a sputtering economy and unexpected scrutiny of incentives and meetings from stakeholders, stockholders, the media and even elected officials. Corporate leadership was not prepared for the onslaught. As a result, we lost the battle. Unable to justify both strategy and spend, program after program was cancelled, postponed, or scaled back. Meetings were boondoggles – and incentives were worse.  Read More...

The Motivation Show 2009: Still the Place to Be

The Motivation Show 2009 took place last week from September 29 through October 1 at McCormick Place in Chicago, IL, wrapping up with a few mixed feelings on the parts of attendees and exhibitors. Some found the experience to be the epitome of meaningful business contacts and information that they have come to expect; others were frustrated by the reduced size of the show and dismayed by continuing indicators of tough times ahead. Read More...

September 2009

Catalyst Launches ROI of Engagement and Measures Motivation Show ROI

Catalyst Performance Group, Inc. of Appleton, WI launches a new initiative entitled ROI of Engagement™ designed to help companies build the business case for engagement programs of all types. The Motivation Show is leading the way by measuring the ROI of attendees for the show scheduled September 29 – October 1 at McCormick Place in Chicago. IL.  Read More...

August 2009

Maximizing Meeting Value and Measuring ROI Webcast

Scheduled for August 19th, 2009, this is an advanced webinar for corporate meeting executives interested in improving their ability to define, design and measure value for their organization’s meetings. You will learn how to deliver credible meeting ROI measurement to justify, defend and continuously improve meetings. Hear first-hand from the VP Sales and Marketing of Clark National about how ROI measurement saved his annual meeting from cancellation. Learn a methodology for developing meetings that will deliver high-value, measurable results every time.  Read More...

July 2009

New Strategic Partnership With ROI Institute

Catalyst Performance Group of Appleton, WI has formed a strategic partnership with The ROI Institute of Birmingham, AL designed to bring credible results measurement to engagement programs. Armed with ROI data, companies can defend existing programs, justify future spend and fuel evidence-based continuous improvement of incentives, meetings, events, rewards, recognition and loyalty programs.  Read More...

June 2009

The Economics of Engagement Webcast

This presentation will reveal research findings on engagement useful to those who have responsibility for productivity and energizing their human capital. This insightful webcast is produced by the Enterprise Engagement Alliance, a Research Practice Area of the Human Capital Institute (HCI,) of which Catalyst is a founding sponsor. You will learn the costs of a disengaged workforce as well as see compelling data that demonstrates the financial returns associated with well-designed engagement strategies.  Read More...

May 2009

Defending Your Event: How To Prove the Value of a Meeting

Todd Hanson, president and founder of Catalyst Performance Group in Appleton, Wis., is measuring nearly all of the events his company designs and plans. "We're doing it at different levels," he explains. "So, in some cases we're measuring just reaction. It's not easy; it takes a lot of time and effort to measure a return on investment that's credible."  Read More...

Measuring a Meeting's Return on Investment

“In this economy, very few legacy programs will continue without being scrutinized,” says Todd Hanson, president and founder of Catalyst Performance Group, a people-performance management company in Appleton, Wis. So any meeting that continues to happen just because it always has will probably come under the microscope, he says, adding, “As we move forward, [meeting] money will be invested, rather than just spent.”  Read More...

To Meet or Not To Meet

"In these times, with the scrutiny, many companies may be cancelling [meetings], but they may not have all the facts," says Todd Hanson, president & Founder of Catalyst Performance Group, a company that specializes in helping companies maximaize the value of meetings and conferences. 

"There could be a heavy price for that.  There is this categorical condemnation of [meetings] as junkets.  If we can monetize them, now you have a tool that gives you evidence of their value."  Read More...