What is RVOLPC and Why Should You Care?
By Robert Cowen
If you are trying to improve first call resolution, call quality, agent motivation, retention, schedule adherence, sales/conversions or other KPI’s, this is a critical component of your success or failure. Not understanding and respecting RVOLPC is one of the reasons 50% of contact center agents are unhappy with their incentive program and 1/3 of incentive programs produce negative results, abysmal failure!
So what in the world are you talking about? RVOLPC is an acronym coined by Dr. Brooks Mitchell (University of Wyoming and founder of Snowfly Incentives) and stands for “Readily Verifiable On-Line Price Comparison” and means that if your company offers an incentive program where employees earn points to buy merchandise from an on-line catalog, they will compare the catalog price of the merchandise with prices from web sites. If the merchandise is overpriced, your employees will question why your company is wasting money rather than making cash (or gift/debit card) an option. Being asked to pay withholding taxes on overpriced merchandise adds insult to injury. The employee may not overtly ask this question but when they see reductions in force, lay-offs, or shortened hours, they ask why their employer is overpaying for incentives and not giving the savings to them. RVOLPC equals price transparency. The consequences of ignoring RVOPLC are almost impossible to measure because you can’t see the productivity improvement that you’re not getting. The best way to demonstrate RVOLPC is to conduct a side-by-side test by offering “merchandise only” versus merchandise and gift/debit cards for at least sixty days.
The overriding question presented by RVOLPC is whether offering “merchandise only” generates better KPI’s than offering a cash (or equivalent) option. Numerous “experts” claim that merchandise has a higher intrinsic or “trophy” value, gift/debit cards are too impersonal, easily forgotten, never fully redeemed, and are less effective at changing behaviors; thus gift/debit cards should not be offered. Claims are also made that studies show merchandise to be the preferred reward. Let me be perfectly clear about my next statement; Snowfly’s most recent analysis showed that 74% of our users selected gift/debit cards. This is not an academic study but real-world results of what employees actually did when given a choice! Many proponents of “merchandise only” rewards are those whose business is dependent upon their clients purchasing overpriced merchandise or highly marked-up gift cards. Not allowing cash (or equivalent) as an option is paternalistic (we know what’s best for you); better results are achieved when treating employees as adults.
To exemplify the disastrous results of ignoring RVOLPC and “merchandise only” rewards, Dr. Mitchell tells the story of an agent ordering a set of steak knives for his reward. I will not repeat it here but if you have the opportunity to hear Dr. Mitchell speak, ask about the steak knives.
About Snowfly
Snowfly is the leading provider of Internet based employee incentives, recognition and loyalty programs. Snowfly's incentive system allows clients to harness the enormous motivational power of immediate positive reinforcement to focus employee behavior on company objectives. Compared with home-grown programs, Snowfly significantly improves KPI’s almost immediately, reduces a huge administrative burden and reduces costs. The results are easily seen within weeks and there is no long term contractual obligation. Customers include multiple Blue Cross/Blue Shield providers, Hyatt Hotels, Time Warner Cable, financial institutions, utility companies, cable/satellite providers, various BPO companies (business process outsourcers), and collection departments/agencies. Snowfly’s web site: www.Snowfly.com. For more information, contact Snowfly at 1-877-SNOWFLY (766-9359). Or email Bob Cowen at rcowen@snowfly.com