The 2026 IRF Trends Report highlights how incentive professionals are navigating rising costs, geopolitical uncertainty,...
Research / Help Shape the Future of Our Industry
As we look to the incentives industry’s future, it’s critical that we recruit and foster a workforce that possesses both technical skills and passion for motivating improved performance. The incentives industry offers a wide variety of exciting career opportunities, but more than 75% of incentives professionals surveyed are experiencing staffing shortages. Lack of awareness of the industry and career opportunities is a major barrier to recruiting people entering the workforce. Incentives content is not commonly found in colleges and universities.
IRF and SITE have launched the Future of Incentives Workforce initiative to promote awareness of the incentives industry as a career path for the next generation. They have created 60- and 80-minute curriculum modules that IRF and SITE volunteers can present in college and university classrooms to help increase the talent pipeline into the incentives industry.
These engaging curriculums provide an overview of motivational theory, explore how incentives are used to improve performance, discuss how to determine the impact of incentive programs, and introduce new career opportunities. As a guest lecturer, you’ll also be invited to share your experience and discuss your career path as an incentives professional.
The 2026 European Top Performers Study provides a comprehensive view of how leading companies across Europe design, implement, and manage incentive travel programs that drive measurable business outcomes.
This Academic Research in Action explores how cognitive biases shape the effectiveness of incentive and recognition programs. It highlights why well‑intentioned designs often fall short and emphasizes the need for behaviorally informed approaches that account for how people actually interpret rewards.
