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New UnIncentive Company Launches to Help Organizations Improve Performance Using Existing Budgets
A Data-Validated Approach to Engagement and Enterprise Value
A Bridge Between Traditional Incentives and Consulting
A Transparent Partner Ecosystem
A Scalable Model Designed to Lift the Entire Market
A new company created by leading human capital, engagement, and compensation experts aims to disrupt the traditional incentives, rewards, and recognition industry by helping organizations use the budgets they already have to achieve more measurable, enterprise-wide value.
According to its CEO, Darwin Hanson, The International Center for Enterprise Engagement (ICEE) supports organizations and teams in achieving their
purpose, goals, objectives, and values through what he calls total quality management for people—the term used by the Enterprise Engagement Alliance to describe a strategic, systematic, and transparent approach to engaging employees and all stakeholders. Hanson acquired the ICEE assets of the Enterprise Engagement Alliance earlier this year. These consist of its impact measurement and sustainability reporting services consistent with the European Union Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive.Rather than promoting new or proprietary “programs,” ICEE applies the same proven process controls that transformed product quality worldwide to the domain of people management. The result: a low-risk, easy-to-test and scale system that optimizes existing human capital, sales, and marketing expenditures—while potentially reducing current budgets related to traditional rewards and recognition program.
A Data-Validated Approach to Engagement and Enterprise Value
Hanson says ICEE leverages the Human Capital Factor research of Irrational Capital, independently validated by J.P. Morgan’s quantum analytics division, as well as the 2024 research by Oxford University’s Wellbeing Centre, which demonstrates a direct connection between high commitment, organizational performance, and future equity value.
“Organizations spend up to 70% of their cash flow on people, sales, and marketing—often without meaningful accountability,” Hanson. “Total quality management has been proven for decades in operations and has even resulted in ISO 10018 standards for people engagement. Our question is simple: Why not apply these validated processes to the rest of the enterprise?”
A Bridge Between Traditional Incentives and Consulting
According to Dr. Heiko Mauterer, ICEE Advisor and Board Member, Senior Partner at the 4C Group, Munich, “There is a global industry that sells
incentives and recognition, yet organizations don’t actually want rewards and gifts—they want better sales, stronger performance, and more loyal customers. Meanwhile, quality management consultants apply sophisticated systems in engineering and medical fields that are equally needed across the workforce. ICEE bridges these worlds with a practical model any organization can use.” Hanson says ICEE charges a flat fee for program design and impact measurement using statistical process controls and related measurement processes and offers a pay for performance model for behavior change and results. ICEE’s three-part solution. According to Hanson, ICEE provides organizations a practical, transparent, and measurable people-engagement system through:
- Simple engagement metrics using the same statistical process controls relied upon in total quality management for decades.
- Performance-based engagement business plans to clarify purpose, goals, objectives, and values of the organization or team, and implement a unified people operating system that addresses and aligns all the relevant levers of engagement to the extent possible using practices used in over one million factories, laboratories, hospitals, and engineering firms worldwide.
- Objective selection of the right solution providers—from leadership development and culture building to technology, job design, or recognition—ensuring holistic, measurable outcomes.
A Transparent Partner Ecosystem
“As with advertising, engagement requires the integration of multiple tactics,” explains Bruce Bolger of the Enterprise Engagement Alliance. “No single vendor can realistically provide best-in-class expertise across all categories. Hanson says that ICEE ensures transparent, client-driven provider selection while partnering only with firms familiar with a TQM-based approach.” Managed outsource services include training in leadership, enterprise engagement and stakeholder management; culture; analytics; surveys and feedback; job design; rewards and recognition; motivational events; and sustainability reporting consistent with the European Union Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive.
The founding solution provider partners include:
- Appreciation at Work, founded by Dr. Paul White and now owned by J.C. Hite, providing a team-driven, measurable method for building authentic workplace appreciation and culture.
- TM Evolution, founded by Darwin Hanson. It provides advisory services for compensation, human capital analytics, and employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs).
- Catalog API to support program management (communications, surveys, social recognition, etc._ and US domestic and international merchandise, gift cards and awards. It provides technology to some of the leading companies in the world, including incentive, recognition, and engagement firms.
A Scalable Model Designed to Lift the Entire Market
Hanson describes ICEE’s distribution strategy as two-fold: “We use the Enterprise Engagement Alliance’s media and business development channels to reach organizations seeking measurable performance gains. At the same time, we equip other advisors and solution providers with the processes measurement tools through the EEA they need to bring new value to their clients. The market is enormous—no single company can serve it alone. Our goal is to let a rising tide lift all ships.”
Enterprise Engagement Alliance Services
Celebrating our 15th year, the Enterprise Engagement Alliance helps organizations enhance performance through:
1. Information and marketing opportunities on stakeholder management and total rewards:
ESM Weekly on stakeholder management since 2009; click here for a media kit.
RRN Weekly on total rewards since 1996; click here for a EEA YouTube channel on enterprise engagement, human capital, and total rewards insights and how-to information since 2020.
2. Learning: Purpose Leadership and Stakeholder
Management Academy to enhance future equity value and performance for your organization.3. Books on implementation: Enterprise Engagement for CEOs and Enterprise Engagement: The Roadmap.
4. Advisory services and research: Strategic guidance, learning and certification on stakeholder management, measurement, metrics, and corporate sustainability reporting.
5. Permission-based targeted business development to identify and build relationships with the people most likely to buy.
6. Public speaking and meeting facilitation on stakeholder management. The world’s leading speakers on all aspects of stakeholder management across the enterprise.
