Those days are gone for good. Instead of dollars and dimes, sales compensation is becoming a complex tapestry that rewards the whole person, and that includes incentivising the best people for the long haul with recognition, rewards and career development opportunities. In the following pages, we share key strategies for motivating and keeping the top talent with real-world examples that will develop a high-performing, engaged and loyal sales force for your organisation.
Table of Contents
1.The Paradigm Shift: Recognizing the Whole Employee
2.Crafting Meaningful Rewards: Beyond the Paycheck
3.Nurturing Growth: The Path to Career Advancement
Addressing Common Concerns: Freuently Asked Questions in Sales Compensation
Q1: How can I ensure that recognition efforts resonate with my diverse workforce?
Q2: What role does feedback play in reinforcing recognition and rewards?
Q3: How can I prevent recognition efforts from feeling superficial or insincere?
Q4: What are some cost-effective ways to incorporate rewards into my compensation plan?
Q5: How can I measure the ROI of my recognition and rewards programs?
1.The Paradigm Shift: Recognizing the Whole Employee
Monetary remuneration no longer cuts it. The best performers now want to be recognized for their achievements and see other avenues for their development and learning.
Example: One of the largest e-commerce brands in APAC uses the framework ‘Appericiation platform.’ Through channels, from shouting out the win during a team meeting to a personal leader note, they have been able to align and celebrate every win (as well as all the work behind it) with their people.
2.Crafting Meaningful Rewards: Beyond the Paycheck
The right incentives can do more than merely drive results – they can also inspire people to go the extra mile. However, for incentives to succeed, they need to be appropriate, timely and relevant.
Example: Recognising exceptional contributions at the leading product OEM, the Recognition programme celebrates employees who go above and beyond. Recipients receive a personalised trophy and a handwritten note inspiring a sense of pride thanks to the appreciation of a manager.
3.Nurturing Growth: The Path to Career Advancement
Talent remains of the utmost importance in the sales sector, and it’s vital that companies provide employees with a sense of opportunity for progression. Employees want to learn, develop and improve within their workplace.
Example: An innovative feature of the social-network website is that it offers employees the opportunity for their career growth using The Career programme, which helps the employees develop aptitude through mentoring, training, and learning via exposure in job rotations.
Addressing Common Concerns: Frequently Asked Questions in Sales Compensation
Q1: How can I ensure that recognition efforts resonate with my diverse workforce?
A1: Encourage the inclusion of various viewpoints in your recognition programmes, such as by soliciting input from employees at all levels and from all departments, and presenting the awards in a diverse range of channels and formats so as to be applicable to various projects and to accommodate for different cultural preferences.
Q2: What role does feedback play in reinforcing recognition and rewards?
A2: Feedback is important to ensure that your recognition efforts are consistent with an employee’s motivations and values. Do regular check-ins with your employees to see if your recognition program is meeting their needs and make changes over time accordingly.
Q3: How can I prevent recognition efforts from feeling superficial or insincere?
A3: Be authentic. Link a recognition programme to specific behaviours or results, and deliver recognition promptly after the occurrence. Make it personal, whether it is a handwritten thank-you note or a one-on-one conversation.
Q4: What are some cost-effective ways to incorporate rewards into my compensation plan?
A4: Not all rewards need to break the bank. Picture providing other perks, such as greater flexibility for remote or leave, additional days off, or chances for learning and progression. These can be as valuable in encouraging maximum commitment and retention as the money reward.
Q5: How can I measure the ROI of my recognition and rewards programs?
A5: Track indicators of engagement, staff retention and productivity to check whether your current recognition and reward programmes are having an impact, and conduct frequent surveys and focus groups so you can learn what works, what doesn’t, and what needs to change. Sales compensation in today’s competitive environment is no longer one-size-fits-all. To hire, motivate and retain top performing sales people, companies need to build a holistic compensation framework that rewards the whole employee for meaningful contribution and demonstrates a commitment to their on-going growth and development. By building a plan that incorporates 10 important nuances and responds to objections through robust communication and feedback on a regular basis, you can create a compensation programme that delivers results and keeps your salespeople happy and engaged long-term.
