When companies look over sales staff candidates for positions, they should keep in mind how they want these roles to grow and how they can mold their workers to fit them now and in the future. Employers have significant influence on how staff perform. How they shape employee productivity and the company’s outcomes depend on sales performance management.
A study published in the Journal of Management in December 2013 showed incentive compensation can determine employee behavior to increase productivity levels.
In the study of 11,939 employees over a 5-year period, the researchers discovered that merit and bonus pay have a positive influence on future employee performance. Since employee engagement is often affected by pay, the top performing workers are usually well-compensated for their work to continue to generate a greater return for the company.
A study by human resources consulting firm Aon Hewitt found pay was one of the top five motivators for employee engagement for global companies in 2013.
“Our study shows that organizations overcoming business and people challenges are investing in a culture of engagement built on performance focus, strong reputation and superior leadership,” said Dr. Ken Oehler, Aon Hewitt’s global engagement practice leader. “These investments are resulting in stronger company performance.”
When companies approach merit increases, tracking employee performance using sales effective metrics can better help companies with their decision-making. The researchers also found bonus pay is a great incentive compensation option to boost productivity and future performance.
“Furthermore, our findings indicate that, contrary to what traditional economic perspectives would predict, bonus pay may have a stronger effect on future performance than merit pay,” according to the study in Journal of Management.
Whether companies choose merit increases to gradually expand employee performance levels or bonus pay to reward staff for their positive outcomes, businesses will be able to make their decisions more easily with sales performance management solutions.
