ST. LOUIS (April 5, 2010) – In a recent study released by the Corporate Executive Board, productivity among employees who experienced change and expected more change in the workplace decreased by 66 percent. As companies make tough decisions in reaction to the current economic climate, there’s scarcely an organization that hasn’t undergone some type of change. But, how do companies boost productivity, when investing in people seems more like a luxury rather than a must-have in today’s economic environment?
“Workforce segmentation is a way to effectively engage and motivate your sales team and channel partners,” says Jennifer Kallery, vice president, Maritz Loyalty & Motivation. “And when each segment is leveraged to its fullest potential, the ‘people investment’ of a sales incentive program becomes much clearer and easier to justify.”
In order to maximize the investment, an incentive program should target those who have the most potential for improvement – employees who have significant opportunities for growth and employees who are strong performers but may have a low level of interest. In other words, if you want move the majority of your sales force to become high performers, you must segment participants just as you do your customers.
First, says Kallery, be sure to continue rewarding the top performers in your company for recognition and retention – these salespeople are your best assets to maintain and grow accounts. While companies often view employee recognition as a “fluffy” expense or a variable personnel cost, it’s key to keeping and motivating the best talent.
Next, identify those performers who need additional training, or who aren’t the right fit for a company. These are typically your bottom 20 percent – people who are contributing very little to company growth. When challenged and coached appropriately, many of these individuals can reach the performance levels of an “average” employee (typically the middle 60 percent).
Contrary to popular belief, companies should specifically focus on the middle 60 percent. This is where managers can have the most impact and influence behavior. In fact, this group of “average” performers has the most opportunity for growth. Using a performance-based incentive program, encourage participants to exceed personal and company goals, and align the incentive with the value of exceeding the goals.
“While the entire process can be daunting, a performance-based incentive program becomes a necessity rather than a luxury when its existence directly impacts the growth and prosperity of a company,” says Kallery.
Editor’s Note: Kallery is available for interviews and comment on how companies can implement successful incentive programs and justify an upfront investment in their sales teams and channel partners.
About Jennifer Kallery
As division vice president, marketing, Jennifer Kallery leads the marketing and business development team for Maritz Loyalty Marketing. In this role, Kallery and her team work to develop client-focused solutions, innovative rewards, and marketing campaigns to generate awareness and interest in Maritz services and rewards.
About Maritz
St. Louis-based Maritz is a sales and marketing services company, which helps companies achieve their full potential through understanding, enabling, and motivating employees, channel partners, and customers. Maritz provides market and customer research, communications, learning solutions, incentive initiatives, rewards and recognition, effective meeting, event and incentive management services and customer loyalty programs. For more information, visit www.maritz.com or call
1-877-4MARITZ.