Sales Forces' Compensation Plan

Sales Forces’ Compensation Plan
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Introduction
Companies that do excel owe their success to the sales team. The sales manager therefore faces a big challenge while trying to motivate the sales force. Motivation is a process that is aimed at developing goal –oriented behavior in a person. As such, an organization’s total rewards philosophy symbolizes far more than just the sum of cash it pays to employees or even the tassel benefits that it provides. Motivation serves the purpose of initiating desired behavior within an individual and directs it toward realizing organizational goals. Motivation has three elements namely; goal, need and drive. A need drives an individual towards achieving a particular goal that ends up satisfying the need. The effectiveness of the sales force plays a vital role in the growth and success of an organization. The sales manager therefore needs to highly motivate the sales force as a way of ensuring that the company realizes its goals (Fisher, 2013; Nwude et al, 2013).
For the sales force to be highly motivated, an effective total rewards program should be put in place. An effective total reward program has several features that make it effectual. The elements of total rewards include; programs, practices dimensions and elements that collectively define a company’s strategy to attract, motivate and retain employees. These elements include; compensation, work life, benefits, performance and regulation, development and career opportunities as well as influence and personal growth. The elements are a depiction of a tool kit from which a company opts to offer and align a value for both the company and the employee (Tomczyk et al, 2013). However, the elements are not mutually exclusive and a total reward strategy requires a smart combination of all elements into tailored packages designed to realize optimal engagement. Initially, rewards were perceived as generally referring to the pay an employee receives for the labor offered. However, this perception has changed and total reward system is regarded as the overall value proposition offered by employers to the employees. Compensation includes base pay as well as short-term and long-term incentives. Benefits given to the employees include health benefits, retirement and work/life benefits which adds the portion of the rewards package. For a total reward strategy to be effective, it must results in satisfied, engaged as well as productive employees who make the organization realize a desired business performance and also achieve the organizational goals (Byrd & Megginson, 2013).
The integration of compensation plan in a work force is geared towards achieving specific goals. The overall purpose of a sales compensation plan is to motivate the sales team as well as sales management so as to ensure that the organization coordinates the sales force’s activities with the organization’s own profit-maximizing goals (Tomczyk et al, 2013). Total reward system helps in resourcing employees through competitive pay. An organization is able to attract and retain excellent talents through competitive pay. It can also affect the employment development through compe...