Sales Force Compensation at GM

Sales Force Compensation at GM

Introduction

In today's economy, keeping the morale of the sales force in a high gear is vital if a company is to achieve profitability. One of the factors that boost the morale and productivity of the sales force is a reward program that recognizes and addresses their needs. It is in the company`s best interest to keep the sales force motivated for higher sales revenue and elevated levels of financial growth. To assist in understanding the impact and role played by reward programs, General Motor`s compensation plan will be used as a guide in creating an effective workforce compensation program (Hay Group., 2001).

Features of an Effective Reward Program

An effective compensation program needs to incorporate the aspect of fairness .This means recognizing each employee`s worth and value contribution to the ultimate success of the company. The reward program needs to be impartial to all employees involved so that it can gain unfailing support from every member of the sales team. An unfair program will create conflict and division amongst employees and cause resentment and discontent amongst those who feel sidelined by the program (Clow & Baack, 2012). It will hinder the smooth running of operations as employees get involved in a battle to counter each other's efforts thus leading to reduced levels of productivity. For motivation of employees the reward program must possess these common features;

The vision and mission of the company should also be considered when hatching a reward program. It is only by aligning it to the core values of the company that it will attain sustainability. If the program is not aligned to the company`s goals then it will be working against the very existence of that company and will produce undesirable effects.

The reward program should also receive the full backing of the management team and supervisors because they are the people who will be charged with the responsibility of its implementation. Lack of their support will create a gap between what the employees have been promised and what is actually happening leading to feelings of distrust and betrayal that are detrimental to the performance of the sales force (Cichelli, 2010).

Effective communication is key to the success of any reward program. Effective communication clarifies all grey areas and avoids disappointment that may occur when the program is misinterpreted.

Even the most well thought out reward program needs to be reviewed and assessed for its effectiveness on a regular basis. This is because the workforce is very dynamic and keeps on evolving and presenting new unprecedented challenges that need to be addressed. Monitoring the program will make it more successful because shortcomings will be detected and quickly corrected before they spiral out of control. Employees will also be able to monitor their progress by analyzing the key performance indicators and consequently make changes when as the situation dictates.

Frequency of payment of the rewards motivates the employees improve their performance because they are assured of reaping the fruits of ...