workaday Wednesday

I have So Many Feelings about commission-based pay for salespeople. None of which are politically expedient to share at work. So I’m summarizing the rant here so I can stop thinking about it.

Unpopular opinion time! (Note: these are based on how things are set up in my current work situation. I understand that commissions and commission-based pay can be set up in a variety of ways, and that it may work better in some situations than others. I’m not saying I could never be convinced, but I certainly haven’t been yet.)

1. Commission-based pay puts self-interest at odds with the the best interests of employees as a group. Arguably worse, it puts self-interest at odds with the best interests of the customer.

2. CBP creates unnecessary divisions between those who receive it and those who do not in an organization, reducing cooperation and workplace morale. The rallying cry of “we’re all in this together” can’t hold up against the reality of commissions proving it to be a lie.

3. CBP falsely treats salespeople as acting independent of the support system of the rest of the organization.

4. If executives think commissions motivate employee performance, what is it that they think is motivating their non-commissioned employees?

Mirrored from The Marci Rating System.