A playbook for redesigning sales compensation without breaking morale
The sequence we use when a compensation structure is driving the wrong behaviour.
Identify the specific behaviour the current structure is unintentionally incentivising (chasing volume over quality, for instance) before redesigning, so the new structure targets the actual root cause rather than a general sense that something's off.
Model the new structure against historical performance data to check it would have produced better outcomes in past periods, before rolling it out prospectively.
Communicate the change with enough lead time for the team to adjust, and be explicit about why it's changing — a compensation change perceived as arbitrary damages trust more than the structural problem it was meant to fix.
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