(847) 236-1208

An auto products distribution company with 200 employees worldwide

The Situation

The company had experienced difficulty achieving growth goals in two of its divisions. The sales employees in the divisions had been on company-wide management bonus plans and/or profit sharing plans that were much beyond their line of sight. The company felt that the lack of sales incentives was inhibiting growth in these divisions. They felt that without sales incentives, they were not paying the appropriate compensation levels for its sales positions vis-á-vis the external competitive market, and that they were not motivating the sales force to achieve the growth targets. BCR was engaged to make total target cash compensation and plan design recommendations to motivate the right behaviors to achieve aggressive sales growth goals through new business and the organic growth of existing business.

The Deliverables

  • Assessed the strengths and limitations of the sales compensation program based on the inventory and analysis of the current program, as well as the feedback from the interviews and external benchmark data. Assessment not only included a compensation review but also a review of sales effectiveness in areas such as goal-setting, role definition, and sales tools.
  • Provided current trends and best practices in sales compensation program design. Developed model of key success determinants for the sales incentive plan design and communications, and performed a gap analysis between current and desired programs.
  • Prepared recommendations to introduce a sales incentive plan: type of plan design; incentive targets; degree of leverage; mix; performance measures and range of award opportunities; weighting of sales performance components; payout formulas and mechanics; timing of payouts; etc. A cost/sensitivity analysis was also provided to illustrate plan cost at various levels of performance.
  • Prepared an implementation and communications program approach and communication materials to announce changes to the sales team. This included development of the plan document and individual incentive plan statements which could be used to calculate incentives earned. BCR also assisted leadership in the communication meetings to address employee questions.

The Results Achieved

  • Sales incentive plans were implemented to pay for performance based on each sales employee’s line of sight.
  • Target sales incentives were established for each sales role based on appropriate pay mix to ensure that the sales employees’ compensation was market competitive.
  • The company used the newly developed incentive plans as a pilot to test the effectiveness of sales incentives within the company with the intention of developing appropriate sales incentive plans for all divisions.

Case Studies

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Benefits & Compensation Resources, LLC

Phone: (847) 236-1208
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For over 5 years, Little Brothers-Friends of the Elderly has relied on BCR to provide a full range of HR services. BCR brings over 15 years of experience to the table, along with top notch professional, cost effective, and value added results. BCR is our go to HR firm!

Simone Mitchell-Peterson,
Executive Director
Little Brothers-Friends of the Elderly

BCR performed a comprehensive total compensation analysis for our business, and designed an effective job family compensation structure to reflect our various business lines and functions. BCR provided timely expert guidance to support our dynamic business needs, so that we could implement a compensation program that was flexible and scalable to meet our current and future growth needs.

Carrie Thomas,
Director of Compensation and Benefits
Lender Processing Services

Benefits and Compensation Resources is our main resource for benchmarking Executive Compensation, as well as all of our incentive programs. We know we will always be provided with accurate, detailed information that we are confident to share with our Senior Management Team and Board of Directors.

Melissa Davis,
Corporate Human Resources Manager
Plymouth Tube

Barb and the BCR team are the experts when it comes to compensation, both domestic and international. They spend a great deal of time learning the business before providing options for solutions. They have demonstrated great flexibility in adapting to scope changes along the way as well. Their depth of experience has given them, and our recommendations, great credibility to our Board of Directors.

Donna Griffin,
VP of Global Human Resources
Turtle Wax

BCR’s process is well defined, and at the same time, tailored to meet unique challenges and requirements. The expert guidance and input BCR provided, allowed us to quickly implement a compensation program to support our dynamic business needs.

Debra Manning-Dutko,
HR Director
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Our Division was faced with a large project – to redesign our compensation system for our 900 plus retail store operation. BCR was instrumental in leading our project management efforts to assist us in implementing the project within our timeframe. BCR’s project manager, Jennifer Ottolino, had the perfect blend of compensation and business experience to help lead this effort. The result was a massive roll out change, which was within our budget and within our timeframe. With BCR's expert guidance, all main areas were covered: compensation reporting, employee communications, change management and system related tasks.

Audrey Southard,
Senior Vice President
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BCR did a thorough analysis of the AAP's benefits as comparison to similar associations and non-profits. A written analysis was presented to the AAP board of trustees, who found it comprehensive and easy to follow. Barb Manny and Pam Krebs presented the implications of the results to the Board, and addressed questions on the data, benefit trends, and relation of benefits to compensation. The project was completed on time and within budget. Barb and Pam were responsive to staff questions and a pleasure to work with.

Nadine Seidman,
Deputy Executive Director
AAP

Benefits and Compensation Resources provided us with valuable benefits expertise, guidance and support at a critical time for our organization. As a newly-established organization with limited staff, BCR came in and quickly assessed our needs and objectives and worked with us, our broker and our vendors to implement our annual benefits enrollment and support our benefits function development. We know we can count on BCR to partner with us as we grow our business.

Jim Aikins,
Chief Human Resources Officer
Decision Insight Information Group

I have worked with Barbara for over 15 years and she is one of the most knowledgeable and creative professionals I know. Her expertise is deep in all areas of compensation and benefits, but it also spans far beyond this into other areas of human capital management. Barbara is one of the first calls I’d make when undertaking a change in our programs and I trust her knowledge and pulse on market trends.

Amy Mysel,
VP HR
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