Hunters, Farmers and Gathers: UOWD students hear how to design incentives for employees

Monday, 12 June, 2017

Global Remuneration Expert Robert Mosley provided a dynamic and thought-provoking talk for members of The Human Resources Forum (THRF). Held at the University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD), students and staff, along with Forum members, attended the seminar to hear Mr Mosley tackle the thorny issue of incentivising sales staff appropriately. Mr Mosley shared his in-depth knowledge of remuneration systems, gained whilst working with household names, such as Microsoft and Emirates airline and offered a unique solution to paying sales staff appropriately. Starting with a test of the audience’s pay and bonus preferences, Mr Mosley highlighted the confusion surrounding the area and emphasised the importance of managing risk for both employees and the organisation. He explained that HR and sales staff approach incentive schemes from opposite directions, resulting in differing calculations, which can result in dire outcomes for organisations if not correctly managed. Before providing a 10-step method of creating a sales incentive scheme, Mr Mosley explained how sales staff can be divided into different categories, depending on the nature of their work. Hunters are the new business seekers, Farmers aim to extract additional revenue from existing clients, such as by upselling, whilst Gathers continue to sell similar products to existing clients. Incentive schemes can be designed to suitably reward the different types of staff, with the Hunters typically receiving the highest incentives and opportunities to earn higher pay overall but carrying greater risk for the organisation. Finally, the audience was provided with a demonstration of how to design an incentive scheme, including threshold, target and stretch points, and how to fit the scheme into the overall pay and benefits system for the whole company. Several questions followed and Mr Mosley provided detailed responses to the highly engaged audience. Ms Olga Sinenko, a Master of Business (HRM) student said, “Robert is an amazing presenter. The way he developed SIP was so simple and the work of a genius. Being a salesperson and managing sales teams, I had experience developing a bonus structure, and that requires lots of testing until you find the needed balance. Robert invented an amazing practical tool, which with some adjustments can be used in any industry.” Mr Mosley is a founder member of THRF and he now runs his own company, Lemon Pip Consulting Limited. He is also a Master Trainer and member of the Reward Advisory Board for CIPD. For further information about THRF events, contact Ms. Alisha Dias at [email protected] or Dr Alison Thirlwall at [email protected]