I’m not a fan of gambling, but this CareerJournal article contains an interesting point:
Many newer programs incorporate elements of behavioral psychology, offering more targeted incentives for increasing sales or productivity, for example. They tend to offer smaller rewards more frequently so that employees make a mental link between their behavior and the reward. Ravin Jesuthasan, managing principal at consulting firm Towers Perrin, says employers are shifting to instant-recognition programs, instead of quarterly or yearly incentives.
The article is clearly based on more of a B2C selling model (banks are prominently mentioned), but as a psych major, I appreciate their Pavlovian approach to reinforcement. Reminds me of rat lab – we had to train our rat to press a lever to receive food or to avoid a shock. Don’t worry – no rats were hurt in the lab. When it was over, they were sent to the Raptor Center at the U of MN and fed to the injured birds of prey.
It’s Friday and I am getting off topic. The frequency of the reward is an excellent topic to address in your variable compensation. The simple reinforcement for commission-only salespeople is that they are rewarded for success. In essence, you eat what you kill.
I’m noting the carniverous tone in this post. I promise to back off the Animal Planet viewing this weekend.