Bankers’ bonus outrage overblown
London, UK, April, 2014 –Research from YouGov commissioned by on-demand sales compensation and performance management provider Xactly, shows the widespread media outcry and coverage of bankers’ bonuses has not changed the public’s perception of the sales profession.
The survey of over 600 senior business decision makers found 73% of those surveyed said their opinion of sales was left unchanged despite recent negative press. However, results varied across the country, with 29% respondents in the North saying they now view sales negatively, more than twice the figure for Londoners (13%). Those in London and the Midlands (7%) said that they actually view sales in a more positive light.
28% of businesses surveyed said they had actually put customer interests ahead of company targets in the last year. Regionally, the Midlands and the South were the most customer centric areas, with 35% of the Midlands respondents and 28% respectively of respondents putting customer needs ahead of company targets.
Christopher W. Cabrera, Founder & CEO, Xactly and Author of Game the Plan: Every Sales Rep’s Dream; Every CFO’s Nightmare, “It’s good to see the public hasn’t lost complete confidence in bonuses, as we know they are essential in ensuring a motivated, high-performing and engaged workforce. As the UK economy begins to see the first signs of economic recovery this is a good opportunity for managers to reassess how remuneration can affect the performance of their employees.”
“These results further reaffirm that, despite the cut-throat stereotype of sales, businesses are still willing to put customers first. What managers need to focus on is rewarding this kind of behaviour and ensuring that customers to not suffer as businesses thrive.”
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 605 senior business decision makers. Fieldwork was undertaken between 6th - 11th March 2014. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of company size.
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With Xactly, companies of all sizes and industries can unleash the motivational power of their incentive compensation programs to inspire better employee performance and business results. Xactly’s secure, cloud-based incentive compensation and performance management solutions enable emerging businesses to Fortune 500s to easily design, manage and optimise incentive programs that save time, cut costs, reduce risk and align employee behaviours with corporate goals.
Xactly helps companies such as ARM, British Gas, Informatica, LinkedIn, Motorola Inc, and Mavenir Systems to improve operational performance, optimise sales effectiveness, proactively manage risk and compliance and maximize profits. To learn how you can incentivise right and achieve more with Xactly, visit https://www.xactlycorp.com/ or call +44 2078 877190