The changing role of finance in “pay for performance” functions

As companies reevaluate their compensation strategies in
order to adapt to changes in the economy and business
landscape, a broader view of “pay for performance” is being
considered across business units. No longer just a function of
sales, optimizing performance is becoming a priority
consideration of finance. With a keen eye on margins, finance
requires close collaboration among business units to keep costs
and sales at a steady pace and “pay for performance” modeling
provides a ripe opportunity to address the Chief Financial
Officer’s (CFO’s) growing need for strategic planning.

A recent research report, “Managing Sales Incentive
Compensation Amid Uncertainty,” released by CFO
Research Services reveals that finance executives are taking a
keen interest in how their companies can motivate
sophisticated sales behaviors.They are exploring things like
team selling, cross-selling, as well as tying incentive
compensation to more complicated metrics like profitability,
customer satisfaction and repeat business. CFOs are no
longer focused on the top line results of their sales team;
instead, they are developing sophisticated incentive plans
that can motivate behaviors in a complex, competitive
business environment.