Twenty-Five for ’21: Predictions for the New Year, Part 4

What’s in the cards for 2021? Turnover, turnover, and more turnover. It’s never been as urgent for sales leaders to scrutinize how their organizations assess and select talent — and there have never been as many assessment tools available. Retaining top sellers may be especially challenging, which is why it’s critical to get compensation right this year. But of course turnover isn’t only about pay. Based on our surveys, research, in-house analysis, and Sales Design Thinking^SM we arrived at our twenty-five. Today’s are around pandemic and post-pandemic turnover.

The Employee Value Proposition will erode for reps with “bunny slipper fatigue”

Check your EVP at the door. Some reps who were called in from the field back in March love working from home and hope to stick with it. Others, not so much. Do you know which of your reps are in each camp? We recommend conducting an EVP audit to learn who may be looking for an exit.

Turnover will increase for companies not offering attractive EVPs

Hello and goodbye. Who’s leaving the company? Hopefully your poorest performers. But if your team’s top sellers are quitting, it may be time for a talent inventory. What will it take to retain your best performers? How can you best articulate an Employee Value Proposition that will resonate with them?

Compensation levels will recalibrate with productivity and value to the company

Know your selling model. High turnover gives an organization the opportunity to reset pay levels. Are you losing poor performers? You could add value to the organization by hiring new talent — if you can attract the right talent. But if you’re losing top performers, it may be time to revise the company’s EVP.

Rapid insight pay benchmarking will become more important as competitors shift

Out with the old, in with the new. Remember annual pay surveys from the big survey houses? Well, you can forget them. This year, by the time you get that data it will be old and irrelevant. We’re seeing a shift from annual information to rapid pay benchmarking on a much faster cycle, ensuring that pay data is timely and relevant.

Talent assessment and selection will become more analytical to improve hiring quality and lower turnover

Going with your gut is just a start. A number of talent assessment tools are available to help ensure that a candidate’s capabilities match an employer’s needs. With high turnover threatening a 2021 restart, now is the time to go above and beyond “gut feeling” when hiring reps. Will a candidate be a good fit? Thankfully, you need not rely on a crystal ball for the answer.

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Take the COVID-19 Sales Recovery Assessment to help rethink sales.