QQtargets&bonus™

Here is a brief summary of the whole page below

Benefits

QQtargets&bonus provides a single point of contact for all the targeting and bonusing needs of a company.

All the facts are collected in one place, including actual results, predefined targets and bonus logic and from here also  visuals analytics are provided instantly to understand performance and even predict performance before the current targeting period is closed.

On top of that, the psychological pressure of manual correction of bonuses is taken away. No person to blame anymore, it’s just “that bloody system” and the actual performance … 
(Even though, if required, a manual adjustments area can be added to the whole engine, as well 😉 )

In case confidentiality is important for the organization, security rules can be applied so that only the appropriate persons to have access to specific and/or general data regarding targets, execution and bonuses.

Main Functions

QQtargets&bonus brings an easy way to: 

  1. define a set of combined targets for sales teams, (down to individual level, or even lower, at client, product or any other level) based on the historical values already recorded
  2. evaluate (before the month is closing and nothing else can be improved anymore) extrapolated performance versus targeted performance in order to have proactive actionable areas to work on
  3. calculate all execution KPIs versus targeted results,  for all closed periods, including compound scorecards using various weights for each KPI
  4. evaluate the actual bonus for each entity. (combined rules at individual level and team level can be mastered in one place). No more head-ackes and days lost only for the bonuses calculation and verifications.

Targeting Engine

Various types of targets can be defined within the engine and various input mechanisms can be used.

Reading Target Tables

The fastest and simplest option is to read an already populated table (CSV, Excel, SQL, etc.) that specifies the targeted values for each entity and each period. Separate files  with same data structure can be defined for different periods and/or different entities (agents/ shops/ locations/ teams/ BU/ etc.). 

Multiple Targets

When more targets are defined simultaneously  for each targeting point like:

  • Sales Value Target,
  • Customer Count Target,
  • New Customer Count Target,
  • GM Target, etc.,

additional problems arise: we will need to define also different weights and/or formulas to calculate the bonuses.

Another challenge often encountered in situations with multiple goal setting may be setting goals on multiple levels of granularity, or cascading calculations across multiple layers of computing.

We already have various samples and approach techniques to employ these aspects, in order to accommodate your specific targeting approach.

Assisting Targeting Tools

Depending on the specific requirements, we can deliver solutions that not helps you in keeping/ remembering the established targets, but also to ease the (sometimes) tideous work of defining the targets, based on previous performance and target execution. Various solutions are available for creating the proper targeting assistant: 

  • exporting special Excel Files with embedded dynamic formulas inside, 
  • employing Qlik™ write back solutions to assist and record the targeting decisions directly in Qlik™ interface, 
  • deploying a robust planning tools (Planacy), that includes collaborative , multi-step and multi-level targets definitions and workflows for targets approval, as well.

Proforma Target Execution

For business typologies (like almost all kind of retail or FMCG distribution) that usually manifest a rather constant business every day and where average daily sales is almost steady in regular business from one day to another, within the period we have defined targets for, a pretty simple extrapolation formula can be engaged to predict the end of period results even before half of the period has actually already happened. In case different customer behavior (or schedule) is valid for weekends and working days of the week, this can be also taken into consideration.

This will  show, even before the period is closed an expected (extrapolated) target execution, which means bad performance can be identified early in the period and specific proactive measures can be taken to improve the end of period results.

In case of large numbers of entities (more than several dozens), a specially designed interface that focuses on extremes (Under and Over Performers) and only the distribution of the Mid-Performers is available at a glance (management by exception principle is taking the lion’s share in this approach).

 

Final Target Execution

Once the periods have been closed, the final results are immediately  available. 

Also a historical perspective of target execution can be easily understand, both quantitative and temporally.

For multiple KPIs, compound performance indicator is also immediately evaluated for each entity and their parents. It is possible even to provide in the interface the proper dial elements that allow immediately change the weights of the basic KPIs.

Not only the individual values are available, but also comparative results of the peer managers coordinating subsets of entities (like Area Managers, Shop Managers, Division Managers, etc.).

Examples of analytics that can be extracted with the QQtargts.bonus™ application

Prediction of the plan achievement

Target versus Achieved Analytics

Top Performers Analytics

Bonus calculation

Since all the KPI calculation is already automated, also the actual bonus calculation is immediately available, releasing management time for more relevant tasks, like understanding the performance drivers, motivating people and so on.

In case the bonus calculation also includes some qualitative human evaluation inputs, additional placeholders can be prepared to collect all these and therefore the final bonus calculation is still ready to be delivered immediately after the evaluations have been completed.

An important factor to consider in the general equation for calculating vouchers is related to the logic, sometimes more sophisticated, desired by some management teams.
We found in several projects already delivered, that the way it was defined, usually in some Excel (often too complicated) the calculation of bonuses could suffer (even without altering at all the logic and calculation results) significant simplifications and structuring, which added value by increasing intelligibility and ease in introducing and monitoring assessments.

The QQc.bonusCalculator calculation engine allows:

  • defining a practically unlimited number of cascading intermediate calculation layers, which thus allow the definition of a bonus calculation formula, no matter how complex;
  • assembling the evaluation note and the final bonus from specific subcomponents of some indicators and sets of indicators;
  • the use of multiple evaluation steps with specific bonus results;
  • application of intermediate calculations as percentages or unit indices of bonus over other evaluated or calculated measures.

Managerial Analytics

Many of the proposed visualization solutions have already been briefly presented in previous chapters.

But the flexibility and versatility offered by Qlik™ in the visualization area can provide tens, hundreds (or even millions !) of interactive visual analysis alternatives, which can highlight, from any perspective, the necessary analysis details.

QQtarget&bonus™ system diagram (running on QlikView™/ Qlik Sense™)

Qonclusions

Performance management is a pretty important job, especially in sales management. QQtarget&bonus™ is a solution that brings you an integrated way to combine targeted data with actual data and save a lot of time usually consumed by managers to define targets, understand and evaluate results and motivate sales people through the paid bonuses.

Performance Scorecards and bonus calculation can be applied not only in Sales Department, but rather  in any department, especially when available quantitative values can be extracted from data already existing  in your organization’s systems.

It can be also applied not only to internal sales teams, but also to sales partners, or even your partner’s  sales agents. Similar approach can be also applied for affiliation & referral programs, as well.

If you are interested in QQtargets&bonus product, please fill in the form here !

For other QQinfo solutions, please visit this page: QQsolutions.

In order to be in touch with the latest news in the field, unique solutions explained, but also with our personal perspectives regarding the world of management, data and analytics, we recommend the QQblog !

For information about Qlik™, please visit this page: qlik.com.