Losing 80 - 90% Commissions on My Current Job Once The New Year Starts. Stay or Go?

Aerith-Waifu on 29/12/2023 - 20:42
Last edited 30/12/2023 - 20:45

My workplace sent us an email about 3 weeks ago indicating the old commission structure will be no more and be replaced by a more sales oriented structure meaning it will be judged on every category rather than total sales $.

The new commission structure will start in 3 days which is the 1/1/2024.

Today we finally got detailed information on how the new commission structure works and I have calculated I will lose between 80% - 90% of my commissions using the sales figure I achieved in the past.

On average I get around $2300 a month. So a loss of 80% means I will be getting $460 a month on commission compared to $2300, and only getting $230 with 90% lose on commission.

The job itself is good, enjoyable and we are not at the store all the time, the new manager is nice and is in charge of 2 stores so is hardly ever around which leaves the 2 older supervisors in charge 90% of the time so far. The 2 older supervisors has been with the company for around 7 and 10 years so they knows the whole company inside and out. These are nice folks. As long as we do our job and achieve our KPI they don’t mind if we leave 30 - 60 mins early if the store is quiet. Or 20 - 30 mins late if we caught in the traffic in the morning.

Another aspect of the job is for 1-2 days a week, we can op to work from home. (If we chose to) Which is another big plus when you have kids.

So overall the job is good with nice people, however the cut in commission is making me think as it means a drop of almost $25k to $30k in income yearly which is more than the cost of a new car (Unless you are a Westpac Investment Banker)

The question is, would you stay for the good people and take the $25k to $30k pay cut? Without the commission we are on around $48k a year. Which isn't something to raise eyebrow about considering most of the OzBargain guys earns $150k a year here. (If you believe…..)

Or start look for another job now with the new year just around the corner?

Poll Options

  • 20
    1: Stay and see what happens
  • 119
    2: absolutely without a doubt leave and look elsewhere
  • 9
    3: Stay but just slack off and don’t do much work
  • 3
    4: Go back to Casual and just work 10 - 15 hours there
Education & Work

Comments

  • Muzeeb on 29/12/2023 - 20:47
    +18

    I think this is because you told your boss that your hobby is sleeping.

    Unintended consequences can be a real bitch.

    • Aerith-Waifu on 29/12/2023 - 20:49
      -3

      If only I have that pulling power…..lol

  • spackbace on 29/12/2023 - 20:49
    +2

    Why do you lose so much in commission? Do the new kpi's set a target that you're not on track for currently? Will they push you to do better to try to achieve the new targets to get paid more?

    • Aerith-Waifu on 29/12/2023 - 20:55
      +4

      The idea behind it is obvious. To save money and paying out as little as possible. It has now divided into 20 categories. In order to hit the full commission as before we need to achieve 100% in all categories.

      If any category missed by say 1%. We don’t get any commission on this full category. As we work online a bit as well that has now been included in the KPI.

      • spackbace on 29/12/2023 - 20:56

        I get it, goalposts always get moved, it's just a question of whether you can improve to earn more and stay with the current team.

        It could push you to be better at your job and to be better at sales. Who knows, the next job could have similar requirements

        • Aerith-Waifu on 29/12/2023 - 20:58

          True. I inputted my previous sales into the new commission Estimater and I got 80-90% loss in commission as a result

        • ihbh on 30/12/2023 - 06:13
          +2

          I like your philosophy, a bit like JR's: don't wish it were easier wish you were better.

          • Aerith-Waifu on 30/12/2023 - 06:25

            @ihbh: JR???

            • afoveht on 30/12/2023 - 11:20

              @Aerith-Waifu: I think probably Joe Rogan - smells of his privilege - but I must admit my first thought was JR Ewing.

              Good luck with the situation, sounds like a tough one.

              • spackbace on 30/12/2023 - 11:50

                @afoveht: Jim Rohn, motivational speaker (taken from google)

                I wouldn't say it's a privileged comment though, the full quote is

                “Don't wish it was easier wish you were better. Don't wish for less problems wish for more skills. Don't wish for less challenge wish for more wisdom”

                • afoveht on 30/12/2023 - 13:38
                  +1

                  @spackbace:

                  I wouldn't say it's a privileged comment though

                  Fair call, very context dependent, "Let them eat bread" kinda thing.

                  That said, and I admit I have no idea who Jim Rohn is, most well known professional motivation speakers are dripping in privilege.

      • TiredKitty78 on 30/12/2023 - 14:04
        +1

        Just like the old 'you'll get a bonus if you get 5 stars in your review' and no one gets 5 stars.
        Literally…..management is told no one gets 5 stars….

        • Aerith-Waifu on 30/12/2023 - 20:43

          Then it carries no weight.

    • HeWhoKnows on 30/12/2023 - 08:22

      Has Op considered ALL the commission they will earn based on the new structure???

      "replaced by a more sales oriented structure meaning it will be judged on every category rather than total sales $."

      • Aerith-Waifu on 30/12/2023 - 20:29

        Yes I have, the Estimater they provided has been proven using the last 3 months sales figure. And these are good figures, not the bad figures.

        • HeWhoKnows on 31/12/2023 - 13:57
          +1

          They are going to lose their best sales reps.

          Typical game of chess from a "bean counter" manager.

          The business will be the big loser here OP

          • Aerith-Waifu on 31/12/2023 - 17:35
            +1

            @HeWhoKnows: So far the vibe I am getting is wait and see……..I will look around from tomorrow and also wait and see.

            If I do find something good I will move

  • garetz on 29/12/2023 - 20:54
    +6

    That's a huge pay cut, I would definitely move on.

    When companies initiate big kpi changes like this, it usually means they want to get rid of you anyway and get in new people willing to get the lower bonus structure

    • Aerith-Waifu on 29/12/2023 - 21:00
      +1

      And lose many experienced people as a result? There are people been with this company for years…..longest is 14 years

      • garetz on 29/12/2023 - 21:01
        +12

        If they cared about their experienced people they wouldn't have initiated these changes in the first place.

        Its sad but it clearly shows they do not care a whit about their employees.

        • Aerith-Waifu on 29/12/2023 - 21:04
          +3

          I think you are correct

        • FimpBARGAIN on 30/12/2023 - 19:16
          +1

          They could always have left existing staff on old contracts and only applied to new starters, not unheard of.
          Sounds like a bit if a desperate move, or the HR is straight out of uni

          • Aerith-Waifu on 30/12/2023 - 20:42

            @FimpBARGAIN: You mean old employee getting the better deal than the new employee? What happened to the same work, same pay? Is that even legal?

            • FimpBARGAIN on 31/12/2023 - 11:43

              @Aerith-Waifu: I thought that new policy is only to do with labour hire agreements?
              In professional settings it's normal for people to have individual contracts and it's up to how well you negotiate on the way in.
              It's definitely not good for morale when the new employees realise they are getting screwed, also happens the other other way pretty often where new employees are hired at current market rate and old employees don't realise they are getting shafted.

              • Aerith-Waifu on 31/12/2023 - 17:37

                @FimpBARGAIN: Normally its the other way around, get rid of the old people with higher pay, then bring in the new people with even lower pay. However in our case everyone is basically on minimum wage with commission making large part of the pay.

                Now if no one is going to be well off with the new commission structure there will be no difference between the better sales person or the bad sale person in pay.

      • Richardc on 30/12/2023 - 01:29

        maybe this is the reason, long service might have more entitlements.

        • Aerith-Waifu on 30/12/2023 - 02:01

          As far as I know, its next to impossible to slack everyday as the list of jobs and checks needs to be done and handed in everyday and the supervisors in general will just tick it off without looking.

          These guys are the nicer ones compare to my older boss who demands me to coming 30 mins early without pay and leave 15 - 30 mins late without pay until the works are completed, no over time no nothing.

          If everyone start doing it and not having the daily to do list done, it will make the 2 nice supervisors looks really bad and no one in the company wants to see that. As they really turning an blind eye if you need to leave a few hours early, or coming 30 - 60 mins late due to something out of your control.

          • Love a bargain on 30/12/2023 - 12:23
            +1

            @Aerith-Waifu:

            my older boss who demands me to coming 30 mins early without pay and leave 15 - 30 mins late without pay until the works are completed, no over time no nothing.

            That is actually illegal.
            https://thesector.com.au/2020/01/17/should-i-be-paid-if-i-co…

            • Aerith-Waifu on 30/12/2023 - 13:14

              @Love a bargain: So is working overtime without pay

              • Love a bargain on 31/12/2023 - 14:50

                @Aerith-Waifu: Which is absolutely reportable to Fair Work.

                • Aerith-Waifu on 31/12/2023 - 17:39

                  @Love a bargain: So legally, if the rostered hour is 9am to 5pm.

                  The management or the company has no right to ask you to coming 15 mins early daily with no pay?

                  • Love a bargain on 01/01/2024 - 13:25

                    @Aerith-Waifu: If you're required to turn up 15 mins before your actual shift starts for whatever reasons (e.g. handover, opening the shop, etc), those 15 mins should to be paid. Have a read of the link above and perhaps talk to fairwork to see if you've a case against your previous employer.

    • FimpBARGAIN on 30/12/2023 - 19:14

      Definitely sounds like they are thinning out the herd

  • jk23423432 on 29/12/2023 - 21:00
    +4

    compare the new total package (wage + commission + flexibility / lifestyle) against other opportunities you could reasonably achieve. it doesn't matter what they previously paid, it is what they pay now that matters in your decision.

    • Aerith-Waifu on 29/12/2023 - 21:03
      +1

      Bit hard as I don’t know what others pay. But will look around

      • FimpBARGAIN on 30/12/2023 - 19:19
        +1

        Thats why I would stop doing any overtime and start going to some interviews.
        Once you have some offers then you can compare real world numbers and conditions
        (don't forget to include commute time/costs into your hourly rate calculations, I don't know why people don't do that?)

        • Aerith-Waifu on 30/12/2023 - 20:41

          Will redo my resume next week, new year is coming so I am sure some company might start hiring.

          Cant live with 50k a year with next to nothing commissions.

  • JIMB0 on 29/12/2023 - 21:01
    +8

    Looks like sales numbers are about to fall off a cliff.

    • Aerith-Waifu on 29/12/2023 - 21:02
      +2

      About to is right, as this December is the last month under the old commission system. Sales are up a lot…..so far

      • JIMB0 on 30/12/2023 - 10:35
        +1

        I'm guessing next month you'll just be doing the bare minimum and sitting back to watch the world burn.

        • Aerith-Waifu on 30/12/2023 - 13:15

          Well Jan is usually a dead month anyway.

  • jjjaar on 29/12/2023 - 21:18
    +1

    How much extra time and effort did you previously put in to get that commission? If you get all that time and effort back (that is, don’t bother), will there be an improved work life balance? If so, is that worth the $2k pay cut?

    • Aerith-Waifu on 29/12/2023 - 21:29

      Quiet a bit effect, including constantly check order status, email back and force and sometimes we need to go onsite and when people call on the day off I always calls them back. So it’s not a job which finishes with the rostered hours.

      • randomusername2017 on 29/12/2023 - 22:03

        Quiet effect, including constantly check force and sometimes we need to go onsite people call on the day off I calls them back.

        🧠💥

        • Aerith-Waifu on 30/12/2023 - 01:50

          should right in fact….i was eating lol

    • Aerith-Waifu on 29/12/2023 - 21:35
      +1

      You have a good day sir!

      Ps: I didn’t neg you

  • brad1-8tsi on 29/12/2023 - 21:34
    +2

    Have you discussed with your boss and pointed out that you'll be $20k+ in the hole with the new structure? That's a big s*** sandwich to eat.

    What do the other staff think will happen to their pay?

    • Aerith-Waifu on 29/12/2023 - 21:37

      No one in the company is happy. I have had the discussion with my supervisor and he says as much as he hates it as well, it was a decision made by the head office in the eastern estate.

      • brad1-8tsi on 29/12/2023 - 21:42

        I'd be looking for another job.

        • Aerith-Waifu on 29/12/2023 - 21:44

          Essentially the whole structure changed was done by some company audit coming from the east and after the review they implemented the change starting in 3 days

          Not a great way to start the new year for sure

          • Muzeeb on 29/12/2023 - 21:51

            @Aerith-Waifu: Is the CBA still advertising?

          • JimmyF on 29/12/2023 - 22:25

            @Aerith-Waifu: LOL from the 'east'… Gotta love the West/East 'love' you guys have.

            • Aerith-Waifu on 30/12/2023 - 01:57

              @JimmyF: Well Eastern States normally pay higher wages than WA in the sales roles. So yes, the whole implantation was coming from the headq in the EAST!

              • JimmyF on 30/12/2023 - 11:59

                @Aerith-Waifu: WA wages/salaries are pretty competitive from what I've seen for a lot of jobs. So surprised the sales jobs are less.

      • FimpBARGAIN on 30/12/2023 - 19:22
        +1

        Someone at head office went to a seminar or read some business guru's latest best seller…

        Who do you work for so I can take my business elsewhere?

        • Aerith-Waifu on 30/12/2023 - 20:40

          Not name the business, its a small to medium sized business with office in WA and Sydney only.

  • JimmyF on 29/12/2023 - 22:24
    +6

    I will be getting $460 a month on commission and $230 with 90% lose on commission.

    Then it might be time to 'give up' caring about making sales at the current job. Why bother selling anything if commission is only going to be $230/m. Not worth the hassle, so just milk the base wage and wait for the company to ask why sales are down.

    If everyone does it, then they'll have to rethink the commission structure.

    • Aerith-Waifu on 30/12/2023 - 01:53

      Issue is, there is a list of to do things needs to be done everyday, including order checking, customer service, stock checking, warm leads, and onsite visits, as well as online order and online consultation and call back, slack is one thing, to not do anything is another by giving them ground for dismissal, 3 warnings and you are out.

      If the job is purely sales oriented, hell yet will care nothing until they change back to the older structure.

      • JimmyF on 30/12/2023 - 12:02
        +1

        Issue is, there is a list of to do things needs to be done everyday, including order checking, customer service, stock checking, warm leads, and onsite visits, as well as online order and online consultation and call back, slack is one thing, to not do anything is another by giving them ground for dismissal, 3 warnings and you are out.

        I'm not saying don't do your job, so do your base items that you have to do. But no need to go out of your way to make 'extra' sales or chase down leads etc. Why spend time chasing up a sale or helping/convincing a customer if its only a few dollars to you at the end of the day.

        $240/m is like $60/wk or $12/day.

        • spackbace on 30/12/2023 - 12:04

          But no need to go out of your way to make 'extra' sales or chase down leads etc.

          Tbh, unless you're <20yo, then just get another job if this is how you want to behave. Unless you like going into work just to kick the tin and have no career prospects.

          • JimmyF on 30/12/2023 - 12:13

            @spackbace: OP said they liked the job so guessing this will only be a temp change to the pay once everyone slacks off and starts leaving.

        • Aerith-Waifu on 30/12/2023 - 20:30

          Ok I got you.

  • Wiadro on 29/12/2023 - 22:51

    leave for another underpaid sales job

    • Aerith-Waifu on 30/12/2023 - 01:56

      Well already on the lowest pay, only other way to get lower pay is to work as a dishwasher in a Chinese restaurant with cash……..

      • Wiadro on 30/12/2023 - 08:06

        Well there’s your next career

  • KaTst3R on 29/12/2023 - 22:52

    I wonder is it because your base pay is higher than industry average? The company probably thought that the KPI was too easy to hit. Even without sales staff, volume demand would be there anyway.

    • Aerith-Waifu on 29/12/2023 - 23:15

      On the contrary, we have the lowest pay but higher than average commission of 1.5%. Average is 1% in our field.

    • Aerith-Waifu on 30/12/2023 - 06:35
      +1

      If everyone is going to be with pay cut of $25-$30k on commission. The full timers will barely break $50k a year if they only work M to F.

      So you looking at a wage reduction of $80k to $50k.

      Very ugly

  • miwahni on 30/12/2023 - 00:40
    +1

    See how you get on - obviously the powers that be have decided different areas are their focus and that's what they want to incentivise now. It's a form of behaviour modification. You could surprise yourself and find you're really good at the selling.

    Working in a retail bank, this was a thing that was introduced gradually - not only did the goalpost keep getting set higher but more and more goalposts were introduced. When the bank wanted to increase their revenue from fees they began penalising lenders who waived loan fees by deducting the fees waived from their overall bonus. As you can imagine, very few fees were waived after that. Then they introduced all of the individual targets for credit cards, home insurance, loan protection insurance, deposit accounts, super accounts, referrals to wealth advisers etc.. and you had to fill every single bucket as well as make your lending target each quarter. Of course these targets went up each quarter too.

    Had to laugh a few weeks after I left, when CEO was quoted in the AFR as saying that no-one in the bank was on a financial incentive bonus structure. What a load of claptrap.

    Point is, we all got much much better at pushing these things in order to protect our bonuses. You may have the same experience.

    • Aerith-Waifu on 30/12/2023 - 01:55

      Different industry, but the upcoming experience does sound the same. Was there was a fall in overall productivity after it was introduced?

    • Aerith-Waifu on 30/12/2023 - 06:32

      And people quit in large numbers?

      • miwahni on 30/12/2023 - 23:21

        To answer both - people didn't start quitting in droves at that point. Overall productivity increased in line with the introduced targets as we all focused on getting our bonuses back up to where we were used to. Underperformers did get performance-managed out the door over time but very few quit by choice.
        I eventually got sick of chasing it every quarter and found another job where I could do the favourite parts of my job without the crappy bits ie chasing targets and dealing with customers.

        • Aerith-Waifu on 31/12/2023 - 00:10

          Well I am glad you got out of that. Hope you never go back to that situation again

  • ihbh on 30/12/2023 - 06:15

    Try persisting for a while.

    It's affecting everyone and the impulsive ones will leave right away. With such turnover, HO will have to reconsider the changes or make adjustments.

    • Aerith-Waifu on 30/12/2023 - 06:31

      I have spoken to pretty much every one I know including casuals, the vibe I am getting is total discontent. However not 1 person has expressed any feelings of leaving. Which is very strange to think about. Unless they knowingly knows something I don’t…..

      • Ade99 on 30/12/2023 - 08:01
        +1

        quiet quitting?

        • Aerith-Waifu on 30/12/2023 - 20:39
          -1

          you mean doing nothing?

      • Love a bargain on 30/12/2023 - 12:28
        +2

        people don't normally advertise that they are looking elsewhere - you'd hear about it when they have resigned

    • Aerith-Waifu on 30/12/2023 - 06:32
      +4

      Unless they are planning to leave but don’t wanna share with others

      • ihbh on 30/12/2023 - 07:40
        +1

        On the bright side, if you are the first to leave, you might initiate the changes. :)

        • Aerith-Waifu on 30/12/2023 - 13:28

          Yes and be the martyr! Yes I like that!

    • JIMB0 on 30/12/2023 - 10:30
      +2

      Don't count on head office changing it. Often these people are rather stubborn and so far removed from reality. It's quite possible they'll stick to the plan even if the company suffers.

      • Aerith-Waifu on 30/12/2023 - 13:20

        I don’t think they will especially considering the head office is not based in WA

  • drewbytes on 30/12/2023 - 08:22
    +1

    For me, it would depend on what your base pay is before the commission as to whether I would look elsewhere or not.

    • Aerith-Waifu on 30/12/2023 - 13:17

      Around $50k before commission

      • drewbytes on 31/12/2023 - 09:45

        In that case I'd definitely be looking for a new job as the bonus would make a huge difference to a $50k salary.

        • Aerith-Waifu on 31/12/2023 - 17:40
          +1

          Yes indeed, just finished my resume this morning. Also set up automatic notification with seek. See how things pans out.

  • 82norm on 30/12/2023 - 08:38
    +1

    Hold off for several months. It’s likely you’ll see some people resigning. Management may see the errors in their way when sales aren’t what they’re use to be, simply because the KPIs are unrealistic. This may then give you some bargaining power, something akin to individual enterprise bargaining worst case scenario they won’t budge, you then decide on your next options. If it works in your favour, then hopefully it’s a win.

    • Aerith-Waifu on 30/12/2023 - 20:34
      +1

      Thinking about looking for another job while doing the bare minimum while I am looking.

      Compared with my 3 other co-worker today and the best sales man has lost 68%,another has lost a whopping 93% as he does a lot of online sales and nothing much in store, essentially he gets his full 5% commission on online sales which is 1/20 of the KPI, and another 2% for another department. The worst guy is getting absolutely nothing at all as he work across the board.

      • Love a bargain on 31/12/2023 - 08:58

        With the 35%+ pay cut that you're expecting (or even, say, 25% even if you can modify your effort in response to the new incentive structure), your company obviously doesn't care if you guys leave and you'd be silly not to be looking elsewhere - although it might still be worth chasing those targets that are achievable in the meantime since you still get paid for them and having a good sales record will be looked upon favourably by prospective employers.

        • Aerith-Waifu on 31/12/2023 - 17:42

          Indeed, however we cant share the internal information with another employer if it comes to that. As its bound by the agreement

          • Love a bargain on 01/01/2024 - 13:27
            +1

            @Aerith-Waifu: There are ways to say how good a sales person you are without disclosing actual internal data. But you would wanna base that on truth.

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