Retail jobs that have the greatest impact on sales are commanding the largest pay increases

Retail jobs that have the greatest impact on sales and margins are commanding the largest pay increases. In an era of 3.0% base pay increases, the average annual wage has jumped 10% or more for jobs such as Sales Team Leader, Sales Supervisor and Senior Buyer. This surprising finding was gleaned from an analysis of Western Management Groupís ìRetail Sales Compensation Surveyî results over the previous two years. The analysis, performed by Axiom Consulting Partners, also found that variable pay (ìbonusesî) has emerged as the new currency for rewarding performance at certain leading retailers.

Although challenging to use variable pay in retail jobs populated by teenagers working part-time and turning over every two months, there are many other critical jobs impacting store performance that are increasingly on a performance incentive system. ìWhen implemented properly, variable incentives are powerful tools for providing focus on the things that matter and motivation to perform higher,î said Peter LeBlanc, Managing Partner at Axiom Consulting Partners. Retailers are looking for cost-effective ways of recruiting, retaining and motivating talent and the study found that incentive pay is becoming an important reward.

Axiom Consulting Partners offers its ìRetail Sales Compensation Survey Summary Reportî in response to the increasing need for retailers to maximize the return on their compensation dollar. This report offers key insights for practitioners responsible for planning and advising senior management on compensation matters. The research report also features industry forecasts, data, trends and recommendations.

The ìRetail Sales Compensation Survey Summary Reportî findings from Western Management Groupís survey of Fortune 1000 retailers include:

- While base pay wages increased 3.0% overall, Sales Team Leaders and Supervisors jumped 13.7% in 2005 and the Senior Buyer benchmark went up 9.4%.

- On average, only 40% of the participating companies reported using variable pay for the various retail jobs examined in the WMG survey.

- Variable pay is a desirable option among customer-facing jobs where performance is more easily defined but harder to manage to a consistent standard

Download the ìRetail Sales Compensation Survey Summary Reportî at www.axiomcp.com/knowledge.php for more about variable pay and trends in the retail industry for 2006 and beyond.