There is good reason why so many people don’t like their job. And much of that discontent is founded in poor job design.

I talk a lot about the importance of getting job content right and how job content lays the groundwork for so many other aspects of management. The reason is, there are some very real consequences to having errors in your job design. And when I reference errors, I am considering anything that has created static or noise in the efficacy of the job.

So, why does this matter? While the job design (essentially the construct of the job) is meaningful in all jobs, the financial impact that a poorly designed sales job translates into many future months or even years of missed revenue or profitable outcomes, followed by a high replacement cost to simply try it over and over again without success. Can you catch that definition of insanity undertone?

Poor or broken job design can lead to:

• Frustrated or unmotivated employees
• High turnover rates
• Failure to meet targets and objectives
• Slowed or stalled growth
• Confusion on execution/actions to take

Do your sales jobs suffer from any of these?

1. Unrealistic Expectations: Whether you thought your salesperson would be able to achieve more or you wanted them to take on more work than is possible, make sure you’re clear and realistic about the tasks you want your sales role to perform. And if you miss the mark, take inventory with your employee soon after hiring them to readjust the job design and get them back on track as fast as possible. Essentially, are your assumptions backed by experience or data?

2. Job Scope Creep: This happens when other responsibilities creep into your salesperson’s job. Whether they’re making customer support calls, handling project management, managing bill collection, or doing data analysis, these peripheral tasks can weigh them down and reduce their effectiveness at their sales jobs. This pitfall can be particularly common in small organizations where everyone is forced to wear many hats.

3. Job Transformation: Sometimes a job changes so gradually you don’t even notice. That’s why it’s important to regularly review your roles and sales structures. If you notice that your salesperson is no longer doing the thing you hired them to do, it’s time to either update the job description, review the compensation, and/or reset and retrain back to the original business need.

4. Misaligned Incentives: You’ll notice very soon whether your salesperson is motivated by their variable pay. If they aren’t, there could be several problems. The objective may be too far out of reach, they may not be empowered to control the sales process, or they may simply just not find the reward motivating enough. Either way, you’ll need to revisit your compensation along with your employee’s feedback. It may be a whole host of things like pay mix, pay level, or cash timing. And if we take one step deeper, we will also want to ensure no misalignments inside of the sales incentive plan – like conflicting focus/reward issues.

5. Fairness Problem: Managing fairness in sales compensation is an ongoing task. If you have a team of two or more salespeople and you notice strife or poor performance in any of them, get their feedback and take a look at your compensation program. Make sure everyone has equitable opportunity to achieve the maximum objective. There is a need to assess problems that stem from pay, policy, or business practice. Remember that their perception is the reality you have to overcome.

While there are certainly other ways that job design can go awry, these are some of the most common. Catching them early can help you remove some of the burden of confusion. The desire is to lift that gray cloud of the Monday morning blues and ensure greater probability of success for your sales population while having better financial and objective outcomes for your organization.