CS compensation works only when KPIs are measurable and tied to specific behaviors you actually want. Communicate changes early, get buy-in from team leaders first, and if targets are missed, support the team rather than penalize. If you can't measure it, don't use it as a KPI.
We've changed our KPIs a lot over the past now five years since we've had a CSM team. But a couple of things I'm going to say philosophically that I think and then I can be more tactical. I do think it's important to look at what their compensation structure is right now and it doesn't motivate the behavior you want. And then I do believe it goes back to the KPIs. So let's say for instance, you say, hey, we're going to move to net revenue retention, but you don't actually give them guidelines to what activity gets them there. You may get the wild wild west of them all doing it their own ways, which I think will also create some pretty significant ripple effect of like clashing with other teams. So I would start by defining what KPIs are. So that would be something like activity metrics, NPSCSAT, account health, just to name a few. And then the last thing I was just going to say that's more like philosophical about this all I do think the communication around this is really important. Again doing this enough good and bad over the years. So my two comments would be we do something called leaders go first, where for any big change we get buy in and feedback from the leaders of that team, whether that be the manager, the most tenured individual on the team, just to get their gut check of like what are we missing, what are the gotchas? Like how would you feel about having this updated goal? And, and so I would really encourage that you don't need your most strategic value assets coming into a meeting group setting and like totally shitting on your plan. Right? And you don't know all the holes. So like they do. So I do think it's important to really like slowly move into this. Last thing on the tactical side though is can you actually measure what you're about to ask them to do? If you can't measure it, then do not do it is my very quick opinion on that. And then the last thing, because we have done it well, but we've learned. I don't know if anyone else has felt this way if you've changed KPIs, but when you hold someone to something, they like uncover so much about it, which is awesome, right? So you change their target and because of that they just rip apart how like whatever that target is, which is a beautiful thing because in turn we expose a ton of problems with reporting efficiency lanes. And so these be ready for whatever you're about to hold them to them exposing problems with it, which is great. That's why we're doing it right. And with that though, always err on the side of being open to getting that feedback and tee that up front of like, guys, this is not going to be perfect, but this is the why. And in this process, I need your feedback. And then the last thing I would just say because we have done it wrong is if you mess up, you course correct. And so for God forbid, if your whole team misses this KPI you just set out for, don't put them in a shitty spot like you advocate for your team because you need to retain your team.
