Week 11 - Brian

Interview with Sean T. (last name withheld per his request) - T-Mobile Retail Sales Representative

In my first application assignment, I talked about the organizational design of T-Mobile, my former employer and thought that since we're talking about rewards and motivation this week, it would be great to interview a former colleague since these things play a huge role in achieving sales goals and growing the company, not to mention keeping happy, productive employees on the front line.

Q: What does T-Mobile do to distinguish top performers? How does that motivate you?

A: At the most local level, each store has its own sales leader board and our market manager sends out a daily report showing how each store and individual employee is doing. Naturally, everybody wants to be at the top of the list and equally as important, nowhere near the bottom. There’s a certain level of clout that comes with being atop the leader board every month and with those higher sales (activating new lines), plus selling accessories and features, comes more commission.

Also, when a new service is launched, the company sometimes offers a sales spiff: You might get $10 every time you switch someone to a new plan or something of that nature; this really motivates top performers to sell new services and fatten their commission checks even more, and sometimes motivates lower performers to become top performers through financial gain. There is also a national program that takes the best performers in the country on an all expenses paid trip.

Q: Do you think that these things play into your drive to be a top performer?

A: Definitely.

Q: How so?

A: When the company launches a new product or way of selling that we’re not quite sure about, I think that without incentives, it would be really easy to just stick with what we know and doing that doesn’t do anything to move the company forward. Personally, it’s my goal to be near the top of our market sales report at the end of every month. I don’t get caught up in where I’m at day to day, but as long as I’m there at the end, that’s what matters. Big commission checks don’t hurt either.

Q: How does the company move top performers up the corporate ladder?

A:  There are always new stores opening so if someone is part-time in their current store, there is usually an opportunity to go full-time at another. If someone is full-time in his or her current store, there is usually opportunity to become a manager at another.

T-Mobile also offers a career development program, which offers top performers a fast-track to management by transferring them to a different store where they are promoted to assistant manger (increased hourly pay/store commission structure) and shadow an experienced, proven manager to learn how to run their own store in the future. I’ve also seen people at the retail level hired by the B2B department and others have gotten hired by the corporate office in Washington when they finished their degrees.

Q: Do you think these things work?

A: For sure. I think that when people know that they’re part of an organization that offers a career path, not just a job, they appreciate that. It’s good to know that you’re part of a company that you will never outgrow.

Q: How does the company retain top talent?

A: I think that a solid, rewarding commission structure and a strong culture would be the top reasons that people stay with the company so long. While I was still in college, I worked 20 hours per week and made almost as much as some of my friends who were already working in their degree fields full time. As I mentioned before, providing a career path is huge, too, because there’s always another level for you to strive for.

Conclusion

I had the pleasure of working with Sean for three years as a retail sales rep and he is exactly the type of employee that T-Mobile tries to actively recruit and retain. Although the company typically does a good job at recruiting employees who are intrinsically motivated and take pride in their work, it also trains retail sales reps thoroughly, often for a month or two, before they are able to sell on their own. This creates feelings of competence, often leading to a heightened level of intrinsic motivation in these employees, which makes them feel like world beaters an in turn, become more productive, charged-up new employees. Through commission, spiffs, career development programs and the recognition of upper management, the company also utilizes extrinsic motivating factors to accomplish sales goals as well (Ryan & Deci, 2000).

Through promotions and the CDP program, T-Mobile up-and-comers are placed in “live fire” leadership roles that allow them to be a part of high level market strategy planning and feel like they’re part of something larger than selling phones and accessories. In Sean’s view, and I agree, this shapes a company that reps can see themselves being a part of beyond their college years and beyond their current position within the company, reducing turnover of top performers in an industry that is constantly subject to competitor poaching (Martin & Schmidt, 2010).

In closing, I think that T-Mobile has done a good job at addressing all four basic human needs that Nohria and Lee (2008) mentioned in “Employee motivation: A powerful new model:”

·      Acquire – sales reps are driven to sell, sell, sell and tally huge commission checks in addition to prizes from vendors like phones and accessories and the chance to earn larger corporate prizes. Acquiring a higher spot on the corporate totem pole would also be included here.

·      Bond – strong team cultures within individual stores and markets and nationally fulfill this need.

·      Comprehend – a strong new employee training program and ongoing learning opportunity helps keep employees engaged and allows them to be part of shaping the company’s future.

·      Defend – I think that the daily sales report captures this need quite well. As the month rolls on and leaders (store and individual) start to emerge, other employees fight to defend their individual and store “leader” status and avoid the embarrassment of finishing at the bottom of the list.

References

Martin, J., and Schmidt, C. (2010). How to keep your top talent. Harvard Business Review, pp. 3-9

Nohria, N., Groysberg, B., and Lee, L. (2008) Employee motivation: A powerful new model, Harvard Business Review, 1-7.

Ryan, R., and Deci, E. (2000). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivations: Classic definitions and new directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25, 54-67.