Performance management and incentive design for Learning Management Companies: delivery quality, client comments and fair variable pay
Staff in a learning management company are often judged on whether clients renew. A fairer review looks at delivery on each account and rewards what each person controls.
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Share your requirementsWhy performance management and incentive design matters in learning management companies
Renewal is the figure everyone sees, so it becomes the review. A consultant who did excellent setup for a client that later changed its budget is marked down. A customer success manager inherits an account that was badly sold and carries the blame. Trainers, who are in front of clients every week, are rarely reviewed on how they teach.
Reviews improve when each role has its own two or three measures. Consultants: go-lives on time and rework after go-live. Trainers: session feedback and attendance of the client's staff. Support: time to first reply and cases closed. Customer success: use of the system and renewals, with context. A short variable pay scheme follows.
How to set it up
1. Set measures by role
Two or three per role, drawn from what the person controls. Write them on one page and share them at the start of the year.
2. Collect client comments after key stages
A short note from the client after go-live and after training, with two questions. Share the comments with the person concerned.
3. Review a sample of sessions or setups
A senior colleague watches a training session or reviews a setup for each person each quarter, using a simple sheet.
4. Read renewals with context
For a lost renewal, note the reason and who could have affected it. Do not mark down a person for a reason outside their control.
5. Link variable pay to a small set of results
Go-lives on time, client feedback and rework for consultants; feedback and attendance for trainers; replies and closures for support. Pay on a known date.
Check these first
Before changing anything, find out what is true today. These take an afternoon and use your own records.
- Read the last review for a trainer and see whether any note refers to how they teach.
- Count the go-lives that slipped last quarter and list the reasons.
- Check whether clients are asked for comments after training.
- Ask a consultant what they believe is being measured and compare with what is written.
GullyHR can do this with you. Read how we approach performance management and incentive design in general, or share your requirements and we will tell you where to start.
Questions owners ask
Use client feedback after sessions, the attendance of the client's staff and a senior colleague's observation each quarter. Look at the pattern over several sessions, not a single one.
A small shared element helps teamwork, but personal measures should come first. People should be rewarded for what they can affect and not blamed for the rest.
Look at causes first: scope, client delay, workload or skill. Agree specific changes and support, review at the next two go-lives, then follow your normal process if nothing changes.