Dear Diva,
Variable compensation by definition means compensation at risk and is therefore tied to performance measures - at the individual, team or / and organizational level.
The frequency of the variable compensation payout could be biannual (every six months) or annual though I have also experienced monthly and quarterly payouts in some companies but typically, in such cases (where there were monthly or quarteryl payouts), the performance criteria underlying such payout was either team or the individual performance against pre-established targets or some combination of both the team and individual performance. However, I have also witnessed three level filters being applyied to determine the variable compensation payout in the form of the first filter being the organizational performance i.e. if the organization has not reached a particular milestone, then, regardless of whether some department in the company has over-achieved its targets, there will be no variable payout or the payout may be less than the proportion of overachievement of the department. The second level of filter would be the department's performance. This means that if the organization has achieved its targets but the department has not, then, individuals in that department do not get the performance linked incentive or less than the proportion that they could have expected on the basis of their individual achievements. The last filter is usually the individual's performance.
The number of filters and their relative weightages in determination of indivdiual performance linked incentive payouts as well as the methodology to link the payout to these filters flows directly from the values and compensation philosophy of the organization.
Regarding the quantum of variable compensation for sales personnel, I would suggest that it be fixed at atleast 40% of the fixed annual compensation i.e. if the fixed compensation is Rs. 100, then the variable be at least Rs. 40. It is not uncommon to have 50:50 or 40:60 ratios between fixed and variable. The idea is that the sales person should not be resting on the comfort of a fixed salary but rather, earn most of his income through variable compensation linked to achievement of sales quotas. An enthusiastic sales person should realize the significant upside potential of earning majorly through the variable compensation route since overachievement against quotas should typically result in more than 100% variable payout. Some organizations have a sliding scale mechanism to determine variable compensation payout which means that if the individual achieves 60% of the sales quota for a period (month, quarter or year), he gets 60% of his variable and a 120% achievement will result in a payout of 120% of the variable compensation. However, it is not uncommon for organizations to lay down 'Floors' and 'Ceilings'. 'Floor' means the minimum achievement required for a person to qualify for a payout. For example, if the 'Floor' is kept at 50% of quota achievement, then, if an individual achieves 40%, he will not receive any payout. Similiarly, if the 'Ceiling' is defined as 120% of the achievement, then, if an individual achieves 130% of the quota for the period, he would get only 120% of his variable compensation as the maximum payout and not 130%. In some organizations, they follow the 'Accelerator' principle which means that the payout for more than 100% achievement get multiplied by a certain factor for different ranges of overachievements.
Hope this has been helpful.
Thanks,
Snoopypryer.