Re: [Coworking] Question about commissions or bonuses for Community Managers

[Iris Kavanagh]

Thanks for the great responses, everyone!

In general, I'm not a fan of the idea of using money to incentivise 
employees. Personally, I'm not incentivised by the idea of commissions on 
sales, etc.  

That said, when a space is looking to hire a really good CM, and is in a 
market with a high cost of living, an alternative compensation plan can be 
the difference between being able to get the really good CM and not being 
able to. 

At NextSpace, we considered offering a percentage of revenue from paying 
events as a way to allow employees additional income and compensate them 
for the many late nights and weekends they were working in event heavy 
times. We ultimately decided not to do this because in figuring it out we 
decided it took us away from our goal of being for the members in 
everything we did.  

I agree with Alex that the best case would be to offer commission based on 
length of membership. For coworking, this seems to be the purest form of 
compensation that aligns with the value of creating lasting relationships 
amongst people. This is also the most confusing to figure out! Below is 
what we are leaning toward:

Monthly bonus, based on % of roral revenue:

Revenue %

Bonus %

Monthly $ (based on 38,000mo)

70%

2

$53, $636 year

75%

5
$143, $1700 year


etc
Quarterly bonus, based on quarterly profits (profit sharing model):


Bonus %

Profit % (Based on quarterly average $15,900)

1

$159

2

$318

3

$477

4

$636

5

$795

6

$954

Thanks again for your thoughts!

Iris

On Wednesday, March 22, 2017 at 2:16:58 PM UTC-7, Alex Hillman wrote:
>
> To be clear, the problem with the incentive to "get more members" is that 
> it puts the community staff in the position to tell someone they KNOW isn't 
> a good fit that they should join anyway. This isn't just a vague "concern" 
> it's a *leading problem among spaces and staff that I have advised.*
>
> That's why I think it's so important to tie incentives to retention rather 
> than directly to sales.
>
> Alex
>
>
> On Mar 22, 2017, 5:06 PM -0400, Bernhard Mehl  >, wrote:
>
> I think generally a good idea IF you can get a better quality community 
> manager (e.g. former entrepreneur, etc) for the job - similar to the 
> comment Alex Linsker had that where he sees it mostly with partners, so the 
> goal is to have a high end community manager :)  
>
> However those I'd rather incentivize based on business goals. To hit the 
> business goals one way is to get on average more members, etc
>
> On Wednesday, March 22, 2017 at 4:43:42 AM UTC-4, Alex Linsker wrote: 
>>
>> I agree with Alex Hillman, if I offered a commission I would want it to 
>> pay more if someone stays a member for 10 years than for 10 months. 
>>
>> I don't see any problem with cash incentive to get members especially if 
>> a place is already paying cash for someone to do other things that members 
>> could do -- if it actually incentivizes.
>>
>> Other than business partners who are cofounders or buy the business, I 
>> haven't heard of commissions working for coworking -- the $ per client is 
>> usually so small compared to traditional leasing, unless you have a bigger 
>> company, in which case a broker prefers a prepaid commission on a 5 year 
>> lease. Do any coworking places do 3 or 5 year leases, where the client and 
>> coworking venue is locked into an agreement?
>>
>> --
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Re: [Coworking] Question about commissions or bonuses for Community Managers

[Alex Hillman]

To be clear, the problem with the incentive to "get more members" is that it 
puts the community staff in the position to tell someone they KNOW isn't a good 
fit that they should join anyway. This isn't just a vague "concern" it's a 
leading problem among spaces and staff that I have advised.

That's why I think it's so important to tie incentives to retention rather than 
directly to sales.

Alex

On Mar 22, 2017, 5:06 PM -0400, Bernhard Mehl , wrote:
> I think generally a good idea IF you can get a better quality community 
> manager (e.g. former entrepreneur, etc) for the job - similar to the comment 
> Alex Linsker had that where he sees it mostly with partners, so the goal is 
> to have a high end community manager :)
>
> However those I'd rather incentivize based on business goals. To hit the 
> business goals one way is to get on average more members, etc
>
> On Wednesday, March 22, 2017 at 4:43:42 AM UTC-4, Alex Linsker wrote:
> > I agree with Alex Hillman, if I offered a commission I would want it to pay 
> > more if someone stays a member for 10 years than for 10 months.
> >
> > I don't see any problem with cash incentive to get members especially if a 
> > place is already paying cash for someone to do other things that members 
> > could do -- if it actually incentivizes.
> >
> >
> > Other than business partners who are cofounders or buy the business, I 
> > haven't heard of commissions working for coworking -- the $ per client is 
> > usually so small compared to traditional leasing, unless you have a bigger 
> > company, in which case a broker prefers a prepaid commission on a 5 year 
> > lease. Do any coworking places do 3 or 5 year leases, where the client and 
> > coworking venue is locked into an agreement?
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
>
>
>
> --
> Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com
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Re: [Coworking] Question about commissions or bonuses for Community Managers

[Bernhard Mehl]

I think generally a good idea IF you can get a better quality community 
manager (e.g. former entrepreneur, etc) for the job - similar to the 
comment Alex Linsker had that where he sees it mostly with partners, so the 
goal is to have a high end community manager :) 

However those I'd rather incentivize based on business goals. To hit the 
business goals one way is to get on average more members, etc

On Wednesday, March 22, 2017 at 4:43:42 AM UTC-4, Alex Linsker wrote:
>
> I agree with Alex Hillman, if I offered a commission I would want it to 
> pay more if someone stays a member for 10 years than for 10 months.
>
> I don't see any problem with cash incentive to get members especially if a 
> place is already paying cash for someone to do other things that members 
> could do -- if it actually incentivizes.
>
> Other than business partners who are cofounders or buy the business, I 
> haven't heard of commissions working for coworking -- the $ per client is 
> usually so small compared to traditional leasing, unless you have a bigger 
> company, in which case a broker prefers a prepaid commission on a 5 year 
> lease. Do any coworking places do 3 or 5 year leases, where the client and 
> coworking venue is locked into an agreement?
>
>

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Re: [Coworking] Question about commissions or bonuses for Community Managers

[Alex Linsker]

I agree with Alex Hillman, if I offered a commission I would want it to pay 
more if someone stays a member for 10 years than for 10 months.

I don't see any problem with cash incentive to get members especially if a 
place is already paying cash for someone to do other things that members could 
do -- if it actually incentivizes.

Other than business partners who are cofounders or buy the business, I haven't 
heard of commissions working for coworking -- the $ per client is usually so 
small compared to traditional leasing, unless you have a bigger company, in 
which case a broker prefers a prepaid commission on a 5 year lease. Do any 
coworking places do 3 or 5 year leases, where the client and coworking venue is 
locked into an agreement?

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Re: [Coworking] Question about commissions or bonuses for Community Managers

[Alex Hillman]

Rather than think "community vs sales" I'd think short term value vs long term. 
Short term incentives are heinously positioned to get people doing all of the 
wrong things. Instead look to long term value like x per member who has stayed 
6, 12, 18, 24 months etc etc.

I also like bonuses tied to new programs/initiatives that clearly generate 
business value, and explaining why what they did was good for the community and 
the business. This encourages repeat effort in the right direction.

-Alex

On Mar 21, 2017, 6:51 PM -0400, Irene Kavanagh , wrote:
> Hi-
>
> *I posted this on the Coworking Leadership Slack team so if you are there, I 
> apologize for the redundant post.
>
> I'm exploring commission and bonus structure for a couple of clients right 
> now. I have traditionally shied away from using commission for community 
> based coworking spaces because I was concerned about the impetus to sell 
> rather than the impetus to create community.
>
> At this time, I'm exploring this option for two clients who, for various 
> reasons, would not be at risk of those concerns.
>
> Does anyone have experience with using commission as part of the compensation 
> package?
> How have they worked for you?
> How did you structure your commissions?
> Was it based on percentage of revenue or percentage of salary?
> What tiers do you work within?
>
> Thanks in advance for you thoughts!
>
> Warmly,
>
> Iris
>
> __
>
> Iris Kavanagh
>
> MOBILE 831.824.4255 (tel:831.824.4255)
> VISIT : coworkingwithiris.com (http://coworkingwithiris.com/)
> TWITTER: (https://twitter.com/iriskavanagh)@iriskavanagh 
> (https://twitter.com/iriskavanagh)
> LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/slickiris
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Schedule time with me here 
> (http://iriskavanagh.schedulista.com/?preview_from=https://www.schedulista.com/settings/services?selected_category_id=1073756626)
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> --
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[Coworking] Question about commissions or bonuses for Community Managers

[Irene Kavanagh]

Hi-
*I posted this on the Coworking Leadership Slack team so if you are there, I
apologize for the redundant post.
I'm exploring commission and bonus structure for a couple of clients right now.
I have traditionally shied away  from using commission for community based
coworking spaces because I was concerned about the impetus to sell rather than
the impetus to create community.
At this time, I'm exploring this option for two clients who, for various
reasons, would not be at risk of those concerns.
Does anyone have experience with using commission as part of the compensation
package?How have they worked for you?How did you structure your commissions?Was
it based on percentage of revenue or percentage of salary?What tiers do you work
within?
Thanks in advance for you thoughts!
Warmly,
Iris
__Iris Kavanagh
MOBILE831.824.4255VISIT :coworkingwithiris.comTWITTER:@iriskavanaghLinkedIn:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/slickiris






Schedule time with mehere

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