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• Wage / reward structure in Sweden

• 
  Anders Moller

  (not a XING member)

  Wage / reward structure in Sweden

  As mentioned earlier, I grew up in California, and moved to Sweden in my teens.
  I can recall two examples from my business life about cultural differences, as pertaining to reward systems in organizations (pay):
  
  1.
  In the eighties I acquired a job selling office equipment. The pay was 100% commission. As an American individualist, I liked this system, earning what I deserved. I couldn’t figure out why the other sales people often complained about this system. I didn’t understand the Swedish “safety net” mentality. The company received so much complaint about it, they eventually shifted towards a more fixed income reward structure (also several bonuses based on group performance).
  
  2.
  All through the nineties I owned and managed a company and sales force, also in Sweden. I designed and implemented the reward systems. I understand now that my managing style was very traditional American. Not so much group consensus or democracy, which is the Swedish model. This created conflicts and turnover, and forced me to adapt to the Swedish way of doing things. I tried several different models with different variables in regards to commission/fixed, individual/group, low/high, bonuses, etc.
  
  I finally figured out that Swedes generally prefer a little bit of everything, but not too much of anything (group oriented and risk avoidance). So generally speaking it’s better to error in favor of group rewards here in Sweden.
  This post was modified on 27 Jan 2006 at 08:07 am.
  • 27 Jan 2006, 08:06 am
  Anders Moller wrote: > As mentioned earlier, I grew up in California, and moved to Sweden in > my teens. > I can recall two examples from my business life about cultural > differences, as pertaining to reward systems in organizations (pay): > > 1. > In the eighties I acquired a job selling office equipment. The pay > was 100% commission. As an American individualist, I liked this > system, earning what I deserved. I couldn’t figure out why the other > sales people often complained about this system. I didn’t understand > the Swedish “safety net” mentality. The company received so much > complaint about it, they eventually shifted towards a more fixed > income reward structure (also several bonuses based on group > performance). > > 2. > All through the nineties I owned and managed a company and sales > force, also in Sweden. I designed and implemented the reward systems. > I understand now that my managing style was very traditional > American. Not so much group consensus or democracy, which is the > Swedish model. This created conflicts and turnover, and forced me to > adapt to the Swedish way of doing things. I tried several different > models with different variables in regards to commission/fixed, > individual/group, low/high, bonuses, etc. > > I finally figured out that Swedes generally prefer a little bit of > everything, but not too much of anything (group oriented and risk > avoidance). So generally speaking it’s better to error in favor of > group rewards here in Sweden.
• 
  Robert Claeson

  The company name is only visible to registered members.

  Re: Wage / reward structure in Sweden

  I partially agree. I'm currently hiring sales reps and much prefer a commission-based system. However many people, especially those with families and kids, prefer a salary largely based on a fixed income with a small bonus on top of that, often based on group rather than on individual performance.
  
  I might perhaps be an atypical Swedish business leader, but from my point of view, I don't feel at ease with a sales rep who has too small an incentive to sell, or one who stop selling once his or her sales quota for the period as been filled.
  
  I therefore much prefer a system based on a small time-limited guarantee salary, and a 100% commission-based system with extra rewards once certain targets has been reached.
  
  • 11 Mar 2006, 12:30 pm
  Robert Claeson wrote: > I partially agree. I'm currently hiring sales reps and much prefer a > commission-based system. However many people, especially those with > families and kids, prefer a salary largely based on a fixed income > with a small bonus on top of that, often based on group rather than > on individual performance. > > I might perhaps be an atypical Swedish business leader, but from my > point of view, I don't feel at ease with a sales rep who has too > small an incentive to sell, or one who stop selling once his or her > sales quota for the period as been filled. > > I therefore much prefer a system based on a small time-limited > guarantee salary, and a 100% commission-based system with extra > rewards once certain targets has been reached.
• 
  Anders Moller

  (not a XING member)

  Re^2: Wage / reward structure in Sweden

  Yes, I agree with you Robert, but as leaders we must remember that different people are motivated in different ways.
  
  I'm currently studying the subject for my MBA:
  
  Each individual has different Values, Assumptions, Beliefs and Expectations or VABEs. We will achieve maximum success if we understand, influence, and tailor our reward structures to harmonize with each persons VABEs.
  
  Best,
  Anders
  
  • 14 Mar 2006, 11:52 pm
  Anders Moller wrote: > Yes, I agree with you Robert, but as leaders we must remember that > different people are motivated in different ways. > > I'm currently studying the subject for my MBA: > > Each individual has different Values, Assumptions, Beliefs and > Expectations or VABEs. We will achieve maximum success if we > understand, influence, and tailor our reward structures to harmonize > with each persons VABEs. > > Best, > Anders