How The Co-operators gained confidence to solve any SPM challenge
A case study on sales performance management optimization
Industry: Insurance
Challenge
The Co-operators, a leading insurance company based out of Guelph, Ontario, Canada, were using a legacy on-premise, custom built Sales Performance Management (SPM) system that no longer fit their sales compensation management needs as they grew. As they began to plan for the deployment of a best-in-class cloud-based SPM solution, they needed an SPM implementation partner with expertise in product and industry knowledge to ensure a well-planned, thorough implementation. By partnering with an SPM implementation expert, they would gain:
• SPM AND PRODUCT EXPERTISE for both the technology and the business process
• LOWER BUDGET IMPACT by avoiding high software vendor implementation fees
• RELATIONAL CONTINUITY with the same designated team
• AN INDEPENDENT, UNBIASED PERSPECTIVE on the solution configuration
• Help with DEFINING AND SUPPORTING the operational and administrative processes
A third-party SPM implementation partner also ensured The Co-operators that their configuration conversations would not be influenced by technology or software limitations. This also enabled them to focus on the business process and center conversations around driving the right technology configuration for the business rather than letting the software dictate the configuration.
Additionally, unlike software vendor support hours that focus on just the software and not the overall solution, and may provide different support consultants to fix specific software-related problems, a third-party SPM implementation partner would provide a consistent, designated team to oversee all support, not limited to the software. A designated team would have deep knowledge of The Co-operators business model, sales compensation processes, and team dynamic over time.
Solution:
The Co-operators chose OpenSymmetry as their implementation partner, largely because of OpenSymmetry’s years of SPM expertise and deep product knowledge. Also, OpenSymmetry’s approach was focused on processes and how technology supports those processes—not the other way around. The three main goals for the implementation were to:
Configure and deploy incentive plans, processes, and reports/dashboards
Define operational/support processes and identify gaps in training and documentation
Provide the training and knowledge transfer needed for the sales compensation team to gain operational self-sufficiency
OpenSymmetry and The Co-operators started with a current state assessment & future state planning project to help create a roadmap for how people, process, and technology would converge to enable an efficient SPM program. This project included:
• MAPPING OUT ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES for each system component and process
• DEFINING A RACI MATRIX for each operational task
• IDENTIFYING GAPS IN TRAINING AND DOCUMENTATION along with creating support documentation and operational guides
• ESTABLISHING AND EXECUTING a go-forward support plan
This operational plan encompassed the SPM system from pre-deployment to post-deployment, including the compensation process calendar, recurring transaction setup, data validation, triage process, adjustment process, training, and more. With over 20 years of automation and workflows built into the legacy system, organizing the operational processes was the key to a successful transition to a new SPM technology.
Results
Through comprehensive planning, configuration, testing, and documentation, the deployment of The Co-operators’ new SPM technology was a success. OpenSymmetry’s support in establishing well-defined operational and support processes positioned The Co-operators team to successfully run and maintain an effective SPM program that meets their short-term and long-term needs. While OpenSymmetry enabled total self-sufficiency for The Co-operators team, they also provided peace of mind that OpenSymmetry is invested in their future success and always standing by to help and support them with technology and administrative needs.
To learn more about how OpenSymmetry has helped other companies like The Co-operators, please visit our Resource Center for more case studies: opensymmetry.com/resources.
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ABOUT THE CO-OPERATORS
The Co-operators Group Limited is a leading Canadian multi-line insurance and financial services co-operative with $47.3 billion in assets under management. Their subsidiary companies provide solutions in four core areas: property and casualty (P&C) insurance, life insurance, institutional asset management and brokerage operations. They are supported by 6,249 employees and a dedicated financial advisor network with 2,530 licensed insurance representatives throughout Canada. They also serve 241 credit unions with more than 5.8 million members. For more information, visit www.cooperators.ca.
“We were looking for an implementation partner with a lot of expertise, as well as the ability to see the solution from our business point of view, not the vendor’s perspective. OpenSymmetry met these criteria, and as we continued to work together, we were impressed by OpenSymmetry’s initiative to consistently ask what went well and what could have gone better.”
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About Us
OpenSymmetry enables clients to achieve greater operational efficiency and get better sales results. We are a global consulting company specializing in the planning, implementation, and optimization of industry leading technology suppliers of sales performance management solutions.
CONSIDERATIONS WHEN REPLACING YOUR SPM TECHNOLOGY SOLUTION
Understanding the challenges companies face when migrating Sales Performance Management (SPM) technology solutions can be a significant undertaking. This paper is designed to provide high-level guidance to stakeholders who carry this responsibility. As OpenSymmetry has helped many companies evaluate and effectively migrate to new technology solutions, we are sharing seven key areas that we find critical to completing this kind of effort.
1. CURRENT STATE ASSESSMENT & FUTURE STATE PLANNING
A critical initial step before migrating to a new SPM solution is understanding how well your current program is performing across people, processes, and technology. From there you can devise a future state vision for how your SPM program should operate. By understanding both current state gaps and what your future state needs look like, you can effectively begin defining requirements while also clearly articulating success criteria. It’s important to recognize that your previous or initial SPM implementation may not have gathered all necessary processes/requirements, so it’s vital to take a fresh, holistic view in this first step.
2. DATA INTEGRATION
One of the most complex and time-consuming requirements is determining how to best leverage current source data feeds to support the new platform. Within the context of your current state assessment and future state planning, the team should review what their reporting, analytics, and any future state compensation elements needs are to ensure a meaningful inventory of data requirements are defined. SPM solutions vary in terms of how data is gathered, translated, and uploaded into the system. Some solution applications may have a standardized format requiring additional configuration, whereas others may have the ability of data field mapping, which provides additional flexibility. The ability to own the data translation from your source systems to the SPM platform is key. Another focus point is to ensure that you evaluate all manual feeds to incorporate automation, as well as any additional error validation processes.
3. HISTORICAL DATA
Migrating historical data is an often-overlooked requirement when moving from one SPM platform to another. To keep costs down and minimize complexity, clients may want to ID only the data that is needed to ensure ongoing management of comp (e.g. payment history) and then transfer detail-level data into data storage to be referenced at a future date. It is important to consider what historical data is needed for the new system for reference on future payments
4. PROCESS IMPROVEMENT
Each SPM solution may require users to interact with the system in different ways. This area may need additional attention, especially as it has the potential to improve processes currently employed to manage sales compensation. Understanding the impact a new system will have on current processes, as well as those who manage the processes, is critical to ensuring a successful launch and ongoing management of core processes. As an example, two of the leading solutions in the market have very different expectations regarding the skills users need to possess to effectively maintain compensation plans and reports and, in some cases, execute the day-to-day activities. Defining expectations of your staff related to the new technology, prior to the project, will ideally give your organization the necessary time to introduce training that ensures effective ongoing management of the program.
5. WORKFLOW
SPM solutions vary widely in their ability to support automated workflow. As a result, there are significant challenges for sales compensation teams related to an SPM migration. Capabilities can range from templates to existing documentation, levels of routing, and even implementation of a stopgap for a payee to accept plan documentation prior to payout. Within the context of your future state definition, capturing and defining areas where automated workflows can be leveraged is a necessary part of the core requirements. Before a new system is deployed, it is important to map these processes out to drive user adoption, leverage the SPM system as an auditable repository, and minimize email management.
6. REPORTING & ANALYTICS
It is critical to develop a holistic vision of information distribution to the various stakeholders and tools used to deliver this content (i.e. static pages vs. dashboards). Similar to workflows, different vendors have various capabilities related to reporting for the end users. Assessing these capabilities against your business requirements is imperative to the success of the roll-out. For example, some vendors require more robust configurations in the system (e.g. crediting logic) to enable specific analytics capabilities, while some solutions, architected specifically for reporting and analytics, have much more robust capabilities. Another area for consideration is the use of the vendor’s reporting solution against your in-house technology stack. Some solutions make it easy to port data into new environments, which could be a consideration in helping to keep the number of reporting tools requiring management to a minimum.
7. DEPLOYMENT
The implementation of a new solution should be designed to minimize the impact on payees and managers. One of the most critical aspects of your effort is assessing how all stakeholders will be impacted and how to mitigate any disruption. It is important to identify upcoming changes for your sales organization, administrators, and other internal partners with a plan in place to offer the steps needed to ensure the best chances for solution adoption.
The first step when considering a new SPM platform is an assessment of your current program and the development of a future state vision. OpenSymmetry offers a no-cost workshop to help you gain an understanding of how your current SPM program performs against your needs and industry best practices, as well as a readout on current solutions in the market.
Leveraging the OpenSymmetry assessment methodology and knowledge of the leading SPM providers, you will be equipped with:
• A current state analysis scorecard
• The framework for a business case to support change
• Contemporary intel on the SPM market and SPM vendor capabilities
• High-level deployment and license cost estimates