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CompensationMaster Case Study, December 2005 "We were interested in offering more choice to our associates—different plans
to fit their lifestyle and their business plan," says John Hawkins, general
manager of Fonville Morisey Realty, Inc.
"We attempted to do it ourselves," says Hawkins. "But we couldn't do it. It
was too cumbersome, way too complicated to do. We needed to change the whole
paradigm of the way we paid out. When we looked at the software and the way
CompensationMaster does things, it was well worth hiring them to come in and
help us make the change. It actually saved us money."
When Fonville Morisey hired CompensationMaster in 2004, the first task
CompensationMaster's team performed was a needs assessment. They examined
productivity agent by agent, evaluated expenses, analyzed the market. They went
to all of Fonville Morisey's offices and met with agents to discover what they
wanted—and didn't want—from the company.
Once the needs assessment was complete, CompensationMaster's consultants
created 10 compensation plans. "We have in-office plans, at-home plans,
satellite-office plans. We have monthly-fee, no-fee plans. There are high split
plans and plans for new recruits. There's something for everyone," says Hawkins.
The plans were introduced first to the management team. Then the
administrative team was taught how to handle the computer side. During a
weeklong rollout to the rest of the company, CompensationMaster's consultants
met with small groups of associates and explained the choices that were
available to them.
Associates were given six months to choose a new plan. "In general, none of
us like change," explains Hawkins. "In this case it was extremely good change.
But we wanted to give our associates time to accept the change."
"We have had an extremely positive response," says Hawkins. "Initially, the
reactions ranged all the way from excitement to skepticism. But when the
associates understood that once they paid their fair share they could get a
higher split without fees, they were excited."
Fonville Morisey did not lose any agents as a result of shifting to the new
plans. "People are excited about their plans, excited about reaching the higher
split. The fear of change is gone," says Hawkins.
Hawkins believes the new compensation options have helped recruiting. "CompensationMaster's
plans take the word ‘compensation' out of our recruiting. Associates have so
many choices now. We have anything our competitors do and more. We're able to
concentrate on what we should focus on, which is learning about the person and
the company. It's nice to be able to do that," states Hawkins.
"We're living in a world where we want to offer our associates options: where
they like to work, how they like to get paid," continues Hawkins. "We constantly
strive to push value down to our associates. CompensationMaster's system allows
us to recruit the best associates and to retain the best associates. It allows
us to have a true partnership with our associates that's fair."
"Dave Cocks and his team did an excellent job," concludes Hawkins. "They were
very professional, very hard workers. They performed their duties with our
associates extremely well. They are always there when you need them. I would
highly recommend them to anyone."
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