Please tell me if I have a case - Poor work performance CCMA

[Citizen X]

I have been working hard trying to make sales but unfortunately due to my head office taking their sweet time getting manufacturing quotes to me I have missed a lot of deadlines and the clients have not returned to me, making my job extremely difficult to do

The Pernod Ricard SA case comes to mind here. The employer must make a sincere effort to give you the necessary support to meet your sales targets.

Your employer is either doing it sincerely or they doing it unscrupulously. It’s clear that they aware of item 8. It’s possible that they merely are trying to create a façade of procedural fairness. Fortunately, you are meticulous in keeping records. Continue to do so. Where there is a genuine lack of support and you questioned about performance targets in an email, mention the lack of support.

Dave is correct when he says that you should currently focus on meeting your sales targets.

[sterne.law@gmail.com]

I take it you used to make target?
You say, there is a speed bump and head office speed is a problem.
I must ask, how did you previously make target then?
Either, there is is a new process or, this inefficiency was always there, in which case the fall in sales rests on a different reason.

If there are other sales people, and they are making target, then the inefficiency role is greatly reduced.
If the above is on target, then you need to ask yourself - why have my sales slipped? Some of those questions may be: -
- Perhaps you have had a personal crisis.
- Perhaps a new manager or team player has dented your morale
- Perhaps you lost a big sale because of inefficiency and are justifiably upset and demotivated

Often a poor work performance makes us defensive. In a similar manner, the company becomes offensive.
A genuine PWW should be a solution seeking process not a blame seeking process.

Both you and company must ask these questions of themselves - what can we do to improve the situation?

On the legal aspect - if you are showing signs of improvement then a company is hard pressed to abort the process and dismiss.

[HR Solutions]

If I were you, I'd focus on doing my best to produce the results wanted, and make sure your activity is transparent. If they do dismiss you at some point, worry about whether you may have a case then.

I agree with this. As much as the legal stuff for dismissal is right and also sometime not right - at the end of the day the company needs you to do sales. Targets are in place for a reason ! Too many people sit back and try to blame other people or the company that has not sent them on a training course. If I was you I would get out there and make it happen - try to go on some relevant course perhaps in your own time, read up about sales/management/targets etc etc etc - go back to work a new man and make things happen - your bosses will soon stand up and realise. I have my own staff and you can clearly see those that want to make it work and happen and those that sit back waiting for it to happen. I can tell you that I would pick the pro active ones way before the others.

Im not saying that this is you, but if you leave this company it could happen again - you can't always run the legal route because the company has done something wrong - it is also up to you to make it happen

[Deviiance]

I take it you used to make target?
You say, there is a speed bump and head office speed is a problem.
I must ask, how did you previously make target then?
Either, there is is a new process or, this inefficiency was always there, in which case the fall in sales rests on a different reason.

If there are other sales people, and they are making target, then the inefficiency role is greatly reduced.
If the above is on target, then you need to ask yourself - why have my sales slipped? Some of those questions may be: -
- Perhaps you have had a personal crisis.
- Perhaps a new manager or team player has dented your morale
- Perhaps you lost a big sale because of inefficiency and are justifiably upset and demotivated

Often a poor work performance makes us defensive. In a similar manner, the company becomes offensive.
A genuine PWW should be a solution seeking process not a blame seeking process.

Both you and company must ask these questions of themselves - what can we do to improve the situation?

On the legal aspect - if you are showing signs of improvement then a company is hard pressed to abort the process and dismiss.

Well from my side I have not made target once this year of working for them. I worked hard securing new blue chip clientele for them. But it seems that every time I request estimations and other information it gets pushed into a queue and sometimes I have to wait between a week and 3 weeks in order for me to get estimated prices out of my head office to send to the client (Estimation according to our ISO procedures are 24 – 72 hours). This puts added pressure on the newly developing relationship the sales person and their new client. The competitor companies respond between 24 – 48 hours normally with a quote (I tested this out with a few outsourced items vs in-house manufacturing). This has resulted in a lot of my potential sales to be lost as well as a few clients whom has stopped corresponding with me.

I have explained written to the director earlier this year and asked for guidance and help as I was doing all the ground work but not having any luck with closing the deals (I was told telephonically that this does take time and that I should not worry). I have requested when they did the sales training through email that I shadow my superior to his meetings to see how he interacts with new clients and deals (This was ignored and no response was given).

I am working towards my current targets for the evaluation as they have requested and currently standing on 42.36% of which I will need to reach 50% by Friday. Almost there.. Unfortunately I cannot see any of the other sales teams monthly figures to compare and we do not hold sales meeting to discuss. Like I said before the evaluation was the first I heard of anything to do with my sales performance.

One thing I forgot to mention previously (I am not sure if this influence anything) is that I was started on a 3 month probation contract after which I was never handed a permanent contract but have been working for the company since June 2015.

[HR Solutions]

Well from my side I have not made target once this year of working for them

Thats not good

[Deviiance]

Thats not good

No judging before you have not followed the whole long complicated struggle with the company.

It Is not like I have not been trying very hard. I have had successful meetings with numerous large corporate companies with the intention of doing business with our company. But by the time I can pitch for a tender the due date is already gone and the clients have moved to a competitive supplier. FYI most sales personnel only make about 40 – 60% of their targets they have a few months where they actually reach target.

[Citizen X]

Well from my side I have not made target once this year of working for them. I worked hard securing new blue chip clientele for them. But it seems that every time I request estimations and other information it gets pushed into a queue and sometimes I have to wait between a week and 3 weeks in order for me to get estimated prices out of my head office to send to the client (Estimation according to our ISO procedures are 24 – 72 hours). This puts added pressure on the newly developing relationship the sales person and their new client. The competitor companies respond between 24 – 48 hours normally with a quote (I tested this out with a few outsourced items vs in-house manufacturing). This has resulted in a lot of my potential sales to be lost as well as a few clients whom has stopped corresponding with me.

I have explained written to the director earlier this year and asked for guidance and help as I was doing all the ground work but not having any luck with closing the deals (I was told telephonically that this does take time and that I should not worry). I have requested when they did the sales training through email that I shadow my superior to his meetings to see how he interacts with new clients and deals (This was ignored and no response was given).

I am working towards my current targets for the evaluation as they have requested and currently standing on 42.36% of which I will need to reach 50% by Friday. Almost there.. Unfortunately I cannot see any of the other sales teams monthly figures to compare and we do not hold sales meeting to discuss. Like I said before the evaluation was the first I heard of anything to do with my sales performance.

One thing I forgot to mention previously (I am not sure if this influence anything) is that I was started on a 3 month probation contract after which I was never handed a permanent contract but have been working for the company since June 2015.

Hi Deviaance,

If the worst does come to the worst, the cases I cited will prove to be helpful. Continue to keep meticulous records

[HR Solutions]

No judging before you have not followed the whole long complicated struggle with the company.

It Is not like I have not been trying very hard. I have had successful meetings with numerous large corporate companies with the intention of doing business with our company. But by the time I can pitch for a tender the due date is already gone and the clients have moved to a competitive supplier. FYI most sales personnel only make about 40 – 60% of their targets they have a few months where they actually reach target.

I am not judging at all, merely wondering, considering you did not reply to my earlier post. Something does not sound right here. The guys can mention all the cases in the world here, and they are not wrong, but bear in mind my first post.