What we changed about new-hire ramp after losing six reps in their first year

We dropped guarantees entirely in favour of paying on leading activity for the first two quarters: certified on the product, first ten qualified opportunities created, first proposal delivered. Each is worth a fixed amount adding up to about 80% of target variable. People are paid for the things that predict success, not for turning up.

Did the cost per hire go up materially? Our finance team blocks any ramp longer than six months on the grounds that we would be paying nearly a full year of variable for a quarter of the output.

On cost: yes, about 18,000 Canadian dollars more per hire in guaranteed pay. Against that, replacing one rep who leaves in month seven costs us somewhere near 150,000 once you count recruitment, the manager's time and the empty territory. Finance accepted the trade when we put those two numbers side by side.