Experts in Compensation Plan Design
We are committed to providing the best compensation design services, custom and industry surveys, and implementation support to companies who want to strategically align compensation with organizational goals.
Freight Brokerage Compensation
Proud Members of
Freight Brokerage Expertise
Prosperio Group is the only compensation development firm that has worked with over 150 freight brokers to develop or revise their compensation plans. We started working with Freight Brokers in 2007 and have written THE book (it’s the only one!) on Freight Broker compensation. Our work has been with small brokers(teams of 3), all the way up to some of the leading players with over $1 billion in revenue. Many of our clients have brought us back year after year to help them further refine their plans and ensure they are continuing to get maximum ROI from their compensation dollars. Beth, the owner of Prosperio Group, is a regular speaker at the TIA Conference and a leading contributor to 3PL Perspectives magazine. Simply put, there is no one else, on the planet, who knows as much about Freight Broker compensation, as Beth does.
Our work focuses heavily on ensuring the organization structure is solid, before even considering the best compensation plans. Freight brokerage is still a relatively new industry and it is going through normal growing pains as companies discover they need to evolve. This evolution takes them beyond the straight commission model commonly found among start-ups. There are only a few brokerages of any size left that use the “cradle to grave” model. Most have evolved to either a pod structure or a functional split model with one side of the house focusing on shipper sales and another on carrier sales. These models require vastly different approaches to pay. Also, you need to consider what type of freight you are dealing with and if your desired mix of spot vs. contract freight is shifting. If it is, and you don’t change your compensation plan accordingly, you could vastly over or under pay the market rate for your workers. We ensure that your compensation plan aligns and supports your desired organization structure and business strategy. If you are finding that you want to change your structure but can’t “because of the comp plan” – CONTACT US RIGHT NOW! The tail is wagging the dog and you need to STOP IT. You run the business…not your comp plan!
Don’t know if you have problems? Consider these questions
Are you getting the number and quality of new customers you desire?
Is your mix of freight type the way you want it (dry van vs. temp controlled, etc.)?
Is your contract mix the way you want it (spot vs. dedicated vs. managed trans vs. contracted lanes)?
Is your employee turnover less than 15%?
Are you able to attract and retain the talent you need to grow the business?
Do you feel everyone in your sales and operations group is paid appropriately for the business they are managing or developing?
Do your employees understand their compensation plans?
Have you given salary increases in the last three years?
Do you know what the new proposed FLSA levels are (we are at it again!) and have you done an audit to understand which roles are at risk of being reclassified?
Is your cost of compensation as a % of GM$ less than 40%?
Compensation is CENTRAL to a brokerage’s health – it’s the heart of the organization, truly, and if the heart isn’t pumping properly the company will suffer. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you think your organization could benefit from our guidance in improving your compensation practices. The first consultation is always free, but the return on your time could be tremendous.
Common Project Types
Express Project
When your needs span several roles but you have only a few people and will not have much of an issue with change management, our Express Project is for you. We’ll spend time with you and your senior leaders getting to understand your business and working with you to develop your plans as quickly as possible. We’ve successfully executed a number of engagements for small to medium-sized organizations (5 to 20 people) just like yours.
An Express Incentive Project includes:
• Strategy and structure review/refinement
Compensation plan design for up to 5 roles (salary bands and incentives)
• Market benchmarking of pay levels for the 5 roles
• Plan documentation
• Pro-forma economic modeling (minimal historical testing)
• Roll-out training
• Development of simple Excel calculator
• 3 months of post-project support
• Turnaround is approximately 4-6 weeks
1P1P Project: One plan, one role
A 1P1P Project is great for start-ups and small companies, and those with an immediate need for a compensation plan for one person in one role. The 1P1P Project is a virtually delivered program that’s a fast, affordable alternative to big software firm fees.
The 1P1P Project includes:
• All plan design details
• Basic market pricing
• Economic testing
• Incentive plan documentation
• Outlining of goals and expectations
• Review of business goals and impact of this role on those goals
• Role clarification
• 3 months of post-project support
• Turnaround is approximately 2-3 weeks
Full Service Sales Compensation Project
When you need more in-depth assistance in clarifying business objectives, streamlining your organization structure, improving accountabilities and role definition, and are developing incentive plans for several interconnected roles for a large staff, we recommend a Full Service Sales Compensation Project. This solution features several virtual meetings with our developers and your design team, and is often selected by medium-sized to larger companies, or small companies undergoing significant transition.
A Full Service Sales Compensation Project includes:
• Business goal clarification
• Compensation plan design for all roles in scope (salary bands and incentives)
• Development of career levels for highly populated roles
• Employee change management
• Extensive pro-forma and historical economic modeling
• Goal-setting guidance
• Market benchmarking of pay levels for all roles in scope
• Detailed and more automated Excel calculator for use by your staff for doing plan calculations
• Roll-out support and training
• Organization redesign and role change/definition
• 12 months post-project support
• Turnaround time is at least 90 days, but may take longer depending on size of organization and magnitude of change