An Empirical Investigation of the Relationship between Retail Sales Force Performance Appraisals, Performance and Turnover

Abstract

The perfonnance of a retailer’s sales force has obvious implications for the finn’s profitability. Less obvious, but still significant, is the impact of sales force turnover on the retailer’s level of success. The fact that both sales force perfonnance and turnover can have significant implications has resulted in numerous studies attempting to identify causal relationships between perfonnance, turnover, and various salesperson characteristics and behavior. This study examines the relationship between perfonnance appraisals, a common managerial practice, and retail salesperson perfonnance and turnover. An evaluation of the relationship between perfonnance appraisals and salesperson productivity and turnover seems logical, since perfonnance appraisals are a regular portion of the management control process in many fInns. The responses provided by 185 retail salespeople and their managers leads to the conclusion that “properly” conducted perfonnance appraisals can have positive impacts on both sales force perfonnance and turnover.