When business revenue drops in the off-season, should the team’s pay drop too?
Several years ago, when I was still running my business, that was exactly the problem I faced.
Our revenue dropped every off-season. So did the team’s pay, because part of it depended on monthly results.
On a spreadsheet, that looked logical. But the business hadn’t stopped. There was still useful work to do. It simply didn’t show up in that month’s revenue.
So I started shifting part of the reward from current results to work that could support the next strong season. Work the person could actually influence while demand was slow.
Our social media manager was a good example.
We already had content created for social media, so we began adapting some of it for the blog. We changed the text, the angle, and the visuals, then reused the same idea in another channel.
The work was paid separately, with a clear rate and an agreed number of articles per month.
At first, it was an additional task. Later, it became a normal part of the marketing role, because it was genuinely useful for the business.
It also helped keep the person’s income steadier during a weak period, without inventing meaningless work just to keep someone busy.
That experience changed how I thought about performance-based pay.
When business priorities change, the pay formula should be able to change with them. But flexibility only works when the rules are agreed in advance.
New priorities should be discussed before the month starts. Not adjusted halfway through, and not rewritten after the results are already known. Otherwise, flexibility starts to feel like moving the goalposts.
That principle later became part of how I shaped PayByResult.
Before a new period starts, the conversation should be simple:
What matters most right now?
What can this person actually influence?
How should that result affect their pay?
In a weak month, a business doesn’t always need less work from people. Sometimes it needs different work.
Have you ever changed what you rewarded because the business entered a different season?