Your role as a comp admin will change as you move from traditional solutions like spreadsheets to Xactly. The idea of overhauling your existing workflows can be intimidating. You will need to learn new skills and processes, and your daily tasks will differ. But once you understand how Xactly simplifies your workday, you may become one of its biggest proponents. 

At Canidium, our Xactly implementation team helps organizations design, implement, and get familiar with this new solution. We have encountered and solved the most difficult change management challenges of an Xactly implementation, guiding everyone, including comp admins, through the training process. Drawing from that experience, here's a guide to how your role will change, the 6 essential skills you will need, and what training resources you can use to successfully develop your expertise in Xactly.

How Xactly Changes Your Role As a Comp Admin

First, let us discuss what Xactly can do for you in your role. Manual processes are increasingly becoming obsolete. New and improved digital solutions that can automate repetitive, intensely time-consuming tasks produce massive efficiency gains. However, implementing these new solutions requires upskilling for individual employees—even if they have successfully used the same tools and methods to perform their roles for decades. 

You are not alone if you wonder what will become of your spreadsheet. A recent study found that 50% of ongoing work activities are fully automatable. Consequently, many highly experienced professionals must learn to incorporate more sophisticated tools into their daily repertoire, and comp admins are no exception. 

The adoption of Xactly will significantly impact your daily workflows. At first, navigating the new tool may be a challenge. But Xactly designed this solution to make your role easier. It takes some of the most time-consuming tasks you perform off your hands—easing your workload and potentially creating a better work-life balance. Whether or not you are looking forward to implementing an SPM system like Xactly, mastering it will be vastly easier than learning how to use spreadsheets. Xactly built its solution to be more intuitive to users, and with the right resources, it is not all that difficult to get the hang of.

The 6 New Skills Comp Admins Need to Thrive Using Xactly

While Xactly will ultimately make your day-to-day work life easier, you must put in some upfront effort. Xactly requires additional skills to successfully navigate and use the platform beyond what you probably learned from past solutions. You will also have to retire some of the Excel keyboard shortcuts you have cultivated over the years. 

The Xactly training process takes about a week, after which you will have a firm grasp of using the platform in your role.

Knowing what to expect after Xactly goes live at your workplace is vital. This way, you can develop the new skills you need to master before enacting them. Review the six essential skills comp admins need to thrive using Xactly.

1. Technical Proficiency

Your first and most crucial step is technical proficiency in your organization's SPM solution. You must grasp the platform's basic functionalities and its more intricate features. Proficiency in technical aspects ensures you can utilize Xactly to its fullest potential, ultimately streamlining compensation management processes.

Learning is an ongoing process. Updates and innovations within Xactly will likely impact your workflows in the future. Start by getting familiar with the platform's layout and functionalities. Then, delve into tasks such as effectively entering and manipulating data, configuring complex compensation plans, and leveraging advanced reporting tools for in-depth analysis. 

2. Change Management

Transitioning to Xactly represents a significant change for organizations, requiring management strategies from compensation administrators. While navigating this transition individually, you are shepherding other employees within your organization. Effective communication with stakeholders about the transition is paramount so you can address any concerns or resistance to change that may arise. 

Providing comprehensive training and ongoing support to users ensures a smooth adoption process and minimizes disruptions to daily operations. Additionally, fostering a culture that embraces change and innovation facilitates the successful integration of Xactly into the organizational workflow. Remember, you play a pivotal role in ensuring the seamless adoption and utilization of Xactly within the organization. 

3. Continuous Learning

Technological innovations move quickly. Companies often get a leg up on competitors by adopting these solutions first, so you can expect to experience updates and changes occasionally.

Staying abreast of new features, updates, and best practices related to the platform is essential for optimizing its usage and maintaining competitiveness. Regular training sessions, industry forums, and peer networking enable you to broaden your knowledge base and stay ahead of emerging trends. Embrace the idea of lifelong professional development and remain flexible enough to adopt changes.

4. Analytics and Reporting

One of the most advantageous tools Xactly offers is solid analytics and reporting. But to ensure you use them effectively, you must go beyond essential reporting functions to extract actionable insights from compensation metrics. These tools allow you to analyze trends, identify patterns, and interpret data to inform strategic decision-making. 

Moreover, proficiency in data visualization techniques further enhances the effectiveness of your reporting efforts, enabling stakeholders to grasp complex information intuitively. By harnessing analytics and reporting skills, you can leverage Xactly to drive informed decision-making and optimize compensation strategies to meet organizational objectives.

5. Configuration

Xactly is flexible; you can tailor the platform to your needs and preferences. Comp admins often use Xactly to configure compensation plans, design custom reports and dashboards, and adapt the platform to accommodate evolving business needs. 

You can empower your organization to optimize its use of Xactly. However, the technical understanding required to configure the platform can take significant time, effort, and expertise, so some organizations work with a Software Implementation (SI) partner. 

SI partners have extensive experience in the platforms they implement for customers. They can configure Xactly to fit your organization's needs. 

6. Data Integration 

You are familiar with managing data through your existing administrative procedures. But you must relearn how to manage data with the new tools in your toolkit. Your SI partner or internal IT team will create a connected ecosystem through which data flows. However, you must learn how to orchestrate and manage data within this system to ensure that Xactly remains a central hub for all compensation-related information. 

Mastering data integration skills enables your organization to leverage Xactly as a cohesive platform for comprehensive compensation management.

Utilizing Xactly University to Obtain These Skills

You may wonder where you will learn these new skills. There are two primary resources: Xactly University and your implementation partner. 

Xactly University walks you through all the essential information you need to hear to level up your role as a comp admin. Once you have registered through your Xactly account, the University offers various course types: on-demand, instructor-led, onsite, and certifications, so you are bound to find a medium suited to your preferred learning style. 

Your SI partner can offer you one-on-one training to fill in your knowledge gaps, review configured elements of your solution, or troubleshoot potential issues. With their expertise and hands-on guidance, you can enhance your proficiency and confidence in effectively leveraging Xactly to drive compensation initiatives within your organization.

Although, as with any college course list, you may need some guidance to determine which lessons apply to your role. There are tracks for a host of different professional roles, and some of the courses do not apply to comp admins. But to make it easy for you, here is how you can find suitable courses for your role.

Engage in Persona-Based Learning With Xactly's Incent Admin Track

The most straightforward way to start is to seek out the Incent Admin Track. This course list is perfect for Incent Admins, Sales Comp Analysts, and Sales Operations Analysts. 

The admin track manages year-over-year quotas and plans adjustments for Xactly's Incent platform. It covers various topics through webinars, instructor-led training, micro-learning videos, and on-demand certifications to ensure you leave with a comprehensive overview of the platform.

Take The Admin Workshop: Level 1

This 8-hour beginner-level pre-recorded course focuses on navigating Incent, Xactly's platform. It covers setup, plan design, order calculation, report customization, and document routing. By the end of this course, you will have the basic skills you need to utilize Xactly effectively.

Finish Up With The Admin Workshop: Level 2

This intermediate-level pre-recorded course spans two sessions over two days, each lasting 8 hours. Geared toward Incent Admins, Sales Comp Analysts, and Sales Ops Analysts, it provides comprehensive training in managing Incent's day-to-day operations and navigating the platform effectively. 

You will learn to identify and adjust Incent objects to accommodate organizational changes, utilize advanced features like process groups and reason codes, and delve into plan design intricacies such as quota relationships, formulas, and pay curves. You will also gain proficiency in creating custom reports and dashboards for end users and completing self-guided monthly processing scenarios.

Obtain Your Xactly Sales Performance Management (SPM) Certification 

To gain a more in-depth understanding of SPM, Xactly's certification program is where you should start. The SPM Track covers essential topics, including Sales Performance Management fundamentals, effective sales team management, strategies to manage disruption, sales planning, quota, territory management, and the impact of ASC 606 on sales operations, ensuring comprehensive understanding and optimization of sales performance.

Attend One of Xactly's Webinars

If you want the most up-to-date information, try signing up for one of Xactly's webinars. These live events allow you to search for relevant topics or gain insight into other areas of your organization. Xactly books extensively experienced professionals to host these talks so that you can leverage their expertise firsthand. 

Making the Case for Xactly at Your Organization

Xactly will make your workday easier. It automates some of the most repetitive and time-consuming tasks that clog up your schedule. However, it also requires additional training and upskilling to implement. 

The 6 skills discussed in this article are foundational to a smooth transition to Xactly. Developing technical proficiency, change management, continuous learning, analytics/reporting, configuration, and data integration skills will all help you make the most of Xactly when the solution goes live. 

Xactly University offers extensive resources to help you relearn your role. Its classes, certifications, and webinars are excellent starting points as you begin to transition away from spreadsheets. 

Now that you understand how Xactly will transform your role and how to navigate the change, the next step is to learn how much it will cost. This comprehensive guide to understanding costs walks you through Xactly's price so you can make a case for implementing it at your organization.