Dell’s new financial year started with a major shake-up in how its sales teams are compensated. According to a report by Business Insider, in a town hall meeting held earlier this month by Kyle Leciejewski, senior vice president of North America sales, Dell introduced some changes that increase rewards for top performers but also reduce earnings for those who fall short of quotas. The announcement made by the company is reportedly based on an internal presentation which has left many employees worried about their future paybacks.

The new pay structure

As reported by BI, under the revised plan, the sales staff who will achieve below 60% of their targets will receive no commission at all. The company also mentioned that the employees hitting the target between 60% to 100% will see scaled payoutswhich is 25% of incentive and 70% quotas, 50% to 80% and 75% to 90%. On the other hand, sellers who reach 100% of their goal will receive their full incentive, while top performers exceeding quotas can now earn up to three times their target incentive, a 50% increase compared to the previous system.

Quarterly targets introduced

Dell is also moving most divans including enterprise, AI Select and telecom from twice yearly quotas to quarterly targets. The company also said that this shift is tied to its upcoming One Dell Way modernization initiative, set to launch in May, which aims to streamline operations for the AI era.While Dell framed the changes as a way to reward profitable growth and competitiveness, employees told Business Insider they fear take‑home pay cuts. One data center sales rep said that consistently hitting 70–80% of quotas in past years would now mean a 20% reduction in pay. Rising quotas, supply chain shortages, and long lead times in certain divisions are expected to make hitting 100% targets more difficult under the new quarterly cadence.The compensation overhaul comes amid broader morale issues at Dell. Employee satisfaction scores have dropped nearly 50% in two years, following layoffs, stricter return‑to‑office mandates, and attendance crackdowns. Sales teams are also grappling with global memory chip shortages and recent product price hikes, adding further pressure to meet targets.