Atlassian’s Head of Sales Compensation on the future of incentive design

What could the next era of sales compensation look like? Raji Narayanan, Head of Sales Compensation at Atlassian, joins Nabeil Alazzam to explore big picture thinking on how incentive design can become more precise without becoming more complicated. They unpack why comp plans get over-engineered, seller attention as a finite resource, and how AI could move incentives from broad SPIFFs toward targeted, deal-level “surge comp.”

What could the next generation of sales comp look like? Raji Narayanan, head of sales compensation at Atlassian, sees the potential for a much more precise model.
A scalpel vs. a sledgehammer, if you will.

Drawing on more than 20 years of experience across Broadcom, Dell, SAP, and now Atlassian, Raji joins Forma.ai CEO and founder Nabeil Alazzam to explore what happens when better data, automation, and AI begin removing some of the constraints that have historically shaped incentive design.

Her vision goes well beyond building a smarter annual plan.

What if compensation could recognize that one deal carries unusual strategic value and put additional upside behind it at exactly the right moment? What if incentive dollars could respond more directly to the gaps surfacing in QBRs and the opportunities already sitting in pipeline?

But greater precision also raises the bar for judgment. Raji is equally clear about the need to protect seller trust, keep the core earning path understandable, and resist using compensation to encode every priority the business can think of.

Tune in to hear:

Why a plan with individually reasonable measures can still fail a seller
What happens when sellers have more incentives than available mindshare
The part of seller pay Raji says must remain predictable in a more dynamic future
How dynamic or “surge comp” could put incremental upside behind a high-value deal at exactly the right moment
The selling effort AI may finally make visible enough to incentivize
Why removing operational constraints creates a new problem for comp leaders

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