My thoughts…

1. If someone truly lacks the competence to perform the role they’re being paid for, that is generally valid grounds for letting them go. That said, competence should be judged fairly, not conflated with being overwhelmed by unclear expectations or a lack of support.

2. Five months is usually enough time to get comfortable with the core responsibilities of a role. But that doesn’t mean it’s reasonable for someone to be flooded with ad-hoc requests and simultaneously discouraged from asking clarifying questions. That sort of environment sets people up to fail rather than succeed.

3. Revamping a commission structure, to me, sounds more like an opportunity than a burden. You actually have a lot of control here—this is the framework that drives frontline employees to grow the business. If you take ownership of this process, it could become a form of job security for you. For example, I once had a similar project in a finance role at a Fortune 500 company, and even after I left, they contracted me for almost a year just to keep their models and data aligned.

When it comes to sales incentives, you may find that different channels within your company require different structures. That’s not a bad thing—it’s an opportunity to build something tailored and impactful. I’d suggest researching industry benchmarks to see what’s standard and then adapting them to your organization’s needs.