Keeping top talent motivated is as important, if not more important, than managing the performance of under performers. Many times this area of performance management is not given the attention it deserves and it isn’t until the head-hunters seduce away a top employee that management starts to pay attention.
Do you have metrics in place to identify the top performers?
If you are not sure who your top performers are, then this is your first order of business. You need to determine what metrics are important to your overall strategic plan and then set out to measure your staff to these identified targets. One way to do this is to create a competency profile for a general employee for your company stripping away the specifics of the individual job descriptions and keeping the competencies that you would like to see in all of your top performing staff. Then take these competencies and measure your employees against them. For example, if your company is in high tech with a cutting edge product line, then you would want top performers to be able to work in a fast-paced environment, be tech savvy, stay in tune with your target market and portray a modern business environment in their appearance and attitude.
Do you have incentives in place to attract top talent?
Incentives for your top performers include professional development opportunities that take them to a new level. These include
- leading a project that is innovative and challenging
- taking a course in an advanced technical skill or that will put them in contact with other top performers
- asking them to solve an operational problem or strategic goal stalemate
Incentives also include making sure their salary is competitive and remains slightly above market value and that they have the resources they need to excel.
Do you promote the strong and not just the employee with seniority?
When a position opens, do you promote from within based on seniority or talent? Top performers will walk if they are not recognized as talented and promoted accordingly. Promoting the wrong person due to seniority will cause staff morale to plummet and productivity to suffer. Create succession plans so that top performers are considered first and promote based on the best person for the job, not the one that has been there the longest.
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Copyright © 2007 Joni Rose and Suite 101. All rights reserved. Any unauthorized use will constitute an infringement of copyright.
