How to Manage Top Performers
Your performance management system must take into account how you train, support and keep your top performers.
Lets face it; if you have some really excellent performers, you had better make sure you retain them. The cost of replacing them is a huge negative, not to mention the fact that you may not be able to find another who is anywhere near as good!
When managing performance, you should focus on your best people. These are the ones who are actually holding your operation together. A top performer is probably worth 3 or 4 times as much as each of your average performers. Don’t lose them.
Training Your Top Performers
There is a delicate balance one needs to be aware of when training a top performer. That balance is to do with how much and what type of information you feed them.
If they don’t get the vital information they need in order to perform the job, they will not start to operate. They can even be very demanding when this happens.
And, if you don’t back off when they consider they have enough data and are ready to “solo”, you will only get in their way. Your performance management system needs to take this into account.
Supporting a Top Performer
Top performers will get results in their area, but there are sometimes limits to their ability to continue expanding.
In some instances, it is unrealistic to expect a top performer to continue increasing the results they produce without some additional support. Click here to see some tips in this area.
Listen to Your Performers
Employees often try to sell you performance advice. If it’s one of your top performers doing the selling, you’d better listen!
Sometimes you have to take input from others. The question is: who do you listen to? So, here is some input to consider on this question, based on staff performance management principles.
Keeping Your Top Performers
Top performers can be hard to come by. And when you have one, you know only too well that they are an incredibly valuable asset in your organisation. Click here for some simple suggestions that will help you retain these valuable assets.
Think About Your Top People
As part of your performance management system, you need to stop and think about your top performers from time to time. It’s a valuable exercise!
There are several reasons why you might lose one or more of your best producers. Don’t wait until one of them hands in their resignation. A little prevention can save a lot of heartache!
Office Politics
People who get results get noticed. Unfortunately, in any organisation, there always seems to be someone who will want to bring them down, or steal their results. It’s a sad fact of life. Your performance management system needs to keep you aware of this trap.
Managing the Poor Performer
Poor performance in an employee can be a problem. Here’s how to manage them so you don’t spend all your time on it.
The steps to this process are:
- Be sure you are measuring their results correctly.
- Review their performance with them to find out what is causing the poor result.
- Handle the reason for the poor performance.
- Review the progress of your solution to see that it has been effective.
This is an important part of your performance management system.