We have frequently advised businesses battling the Great Resignation to look within when identifying candidates for new roles as an alternative to pushing the boulder up the recruitment hill.
As managers, we can inadvertently take for granted the strong employees, overlooking them and their talents, forgetting to acknowledge their hard work and accomplishments, while juggling our own heavy loads or attempting to manage underperforming team members.
This can be a costly, and devastating, mistake, and a missed opportunity for filling vacated roles and continuing the cycle of turnover.
High-performing team members need mentorship, encouragement and praise to feel valued and to realize opportunities for growth. Without it, they may be tempted to seek greater opportunities elsewhere.
Here are a few steps for fostering engagement, mentoring and acknowledging high-performing team members:
- Share with the team member their value to the team and the organization more often than just review time
- Take time to ask the team member if they have any frustrations, challenges or obstacles affecting their work or ability to succeed
- Make an effort to understand your A player’s long-term goals – do those goals align with future – or current – opportunities within the company?
A high-performing team member should see a clear path for advancement. They need something to work towards – something in return for all their hard work and success.
Consider opportunities for promotion within your team or across the company. Discuss this high-performing employee with your boss and other senior leaders.
After establishing growth goals with the employee, develop a plan to help them see the path there. Are there training or skills development opportunities? Mentorship – is there someone in the organization from whom they might learn? Opportunities to demonstrate leadership in a new way?
For B-players – these are team members who perform well but not as well as they are capable – open communication to explore any barriers or frustrations they might have. These team members often need motivation. Make them feel valued – ask them for their opinion, or invite them to work on a challenging project.
Talk to them about areas for improvement and ask them what they need to support them in this effort. Create an actionable development plan that connects the employee’s motivational preferences with the performance, attitude, and maintenance targets you discuss and agree upon.
Managers should not neglect their star employees, but it takes more than recognition of achievements. High-performing employees want to feel valued and respected and must see a clear path for advancement, otherwise their ambition will lead them to leave, creating a void that can be difficult and expensive to fill.
The Truvelop app can help managers better understand their teams’ capacity and growth opportunities. The Dashboard provides a comprehensive look at how all employees are performing, and the Management Cue Cards help inexperienced managers determine the best way to engage and encourage employees based on their scores.
Contact us today to learn more about our modern approach to performance management and development that actually improves the manager and employee relationship by taking your managers to the next level. Don’t just take our word for it, see what our Customers have to say.
