This might sound straightforward but in order to build a high-performance culture, businesses need to identify the types of workers they are dealing with and implement talent development plans that engage those employee types accordingly.
To be truly successful, an organisation needs to be able to identify its star performers. Generally, they are the top 15% to 20% of employees, those who produce quantifiable results that regularly exceed expectations.
This group is likely to yield an organisation's future leaders. It is critical these employees are first retained and then motivated and developed into leadership roles.
Businesses need to acknowledge the value of their star performers to the business, share company objectives and strategy and compensate them fairly for their contributions.
They should also make certain that top employees understand their paths for career advancement. This means ensuring they have the development tools and learning resources they need to achieve success.
Through mentoring or rotational assignments, HR or senior executives can give star employees visibility in other parts of the organisation. No single manager should hoard their valuable resources. After all, despite their current successes, star performers might have undiscovered potential.
Generally considered to be the middle 70% to 75% of the employee population, standard contributors are vital to the business. Without their steady efforts, most companies would not survive long.
The primary objective with this group should be to identify skills gaps and develop competencies in order to increase performance and productivity. Businesses should direct these workers to hone their skills and look for new areas where their contributions can help meet organisational demands.
They need to start by identifying practical ways to get the most out of these employees. What are their performance goals? Can these be better aligned to company objectives?
Over the next three to four months, organisations need to consider how they will expand the roles of these employees to fully engage them and grow their potential. They should then confirm career paths for these workers as the year progresses.
The long-term plan should be to conduct ongoing evaluations to ensure employees are in the right roles for their skillsets. While an employee may be underdeveloped for their current position, they could have the necessary skills for greater productivity elsewhere in the organisation.
Businesses must focus on helping this group of employees increase their value and seize their opportunities. They also need to identify workers with strong potential, ramp up their motivation, and give them the tools they need to become the organisation's newest stars.
Businesses need to figure out why this group - typically the bottom 10% of an organisation's workforce - is underperforming and fix the problems quickly.
The immediate priority will often be to implement Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs) that help employees better define goals and focus their activities. Companies should clearly communicate expectations, so workers know precisely what they need to do to succeed. Performance issues need to be identified and addressed proactively.
In the intermediate term, poor-performing employees should be given the opportunity to develop the skills necessary to meet expectations in their current positions. This means providing appropriate training and ensuring relevant resources are available.
Regular progress checks should be conducted. If the desired results are not being seen, the next step is to explore other options. Are there other roles in the company that provide a better fit for the individual and the organisation? Ultimately, poor performers should not be allowed to stagnate. If they become a detriment to team morale or productivity, the business should cut its losses and part ways.
Talent development can be an intricate process when you consider the variety of workers most businesses employ. Some individuals shine naturally, while others require significant hands-on management. And some employees seem to perform only what is asked of them, without a drive to extend their skills for the good of the company.
Transforming this amalgam into a cohesive team that is unified in its desire to succeed is a tricky endeavour. If you want to encourage a high-performance culture, however, you must work to pull your workforce together by segmenting employee groups and then managing them accordingly. Overall, your objective will be to leverage a unified approach to talent development - one that includes learning, performance, and compensation management - to maximise the productivity and value of each individual. Not only will your employees feel more loyal and engaged, but your business will benefit too.
Erik Finch is talent development specialist at SumTotal Systems
