Top Performers – Where Are They Now?

Top performers are one of, if not the, greatest assets of any business or organization. They exceed benchmarks and milestones, typically have outstanding relationships with outside customers/clients, increase the profit margin, and the bottom line of the businesses they represent. They are highly prized and very aware of their role in the company’s success. So, what happens when top performers do not leave a business, but instead surreptitiously separate from their manager? That unfortunate circumstance happens for two clearly defined reasons.

1.    The absence of Development/Growth Opportunities

While employees of all levels may seek development and growth opportunities, top performers demonstrate a desire to exponentially grow and develop. Too often organizations embrace a theory of “stay out of their way”, instead of exploring ways to further invest in this elite group’s development. This is a missed opportunity. Gone are the days of top performers being complacent and “satisfied” with the status quo of their role and responsibilities. In the absence of development/growth opportunities, top performers will seek external opportunities to fulfill their desire to grow.

2.    Absence of Mentoring

Because top performers are so critical to business success, they bear the burden of becoming mentors and role models for other employees. While that can be a good thing for middle and low performing employees, top performers also very often seek mentors of their own. That mentorship should come from within the organization, yet in place of manager to employee mentoring, coaching is often offered. These are two very different things. Coaching and sideline cheering cannot effectively replace mentorship and employee development.

Developing beneficial relationships between top performers and the management who lead organizations is a key component of business success. It’s well known when top performers experience in-house frustration, they leave their bosses, more so than the organization. Retaining top performers – especially sales performers – means developing a process of growth and development within the business.

Based on their history of high-performance top performers have earned access to distinguished benefits.

1) Feedback – Leverage their success and expertise to provide feedback to colleagues and peers. Provide top performers with feedback that challenges them using leadership competencies or metrics.

2) Mentorship – Tap into the leadership organization to align top performers with mentors whose strengths compliment the top performing employees career goals. This establishes a culture of mentoring performance.

3) Challenging Goals – Top performers crave a good challenge – one that highlights their talent and potential. Find ways to incorporate their feedback in identifying, defining and measuring goals.

By implementing a strategy for your organization’s top performers, it will allow you to create a culture of development and growth focused on higher retention of these valuable assets.