What are the best practices for developing and retaining high-performing employees?

I think it's important for new talent to understand the company's mission early on and then when it comes time to goal set, they try and align as much as they can. Give employees the ability to ask questions about mission and objectives and the company should be very open and honest about their mission and goals for the year. Then, as things shift, which they often do, it's good to check in and make sure the goals are still on track and aligned. If not, there may need to be a shift, and the company and employees need to be open to that. When goals are met, it's imperative that employees get feedback in a timely manner so they stay engaged and on board. A simple thank you, we did it, goes a long way!

The Policy which says Last In First Out should be scrapped. High Performing Resources should not be bothered or disturbed with unnecessary interruptions and allowed to be at their own League as they are always Self Motivated. Senior Management should identify their workload and give them enough breaks to recuperate and energize back to high performance.

Developing and retaining high-performing employees requires building a trust culture and promoting inclusiveness and diversity throughout all aspects of the business. This involves creating an environment where everyone feels valued and respected, both internally and externally. It's important to provide flexibility that allows employees to be their authentic selves, fostering a sense of belonging and empowerment. Additionally, offering competitive compensation and benefits is crucial to attract and retain top talent. By prioritizing trust, inclusiveness, diversity, flexibility, and robust compensation packages, organizations can create an environment where high-performing employees thrive and contribute to the company's success.

High performers are, by definition, incredibly capable of getting their work done to a high standard. When aligning goals and expectations, make sure to give them the autonomy in their work that they have earned. There is no need to micro-manage high performers or constantly look over their shoulder (in person or virtually with surveillance tools). Provide them with the clear framework, an understanding of long- and short-term objectives, and available support when its needed. Quick, regular and informal check-ins are great. Have a lightweight approach to documenting progress, and let them get their job done!

Don't wait. Provide feedback in the moment. The feedback should include what they did, why it didn't meet expectations and an alternative way to handle in the future. Waiting to rail someone on performance review isn't helpful. Not having clear examples on how to do it differently in the future leaves employees unclear on how to do better in the future.

Developing a collaborative relationship with your employees allows for feedback to flow freely. Many managers treat feedback sessions as some thing formal. By doing so, the opportunity to truly “develop” someone is missed.

Couldn’t agree more with this approach. I would add that this is priority #1, with consistency being key to effectiveness, especially in remote work situations. In my experience, the leaders that consistently prioritize their team over tasks hold regular feedback sessions with this approach: 1) listen first 2) ask questions (what worked? What did you do to make it work? What didn’t work? What could you do differently next time? What could I do to enable/support you?) and THEN after listening 3) offer feedback. These listening leaders are the most sought-out coaches and mentors.

Timely feedback is key as the team member has the situation clearly in mind at the time. A simple tracker for positive and negative feedback for all team members also becomes a great tool at year end reviews. Formal reviews can't be avoided and this makes the process easier and more relevant so you're not scrambling for things to say at year end.

What is missing from this article is the important role mentors and sponsors play in employee development. Find out what the employee's goals are and encourage them to create a support team of mentors to help inform different aspects of their career development process (you might also call this a personal board of advisors). Their advisory team can change over time as their needs change. I highly recommend the Center for Mentoring Excellence resources to aid in the process of defining what a productive mentoring relationship looks like.

Most learning in the workplace is acquired by doing. Attention should be paid to the "Development" part of L&D by providing challenging assignments and opportunities that stretch employees' capabilities and provide new learning. Important to align this to their identified areas-to-develop related to current and future roles. Such stretch assignments provide growth, further sustaining them on the high performance trajectory. In the same vein, provide opportunities for them to share what they are learning, in order to enhance knowledge retention and application.

Provide flexibility to high performers in how learning and development opportunities are offered. Open-ended learning and development budgets are a great way to recognize that your high performers have both the motivation and self-awareness to know what would benefit their own development. Let people choose the L&D programs that they think would be most beneficial. Some L&D activities should closely align with workplace objectives, but encourage high potentials to spend some of their L&D time on topics that are not directly related to their daily responsibilities. This can encourage innovation and innovation. Sometimes great ideas and passion for work can come from unexpected sources.

Autonomy has been key in my experience. I give my team of high-performers control over what work they take on and how, when, where they do their work.

Developing trust requires intentional effort. Managers must expect part of their role is to meet people where they are and partner with them to go the rest of the way.

Micromanagement is the death of trust and engagement. You hired certain people to be successful in certain positions. You have to be able to take a step back and let people actually do their job while providing guidance, feedback, and a clear path to success.

Addressing performance issues is very difficult for most people (both managers and employees). It doesn't have to be difficult, but it takes a lot of deliberate effort to build relationships based on trust and mutual respect. Address performance issues as early as possible, don't wait for the problems to grow. Clarity is important: be very clear what performance is required, provide specific examples of what good performance looks like, and make sure people have the resources and support to meet those expectations. Make sure to recognize when people fix mistakes or performance improves! Creating a culture where spotting and fixing mistakes is genuinely appreciated and rewarded is essential for building a high performing team.

Every company desperately wants to find high potential employees, and in turn is desperate to keep them once they find them. Here are a few common self-inflicted mistakes your company needs to avoid making: 1. They assume what these people want instead of just asking them. Some people want promotion to (eventually) senior levels of leadership. Others don't - they just want to find something they are really good at and keep doing it. Don't take superstars out of jobs if they want to stay in them. 2. They assume all top performing individual contributors will be top performing leaders. SOME of them will - but some of them WON'T. Don't judge someone's suitability for leadership based on criteria that has nothing to do with leadership.

Clear job descriptions and expectations. A merit and reward system that ties in to the job description and core values. Great leadership and leadership development program.