Five Ways To Make Top Performers Valued

To Retain top performers in a tough business environment is a challenge which every corporate is facing since decades. There are many approaches that can help , but all of them focus on driving one key message; Make top performers feel valued even when the business is facing tough times.

Think Long Term: During a bad market companies tend to save cash as there is a huge strain on liquidity. In such a scenario, some often tried and tested tools like long term incentives come in handy. Stock Options, deferred payouts or phased bonuses are the best options. It hedges the company from the current drain on resources and retains, those valuable to the organization.

Reward The Best: In a year when the business environment is negative , differentiate more aggressively on pay and rewards. So while the overall pay levels come down on an average for all employees in bad years, the gap between the best and the rest tends to widen. This ensures that top performers are ring fenced and drive home the message that the company values them.

Giving Other Benefits: Use an array of non-monetary levers such as exposure to senior management through shadow boards, involvement in key projects, global assignments and cross functional mobility to recognize top performers. That way in a tough business environment, good employers are able to create a win -win situation for both the employee and themselves by testing and building the talent pipeline without incurring significant costs.

Enhance Skills: Business downturns are the best time to invest in enhancing the skill base of your talent pool. Most people like to learn, grow and improve their market ability. A short training abroad or an annual workshop in a top school can be limited to fewer people , thus saving cost while keeping people motivated.

Use Soft Rewards: Rewards and recognition do not necessarily have to be tangible. Softer rewards can have great impact too. For instance recognizing individual / team performance for innovative ideas, efficient use of resources or coming up with a breakthrough in a difficult project can be appreciated publicly - in town halls and open houses with a certificate or a trophy. This will inspire others to work harder and on similar lines.

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Thanks & Regards

Himanshu