Develop Your Organizational Star Power

By Rick Dacri, Dacri & Associates LLC

Start the New Year off right. Focus on the people who make your operation work—your star performers. To begin, identify who they are. They could include the engineer who can solve any technical problem that comes up; or the sales person who, without any fanfare, beats his goals every time; or the first line supervisor whose shifts run like a top. Whoever they are, identify them and begin to focus your energy on them. Remember, your stars are the ones who generate more productivity, better service and new ideas, and they usually do it without upsetting the organization and you. Unfortunately, in many organizations it’s the nonperformer who usually gets all the attention. You know who they are. They’re the ones who cause you all the problems, zap all your precious energies; and who ultimately cost you a bundle in lost productivity, wasted time, or high workers compensation costs. These are the folks who if they left the organization tomorrow, everyone would breathe a sigh of relief. Unfortunately, they never seem to go without being asked.

Take care of your star performers and smother them with recognition, pay, opportunities, and flexibility. So how do you do it?

1. Develop them. Identify their strengths and build upon them. Recognize that they also have some weaknesses, so address them. Work with them. Create a performance program designed to move them to the next level of higher performance. Train them, challenge them and give them and diverse work experiences and ongoing mentoring and coaching. Invest heavily in them. They are the future. Make them your priority.

2. Pay them well. Merit budgets for 2008 will be around 3.5%. Most companies will make sure every employee receives the same amount. Why? Why would you pay a star the same amount as you would pay an average or mediocre employee? It makes no sense. Give the star 7% and the poor performer nothing. Send a clear message to everyone: stars will be treated better and the rest of you need to perform like stars in order to be paid that way. Now, that means some of your marginal people may call foul and may even quit. If that happens, so be it.

3. Provide your stars new opportunities and lots of flexibility. Study after study reports that to keep your stars happy you must continuously challenge them. Give them new assignments. Put some stretch in them and then watch them blossom. They’ll be happier and more engaged, and you and the organization will be the beneficiary of their new success. At the same time, be cognizant of their personal needs. Be flexible with then and never micromanage them.

4. Lavish them with earned praise. Sometimes stars are taken for granted. They’re so dependable, do whatever needs to be done, and often operate under the radar. Take some time to recognize them for what they do and thank them for their contribution. It doesn’t take much and it goes a long way.

While it is important to focus on your stars, think about what would happen if you lost one. Could someone immediately step into that person’s shoes? Losing a key performer could happen in an instant, so you should have a plan in place to address it. Retention must be every manager’s responsibility, but every organization must also have a succession plan in place. An ongoing succession planning program focused on training, coaching and evaluating your staff is key to organizational success. Small organizations may not have the luxury of having a back-up for every position, but every organization must have a plan. Every organization must be proactive about developing their people.

Developing, nurturing and retaining your star performers are key to your success. Make 2008 the year you focus on them. Without them, you’ll wallow in the darkness of the nonperformer.

Rick Dacri is a human resource consultant, featured speaker at regional and national conferences, and author of the book “Uncomplicating Management: Focus On Your Stars & Your Company Will Soar.” Since 1995 his firm, Dacri & Associates has helped organizations improve individual and organizational performance. Rick connects with people in a positive and challenging way to offer practical solutions. He can be reached at 207-967-0837, or via email at rick@dacri.com