Keeping Your Superstar Employees Happy

Identifying *Star* Employees

Consistently perform better than what is expected Anxious to advance within the company Become bored with usual job tasks Eager to take on new or additional tasks Seeks direction in order to be able to move ahead Displays leadership qualities among peers Work as a self-starter Actively seeks solutions to problems Thinks outside of the box and is creative Is invested in company goals and culture Desires to be an active part of the team and the company Is persistent and doesn’t give up Has a positive, “can do” attitude

Leo Moran

• Given Authority to make decisions• Feedback (constructive critiques)• Flexibility • Trust

Andrea Rich

• Manager asks for her input and ideas

• Manager believes in her• Feels at home• Doing what she loves• Coworkers work as a team• Can go to manager about

personal issues

Jeremy Waters

• Trust – manager lets him do his job with out micromanaging him

• Work environment• Coworkers – no egos• Being able to dress in

costume• Food

Remember

The most-cited reason an employee remains in or leaves a job is either satisfaction or

dissatisfaction with a boss.

*Star* employees can keep you busy as you work continuously to keep them challenged and motivated, but they are human assets

that require care and nurturing if they are to continue to grow

Challenging *Star* Employees

Special assignment and projects

Advanced Training Opportunities

Greater Responsibility and Autonomy

Involvement in Decision Making

Exposure to All Aspects of the Business

In 2013, Google employees were asked what they valued most at work. The top response was compiled as such:

“Access to even-keeled bosses who made time for one-on-one meetings, who helped people puzzle through problems by asking questions, not dictating answers, and who took an interest in employees’ lives and careers.”

Make a list of your direct reports at workThese are the people you hire, inspire, schedule, discipline, review, and support

Every employee at your site? Coordinators and leads? Coordinators only?

Who follows you?

Using the list provided, highlight all of the employees who are still working for CSC.

Count up the number of highlighted names in each column (10, 5,3,2,1 years)

Divide that number by the total number of employees on the list for that time period

What is your retention %?

What could your retention rate be??

What is your current employee retention rate?

To varying degrees, employees value:

PayPromotionSupervisionCoworkersThe work itself

Workplace Values

The Value – Perception Theory

Overall Job

Satisfaction

PaySatisfaction

As much as they deserve? Secure? Similar to others?

Promotion Satisfaction

Feelings about company promotion policies. Frequent? Fair? Based on

ability?

Supervision Satisfaction

Feelings about their boss. Is the boss competent? Polite?

Good communicator?

Coworker Satisfaction

Feelings about fellow employees. Are coworkers smart, responsible,

helpful, fun, and interesting?

Satisfaction with the work

itself

Feelings about actual work tasks. Are they challenging, interesting, respected, and make use of key

skills

Overall Job SatisfactionPay

Satisfaction

(Pay want – Pay have) Pay importance

Promotion Satisfaction

(Promotionwant – Promotionhave)x Promotionimportance

Supervision Satisfaction

(Supervisionwant – Supervisionhave)x Supervisionimportance

Coworker Satisfaction

(Coworkerwant – Coworkerhave)x Coworkerimportance

Satisfaction with the work itself

(Workwant – Workhave)x Workimportance

The Value – Perception Theory

Challenge your stars.  Give them room to make mistakes and take risks because that is where they can excel and bring more to your company.

Reward your stars.  Money isn’t the only reward a star employee wants or needs.  Face time over lunch with an important member of your company or more input into the decision on which project he or she will tackle next can also reward and motivate your stars. 

Ensure their growth.  Spend time with your stars, providing them with feedback on their performance, informing them of job expectations, and developing their future.  Your stars need to know their long-term potential with your company.  And, they want to be a part of planning that future. 

Hold your stars accountable.  While a star knows (and in some cases overestimates) their worth, don’t find yourself in an untenable situation.  The star who thinks he’s irreplaceable may become unmanageable.  While high productivity and revenue generation are great attributes in an employee, you also want your stars to play well with others.  Attitude is important and should not be overlooked in the evaluation process simply because someone has good numbers.  Doing that might alienate a future star in your pool of good performers.

It is often said that 20% of your employees will consume 80% of your time – and not in a good way.  Make sure you invest some of what’s left in your stars, and you’ll brighten your company’s future.