The talent you bet the house on is not worth the money!

Late last year one of my clients was recruiting for a senior level marketing manager.  They decided to use a recruiting firm with a
hefty price tag I might add.  It was down to three candidates and they selected what appeared to be a “superstar”.   The candidate promised to deliver, the company paid high dollar and expected a big return on its investment.

However, from the start it didn’t seem that this individual was doing what they committed to do.  No new ideas, no new customers, and the company did a better job of creating marketing campaigns on their own.  They couldn’t understand how all the references, background checks and conversations indicated this person was going to be a real superstar for them and yet it wasn’t working out that way.

This is where I came in.  They explained the circumstances leading up to the employment offer and the lack of performance since the start date.  After some research, I determined that although their new hire had been a superstar in the past it had been under very specific circumstances and this company’s requirements were a little more demanding.  My recommendation, make a change now before too much time passes.  They may also want to look at any guarantees the recruiting agency offered.

So, what can you do when your own star performer suddenly loses his/her luster?

Ask yourself these three questions:

What is the upside to keeping him on board? Talented performers are the spice of every organization. It is not merely that they are good at their jobs. They deliver exponentially, that is, they deliver in multiples – ideas, productivity and results. And often they do it with ease. But the upside lasts only as long as the star shines.

What is the downside to keeping him?
Just as stars perform well, when they fail, they often do so spectacularly.  Often their performance carries the team, so when star slips, the team does, too. Also, there is the issue of maintenance. The effort managers must expend coddling star talent can cause discord in a team or  organization. Less gifted, but still productive, employees resent the favoritism bestowed on the superstar.

Is this situation going to change? You need to evaluate the performer’s resiliency.   Successful leaders face hardships and emerge better for the experience. Many superstar performers have fragile egos; one setback – a failed project or a denied promotion – can set them back forever.
They may never recover. Such people are talented but they have not learned what it takes to succeed when the odds are stacked high.

Not just once a year – Performance Coaching

A critical part of the manager/employee relationship is open communication between the two.  What is  expected from the employee and how well are they accomplishing their responsibilities.  How should they expect you to lead them. Most Companies have a formal Performance Management Program used to evaluate performance on an annual basis, but informal, on-going performance coaching is critically important.  Reviewing performance should not just be an annual event, but rather a continuous cycle.

More specifically, performance management:

• is a shared responsibility between you and each individual who reports to you; some of us forget this
• provides mutual understanding between the manager and employee regarding what is expected of the employee and how well the employee is meeting those performance standards;  Employees can’t meet expectations, if they don’t know what they are.
• empowers the employee to perform a variety of tasks, and face new challenges for growth;
• sets and monitors progress against clear goals;
• includes regular documentation of performance;
• includes timely feedback on performance between the manager and employee;
• includes discussion on professional development;
• recognizes hard work and success; not just areas for improvement!

An effective performance management program provides many benefits to the organization and to its managers and employees.  Good performance management results in:

• focused movement towards organizational goals;
• informed employees;
• more successful and productive employees;
• more meaningful work for employees;
• better working relationships between managers and employees;  Mutual respect
• increased communication;
• legally defensible management decisions;
• all around better quality of interaction.

Remember regular communication and feedback doesn’t need to be complicated or a long process, it just needs to be regular. Some simple steps and commitment is all you really need.

Exit interview downside, What to do?

Exit interviews are a helpful tool to understand more about why employees leave your company.  However, too often employees are not candid during the exit interview.  The major reason is they do not trust that the information will not get back to their direct boss, especially if the boss is the reason they are leaving.  Employees enjoy good benefits, and competitive wages, but often give that up to get away from an overbearing or ineffective manager.   Exit Interviews become mini survey’s and employees only provide the information they need to.

Senior leaders should consider two processes.  The first is to have exit interviews conducted by an impartial entity.  Your HR person may be the best in the industry, but if poor management goes unnoticed or excuses have been made for a certain managers style or approach,  employees lose confidence in HR, management and the process.  Separating employees may view an outsider more trust worthy and provide information they otherwise wouldn’t.  If provided with specific information and suggestions senior managers can begin to look into issues that may be unseen in a busy daily operation.  This process may also identify areas where management training is needed. 

The second recommendation and to me the more important one is for senior managers to engage employees through “skip level” one on one’s or roundtable meetings.  These are performed on a regular basis and not just when someone is resigning or there is an issue.  If designed and executed properly these types of communication processes can offer a wealth of knowledge about your organization as well as alert you to possible issues and training needs, before they become a problem.  Warning: These types of meetings can  never become  a form of punishment for employees or managers.  It also can’t be a session for the CEO or senior leader to become defensive.  This is about gathering information and determining what the needs of the organization are from someone other than your direct reports.  As you gather this information on a regular basis and act upon those areas you can, the process gains credibility and positive ideas become the focus.