Every company has top notch employees who are more productive or efficient in their jobs than others. These employees bring great value to the companies they work in, and end up making the customer and business happier in the long run.
It can be a hassle making sure your employees are happy. Shouldn’t it be up to them to prove they want to be here? Besides, there are other top performing employees who will replace them if they end up getting fed up with how you treat them, right?
It’s easy to take hard work for granted. If you don’t care about losing your top talent, don’t worry about correcting the following behaviors. However, if holding on to your top performers is something you are interested in, make sure you aren’t guilty of the following behaviors.
Give Them Busy Work
Employees love feeling like what they do doesn’t matter. They’re in it for the paycheck anyways, right?
When employees have too much downtime, they can feel restless. If they can tell you don’t care about the work they do, they’ll start to wonder why they’re still working for you. Your employees want to feel like what they do matters. They don’t have to feel like they’re changing the world, but they need to feel like what they are doing will help your company in some way.
Ignore Their Achievements
No one likes to be recognized for their hard work. They’d rather not be noticed and continue feeling like what they do doesn’t matter.
When you have several employees or customers to worry about, it’s easy to miss the achievements of a specific employee. Consider creating a performance checklist or regular quality assurance checks to evaluate work performance. If you notice one or more of your workers going above and beyond, make sure you recognize them for it. Employees don’t need constant bonuses for hard work – sometimes just hearing the words “You did a great job on that last project” is enough to help them feel appreciated.
Leave Them to Fend for Themselves
Your employees are smart, especially when it comes to your top performers. They don’t need anyone to guide them through the work process, they can figure it out on their own.
Even if some of your employees have worked at your company for several years, giving them a mentor to work with can be incredibly beneficial. Mentors help employees want to be more engaged and get more out of their work experience. Senior employees who have been with your company for a long time can help younger employees improve their work skills and learn how to move up the ranks. Your business will benefit from better engagement and desire to improve.
Stick Them in a Dead End Position
Employees want to be comfortable in the work they do. They don’t care about moving up in your organization, as long as they know how to do the job at hand.
When employees can’t see a way to advance in your company, they will find another job where they can improve and continue climbing up the career ladder. One of the top reasons good workers quit is because they feel like they can’t get a promotion working for your company. Even if there are better positions your employees can easily reach, they might not know how to get there. Make sure you communicate to your top performers how they can advance and what their future looks like if they continue working with you.
Top talent is one of the best resources a company can have. You probably aren’t trying to make your employees leave you, but there are some behaviors you might need to change in order to help them see that. Just a few small changes can make a big difference for employees who perform well, but might be considering a new company.
