Here is a brief excerpt from an article by Sharlyn Lauby for Halogen Software’s TalentSpace blog. To read the complete article, check out others, learn more about the firm, and sign up for email alerts, please click here.
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No organization ever has too many high-performing employees.
They talk about it all the time. Managers will say that they want employees who “perform at a high level.” Senior leaders will say the key to the company’s success is being a “high-performing organization.” But what exactly does that mean?
It’s important to note that, when we talk about high performance, employees don’t just fall into two categories: high performers and non-performers. There are employees who perform satisfactorily. And that’s acceptable. But it’s not high performance. Think of it as the difference between good and great.
High performance is different. And managers need to be able to identify high-performing employees and manage them so they continue to be high performers.
Here are four qualities found in high-performing employees and tips for managing these qualities so you maximize them:
1. High performers accomplish their goals and seek out additional assignments.
Many employees accomplish their goals. But high performers do more than that. They accomplish their goals and say, “What’s next?”
Manage goal driven employees by giving them stretch assignments. High performers not only want to accomplish more goals but they’ll seek out opportunities to push their skills and learn new ones. So work on developing your high-performing employees through the goals you assign them.
2. High performers take the initiative to increase and strengthen their skills.
While most employees are open to training and development, high performers don’t wait for their manager to sign them up for a training session. In fact, they might be the employees who are willing to invest their own time and money toward professional development.
Managers with high performers will want to have a few extra budget dollars to reward high performers with professional development opportunities. Developing your high-performing employees just makes sense. Also, to make sure that resources are being directed properly, make sure high performers are truly justifying their participation by sharing their knowledge with the rest of the team.
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Here is a direct link to the complete article.
Sharlyn Lauby is the HR Bartender, whose blog is a friendly place to discuss workplace issues. HR Bartender has been recognized as one of the Top 5 Blogs Read by HR professionals by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). When she’s not tending bar, Sharlyn is president of ITM Group, Inc., which specializes in training solutions to help clients retain and engage talent. For the Halogen TalentSpace blog, Sharlyn writes about HR trends and best practices that impact employee engagement and performance. She recently published her first book, Essential Meeting Blueprints for Managers, which is available on Amazon. And her personal goal in life is to find the best cheeseburger on the planet.