Businesses are made up of individuals with different strengths, abilities and weaknesses. Where some people in your team may thrive under pressure and rise to meet every challenge, others will feel overwhelmed by expectation and may struggle to fulfil their potential.
Learning how to manage these high and low performers can take time. But get it right, and the rewards for your business can be significant, with high performers contributing even more and low performers putting their shortcomings behind them and learning to hit their goals.
High Performers
A lot of people think that managing high performers is easy. After all, if an individual is talented, motivated and committed, it’s likely they’re already making a valuable contribution to the workplace.
It’s a manager’s role to keep these high performers engaged and excited. Do this, and these talented individuals should stick with your organisation for the long-term, driving its success well into the future.
Recognition And Reward
It’s important to let high performers know that you see their skills and value their achievements. Use verbal praise, bonuses or promotions to acknowledge your high performers and ensure they never feel taken for granted.
Challenging Opportunities
High performers can get bored if they’re not challenged on a regular basis. Keep them engaged by placing them on exciting projects or giving them more responsibility. You could also encourage them to collaborate with colleagues or mentor people who are just starting out. As well as being an exciting opportunity, this can help to boost levels of engagement and help high performers to feel appreciated.
Career Development
Most high performers will be keen to develop their professional skills. Offering regular career development opportunities will give your high performers plenty to get their teeth stuck into and has the added bonus of building up the skillset of your workforce.
Low Performers
Employees who struggle to meet expectations are often considered to be low performers.
Often, you can significantly improve the contribution and value of these team members by giving them a little help, support and guidance.
Identify Root Causes
Performance issues can have a number of root causes. For example, the employee may be facing personal challenges, or they may have a skills gap that prevents them from excelling in their role. Identifying these causes is the first step in addressing poor performance and putting things right.
Set Clear Expectations
It’s important to create clear and open lines of communication with low performers. This should make it easier to discuss performance issues with them and to clearly set out your expectations for their future in your organisation. Set clear, measurable goals and ensure the team member understands exactly what’s expected of them.
Offer Support And Training
Good quality training and support can help low performing team members improve their skills and enhance their contribution. This training could focus on their soft skills, like communication, time management and self-confidence, or you could invest in courses aimed at growing their technical abilities.
Learning how to manage both low and high performers can help you get the most from every team member and maximise your human resources. To find out more about management techniques and training and development opportunities, get in touch with a member of our team today.
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