Effective Strategies for Managing High Performing Talent

Employers prefer hiring individuals who perform at the very top of their fields. Unfortunately, not every manager knows how to handle them once they are on board. Mismanaging them can cause employers to underperform or even leave the company. How can you hang on to your best people and help them thrive?

What Are the Traits of High Performing Talent?

Curiosity. Top performers are always analyzing. They want to understand how products or processes work and enjoy finding ways to improve upon them.

Drive. They are their own toughest taskmasters. Top performers want to be the best and are willing to do the planning and hard work it takes to excel.

Leadership. Top performers are often natural leaders. They enjoy challenges, setting and achieving goals and are happy to share their experience and expertise with others who have the same passion and drive.

How Do You Best Manage Top Performers?

Provide clear objectives. Don’t micromanage if you want top employees to perform at their peak. Give them a clearly defined goal, back away and let them achieve it their own way.

Give them freedom. Allow top performers to create their own path. They will find a way to reach the goals you set. Allow them to also create and achieve some of their own goals (as long as they mesh with company objectives). Shaking up the status quo a bit could be good for your organization

Recognize their efforts. Excellence comes so naturally to many top performers that you may forget how hard they work. Praise the work they put into projects and the results they achieve. Implement their new ideas where possible.

Support learning efforts. Don’t allow top performers to get bored. See to it that they are challenged regularly. Cross train them or offer continuing education credits.

Most importantly, make your organization one that top performers can be proud of. If you provide them with a company they can to buy into, and manage them correctly, you could have an employee for life.

Top performers can make a big difference in achieving your company goals and maximizing your bottom line – if you know how to manage them. The recruiting team at Employment Professionals Canada are experts at helping Ontario businesses find and retain the best talent in the area. Want to learn more about recruiting and managing top talent? Contact us today!