If you manage a fast-paced business, high-performing employees are the glue that holds difficult days together. They’re independent, efficient, and reliable workers that embody your business’s values and work ethic. In some ways, they manage themselves, but when high performers struggle, they need as much support as anyone else.
So, how do you manage your top performers differently? Continue reading to learn how to tailor your management styles to keep them happy and productive. Plus, discover how to Instantly identify which applicants will succeed like your current top performers with Sprockets!
How to Manage High Performing Employees
1. Provide Specific Praise
Simple thank-you’s only go so far. Your high-performing employees have skills that most likely go beyond their job description. Consider setting aside time for one-on-one check-ins. Let them know how their hard work impacts areas of the business outside of their department and give specific examples — don’t just make that an end-of-day habit. With 52% of workers suffering burnout, giving your high performer productive feedback will lift their spirits and encourage them to continue forward.
2. Give Them Tools to Grow
Your top employees might dominate their given roles, but when they show interest in something else, support it. As highly-driven people, they crave growth and exciting opportunities. Motivating high performers with clear career pathways shows them you care about their future. You’re investing as much time and effort into them as they do in your company.
3. Seek Their Input
Even if you’re more experienced than your high-performing employees, they may have some insights unique to them and their positions. By seeking out and rewarding high performers for their input, you’re communicating their value. Plus, you’re fostering personal and company-wide growth which leads to an improvement in employee performance.
4. Be Flexible
Remember that your most-trusted employees earned your trust for a reason. Your high-performing employees may have developed different, yet more effective, ways of accomplishing tasks. Praise their ingenuity and resist the urge to micromanage. By allowing high performers to invest their talents into their roles, you’re encouraging increased employee engagement. According to Gallup, businesses with high employee engagement are over 20% more profitable than businesses with low engagement.
5. Offer Your Support
Topping the list of what high performers want at work is like-minded colleagues. They want a team of people that will succeed like them. That way, top performers can spend more time developing strong work relationships, new ideas, and healthy competition — factors that drive growth — instead of compensating for lower-performing co-workers.
Replicate Your Top Performers
To find more high-performing employees, integrate the power of Sprockets into your hiring process. Our AI-powered platform empowers you to predict applicant success before the interview and without a resume. Plus, Sprockets’ Applicant Matching System is trusted by top brands like Taco Bell and Wingstop to build strong, cohesive teams that will stay long-term.