Supporting a Top Performer
by Neil I. Clark
Hitting the Limits
Top performers will get results in their area, but there are sometimes
limits to their ability to continue expanding.
In some instances, it is unrealistic to expect a top performer to
continue increasing the results they produce without some additional
support. Here are some tips in this area.
Measuring Results
An effective person will always measure their results. Only in this
way can they know how effective they are.
When Results Go Down
Effective people, for instance, get very
interested in why the results
were not as good this month as they were last month. They want to
know what caused the downturn, so as to make corrections and improve
their future results.
- If it is within their own sphere of control, they can make the
changes themselves.
- If the poor results stem from outside their immediate area, they
will want to liaise with that area (perhaps becoming very demanding)
in order to try to correct the situation.
Ineffective people are often not even aware of the fact that the
results were worse this month than last. They do not see "results" as
an important part of their lives. And, if you point out that their
performance is not as good this month, they will tend to blame it
on other people, or the weather, time of year, etc.
When Results Go Up
When performance is better from one month, week or year to the next,
the top performer also wants to know why this happened.
- What was successful?
- Can it be repeated?
- Can it be strengthened?
They want to know what was different, so they can use that knowledge
to drive the results even higher. They know that if they don’t
measure their results in sufficient detail, they will not be able
to perform such analysis and will miss some golden opportunities.
The poor performer, on the other hand, doesn’t even notice
that the results went up. They miss the point altogether. Watch out
for people who don’t know what their results are!
Capped Results
Be aware, however, that many activities have physical
limits. One
can get the production up to a certain level, but there can come
a time when a ceiling is reached. This is more evident in some activities
than in others.
A ditch-digger, for instance, eventually runs into the physical
limitation of the quantity of soil that one person can dig in a day.
They may be an extremely productive top performer, but there is still
this physical limit. The same could be said for a typist or any other
job involving physical work.
In sales and marketing, the physical limitations are not so obvious,
but they can still be there. And that’s when the performer
needs support.
Statistics Show It
Let’s look at this in terms of the statistical results.
- When starting in a new area, there is a learning phase. The employee
is finding their feet and the results may not be in their best
range.
- As the performer gets into the swing of things, you may see some
ups and downs as they find out what does and does not work.
- Sooner or later, the results will move up steeply and settle
into a new range, well above where they had been in the past.
You are now looking at a top performing individual who is running
at maximum for the current conditions. They are totally in control
of their area and can churn out results of consistently
high quantity and quality.
When you see this, it’s time to act!
This is the subject of another article: "Keeping a Top Performer".
When an effective employee reaches a peak, and finds they are unable
to continue expanding, you run the risk of eventually losing them.
Find a New Game
Here is someone who needs a new game. They either need a new mountain
to climb, or you need to find a way to make
their current mountain bigger. When you find yourself in the enviable position of having
an employee who is driving the production through the roof, you should
recognise how valuable this is and be prepared to invest
in that person’s talents and ability.
Assuming you are not planning to promote them to a higher level
of responsibility, the other solution is to invest in some sort of
additional support. You need to make it possible for them to drive
their results even higher, breaking through the physical barriers
which may be hindering their ability to increase performance. This
additional support could be in the form of better
tools to work with
and/or the assignment of staff support.
Better Tools
Consider the ditch-digger who has maxed out their daily production.
They would achieve more if you provided a mechanical shovel to empty
the ditch faster than by hand.
The typist might be able to produce more if they had a faster printer
or a better PC to work with.
The salesperson or service technician might benefit from tools like
a laptop computer or mobile phone to give them faster remote access
to their central database.
Whatever it is, the cost of such support tools is minor compared
with the increased production the top performer will be able to achieve
with the extra help.
You should also consider what it would cost if you lost your top
performer because they found a "better opportunity". You
would then be faced with the prospect of training someone up to that
same level. It’s always much more cost effective to keep the
one you have, than to train up a new one, no matter how good the
new person might seem.
Staff Support
When you have someone who is obviously effective, assigning some
additional staff support to them can be a very canny investment.
Once again, when you see one of your people producing results of
a consistently high quality and quantity, you need to recognise how
valuable that is. And when their results move up to a new high range
and stay there, it’s time to look at giving them whatever support
they need to move it on up again.
In sales this might mean giving the top performer some admin. help,
or a dedicated telemarketer to set up the leads for them. Whatever
it is, if it will free up some of that person’s valuable time
and allow them to work their special magic on their main area of
operation, this is what is needed.
Support your top performers!
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