Learn How to Idenify the Top Performer for your Business - Ryzeup
Who is a Top Performer?
When you’re looking to grow your business, you need higher-than-average contributions. You need to identify those who offer a little extra and nurture them. When your employees go beyond the call of duty and exhibit traits of creative thinking, strong communication, and leadership potential, they will help elevate the status of your enterprise.
Characteristics of Top Performers
Popular sports leagues and tournaments encourage and incentivize the top performers. In the IPL, the top performer in each match becomes the MVP (Most Valuable Player). Organizations can create a similar system by awarding the MVP to an employee who has outperformed his or her peers.
If you don’t notice and encourage the professional development of your top performers, they will leave your organization for better opportunities. Here are the typical characteristics of high performers:
Self-Motivation – Top performers are masters at compartmentalizing and focusing their time and energy on achieving their targets and ambitions. Like champion athletes, (think Novak Djokovic or Rafael Nadal) they assess their strengths and weaknesses and make strategic plans to thrive. They base their workplace decisions on whether their actions will get them closer to the goals of the organization as well as their own.
Highly Skilled – A top performer doesn’t just have excellent technical skills, but strong interpersonal communication skills as well. Much like professional athletes, top performers are extremely capable and skilled in all these areas. Problem-solving abilities, building a good rapport with others, flexibility, and an innate understanding of the needs of the industry are key factors setting these employees apart.
Seek Professional Growth – Professional growth can occur in many different forms. Upskilling, taking up professional courses, research programs, and additional responsibilities are a few examples. High performers are constantly on the lookout for these opportunities as they enable them to improve their skill set and give them the confidence to function effectively at work. Think of your top performers as all-rounders in cricket. All-rounders possess all the vital skills that make them indispensable to a team.
Exhibit Leadership Qualities – A leader in your workplace should use his/her skills and experiences to manage, mentor and empower the team. Like team captains in sports, top performers exude confidence and take the initiative even when they aren’t designated as managers. Your top performers do all it takes to succeed and motivate others to emulate them. They deliver on their commitments and guide you towards the same.
Set a Healthy Work-Life Balance – All work and no play can dampen the spirits of even your best performers. Your ace resources need to have a healthy balance between their personal and professional lives to perform at a high level consistently. They know when to work hard and deliver the stellar output and take a vacation when they need it.
Retaining the Top Talent in an Organization
Now that you’ve spotted the top talent, here are key strategies and factors to retain them:
Measure Progress with KPIs – Use an effective, actionable set of KPIs to differentiate between employees with high potential and high achievers. Motivate your employees to go the extra mile by presenting their targets like in sports leagues.
Conduct a Performance Review – Evaluate employee performances periodically to measure their growth and ensure upskilling. This makes it easier to spot and manage your star performers.
Allow Remote Work Options –The pandemic has transcended barriers between working from the office and life at home. Offer a greater degree of flexibility for your top performers and watch them thrive.
Offer Competitive Remuneration & Perks – Your top performers will not work for cheap. If you don’t offer them a competitive salary, they won’t think twice about walking out of your company and finding another job. Ensure you retain your assets by paying them for the value they bring to your organization.
Mentorship & Training Programs – When you pair new, talented employees with like-minded mentors and give them extensive training during the onboarding process, you give them a chance to familiarize themselves with the work environment, their peers & superiors.
Setting up contests that reward high achievers can become the key to enhancing engagement and productivity at work. Creating a sense of healthy competition among employees is important and can lead to key benefits. However, contests also have their negatives.
Conclusion
There are many talented sportsmen, but only a few make it to the top. Nurturing and encouraging these performers are vital to ensuring high performances on a consistent basis. Developing strategies and ideas on retaining your talent at the workplace become equally, if not more important. Ensure that your top performers are in it for the long haul.
RyzeUP explores innovative avenues to keep your teams and employees motivated. Our employee engagement solutions turn your day-to-day business operations into a sporting context to keep things interesting, challenging, and intuitive. Find new ways to keep your work environment fresh and engaging and encourage your top performers to reach greater heights. Explore RyzeUP today!