Managing Superstars with Talent Management

A common problem in a lot of companies is that managers focus all their time and energy on the lowest performers, overlooking the workhorses – the “superstars”. An article in the June issue of HR Magazine provides some great reasons why managers need to spend more time with their superstars. In the current talent market, one of the biggest reasons should be to ensure that the employee’s needs are met, and that she isn’t going to jump ship for another opportunity.

The article outlines a number of specific actions that managers should take with their superstar performers. A couple of particular interest include helping them grow and develop, and do more for the top performers. All good advice, but one of the stumbling blocks is ensuring that managers and organizations as a whole are set up to meet the needs of superstars on an ongoing basis. This could be everything from ensuring pay for performance is flexible enough to accommodate some special rewards, to implementing the right training and development programs, to constant and accurate feedback on performance.

These programs will be best able to meet the needs of superstars if they are flexible and enable managers to routinely provide these employees with what they need, without adding a lot of complexity to their already-busy management role.

How does your company handle superstars? What role do your employee performance and talent management processes and technology have in supporting these retention efforts?