Keeping Your Superstar Employees Happy

Identifying *Star* Employees  Consistently perform better than what is expected  Anxious to advance within the company  Become bored with usual job tasks  Eager to take on new or additional tasks  Seeks direction in order to be able to move ahead  Displays leadership qualities among peers  Work as a self-starter  Actively seeks solutions to problems  Thinks outside of the box and is creative  Is invested in company goals and culture  Desires to be an active part of the team and the company  Is persistent and doesn’t give up  Has a positive, “can do” attitude

Leo Moran Given Authority to make decisions Feedback (constructive critiques) Flexibility Trust

Andrea Rich Manager asks for her input and ideas Manager believes in her Feels at home Doing what she loves Coworkers work as a team Can go to manager about personal issues

Jeremy Waters Trust – manager lets him do his job with out micromanaging him Work environment Coworkers – no egos Being able to dress in costume Food

Remember The most-cited reason an employee remains in or leaves a job is either satisfaction or dissatisfaction with a boss. *Star* employees can keep you busy as you work continuously to keep them challenged and motivated, but they are human assets that require care and nurturing if they are to continue to grow

Challenging *Star* Employees  Special assignment and projects  Advanced Training Opportunities  Greater Responsibility and Autonomy  Involvement in Decision Making  Exposure to All Aspects of the Business

In 2013, Google employees were asked what they valued most at work. The top response was compiled as such: “Access to even-keeled bosses who made time for one-on-one meetings, who helped people puzzle through problems by asking questions, not dictating answers, and who took an interest in employees’ lives and careers.”

Make a list of your direct reports at work These are the people you hire, inspire, schedule, discipline, review, and support  Every employee at your site?  Coordinators and leads?  Coordinators only? Who follows you?

 Using the list provided, highlight all of the employees who are still working for CSC.  Count up the number of highlighted names in each column (10, 5,3,2,1 years)  Divide that number by the total number of employees on the list for that time period  What is your retention %? What could your retention rate be?? What is your current employee retention rate?

To varying degrees, employees value: Pay Promotion Supervision Coworkers The work itself Workplace Values

The Value – Perception Theory Overall Job Satisfaction Pay Satisfaction As much as they deserve? Secure? Similar to others? Promotion Satisfaction Feelings about company promotion policies. Frequent? Fair? Based on ability? Supervision Satisfaction Feelings about their boss. Is the boss competent? Polite? Good communicator? Coworker Satisfaction Feelings about fellow employees. Are coworkers smart, responsible, helpful, fun, and interesting? Satisfaction with the work itself Feelings about actual work tasks. Are they challenging, interesting, respected, and make use of key skills

Overall Job Satisfaction Pay Satisfaction (Pay want – Pay have) Pay importance Promotion Satisfaction (Promotionwant – Promotionhave) x Promotion importance Supervision Satisfaction (Supervisionwant – Supervisionhave) x Supervision importance Coworker Satisfaction (Coworkerwant – Coworkerhave) x Coworker importance Satisfaction with the work itself (Workwant – Workhave) x Work importance The Value – Perception Theory

 Challenge your stars. Give them room to make mistakes and take risks because that is where they can excel and bring more to your company.  Reward your stars. Money isn’t the only reward a star employee wants or needs. Face time over lunch with an important member of your company or more input into the decision on which project he or she will tackle next can also reward and motivate your stars.  Ensure their growth. Spend time with your stars, providing them with feedback on their performance, informing them of job expectations, and developing their future. Your stars need to know their long-term potential with your company. And, they want to be a part of planning that future.  Hold your stars accountable. While a star knows (and in some cases overestimates) their worth, don’t find yourself in an untenable situation. The star who thinks he’s irreplaceable may become unmanageable. While high productivity and revenue generation are great attributes in an employee, you also want your stars to play well with others. Attitude is important and should not be overlooked in the evaluation process simply because someone has good numbers. Doing that might alienate a future star in your pool of good performers.

It is often said that 20% of your employees will consume 80% of your time – and not in a good way. Make sure you invest some of what’s left in your stars, and you’ll brighten your company’s future.