I’m often brought in to do organizational assessments. I once observed an organization where 20% of the workforce consistently produced 80% of the company’s success. Their backs must have been killing them carrying the entire company.
To make matters worse, the employer never rewarded or recognized them. Predictably, within five years, every single high performer was gone and the company sharply declined. Take out the top 20% and you take down the whole company.
The first fatal mistake was this terrible talent model. It shows a total lack of leadership. Sure enough, they had 3 CEOs who were never ever hired by any other company in their industry during their entire careers which we call a clue.
True loyalty to your team matters. No one likes to be taken advantage of and do their job and someone else’s job. We must always appreciate the team who makes our victories possible. When the company wins, your winners have to win too.
First, only hire or keep high performers. Secondly, the employer who does not reward and recognize high performers or address low performers or non-performers will always secure two results: a low rate of retention of the right employees and a high rate of retention of the wrong employees. When our talent decides our destiny, you must do everything to identify, recruit, and retain only high performers.