Page 44 - midJersey Business - January 2015

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RECOGNIZE THE FLAVOR
the top 10 to 20 percent of their staf, mance or better behavior.
Move them on. Let them squeak on
Like a workplace Neapolitan ice cream, they would become even more productive
employees typically come in three and engaged.
someone else’s bus.

distinct lavors: your critical people, the As the saying goes, “a rising tide lifts all
squeaky wheels, and the fat middle. Most boats.” If you empower those of your staf THE FAT MIDDLE

managers and supervisors either attempt who really want to perform, they will This lavor is comprised of the remaining
to manage every employee from each
help you manage the others.
60 to 70 percent of your workforce. Mi-

of these groups in the same manner. Or By spending more time with your criti- raculously, when you devote the majority
worse, they spend the majority of time cal people, you will increase productivity, of time to your critical people and avoid

with their squeaky wheels—rewarding manage your time efectively and have the urge to grease the squeaky wheels,
bad performance or behavior. Either more engaged staf, and increase reten- the fat middle takes care of itself. The

results in a loss of productivity and en- tion rates.
good ones desire to feel the inclusion and
gagement, and inevitably, an unfulilled attention they see managers giving to the

and unhappy staf—and a frustrated and THE SQUEAKY WHEELS
critical people.
time-poor manager.
It’s often said that “the squeaky wheel They tend to become more engaged

When you recognize the “lavor” of gets the grease,” and perhaps that’s a and to develop more quickly, especially
the individual employee, and prioritize good thing in a mechanic’s workshop. In
if the manager empowers the critical

your time accordingly, you position them

for the highest potential for success—for Gallup research shows that if
themselves and for the company.
managers spend 80 percent of

CRITICAL PEOPLE
their time with the top 10 to 20

These can be obvious—the real super- percent of their staff, they would
stars who consistently under-promise
become even more productive and
and over-deliver, but they also can be
not-so-obvious, those quiet achievers.
engaged. As the saying goes,
They may never be superstars; in fact,
they may be barely above mediocre—but “a rising tide lifts all boats.”

they are consistent and reliable. They
also may be those staf members who a business environment, however, it’s a people to help train, mentor, and moti-

hold important intellectual property or recipe for poor management, high staf vate the fat middle.
jobs no one else wants to do.
turnover, and low productivity.
Within six to eight months of manag-

They may have great customer rela- There are a couple of types of squeaky ing his team by their individual “lavor,”

tionships or know a lot about the organi- wheels: the high performers who are also Mike was back working a reasonable
zation itself. In any case, you don’t want high maintenance, and those who squeak schedule and spending his time working

to lose them.
because they present either a perfor- with the CEO on strategy—exactly what
You should prioritize your time so mance or a behavior issue.
he was hired to do.

that 80 percent of it is spent dedicated Spending an over-abundance of time As an added beneit, employee reten-
to these people for a few main reasons. with these employees will become tion went up as a result of the staf being

Allowing them to mentor with and learn problematic, and again, sends the wrong deployed properly, working together
from you will help them grow and de- message to staf.
much more efectively, and enjoying

velop in their own career.
So should you just ignore them? Pos- their own jobs to a much greater extent.
If you don’t give them the time and sibly—but in a business setting, a more By identifying and classifying the types

attention they deserve (and may crave), proactive approach can be beneicial of his employees, he righted the overall
they may not understand how important to the collective team. There are three course of the company.

they actually are, which can lead to frus- scenarios you can utilize:
And you can do the same with yours.
tration, hurt feelings, and even a sense Hold a formal conversation to set more

that they aren’t appreciated. The number clear objectives or key performance Kim Seeling Smith is an international human resources expert and
of people who walk into recruiters’ oices indicators, and give them the necessary
author of Mind Reading for Managers: 5 FOCUSed Conversations for
looking for a new role because they didn’t training required to accomplish them Greater Employee Engagement and Productivity. With her expansive

feel appreciated by their boss is astonish- and hold them accountable for doing so.
knowledge of human capital practices in today’s market, Smith helps
ing—and easily avoided.
Determine their internal motivators, companies build healthy work environments and increase employee

Gallup research shows that if manag- or currencies of choice, and use those to engagement and productivity in our digitally connected, globally oriented
ers spend 80 percent of their time with
inspire them to a higher level of perfor-
world. For more information, visit igniteglobal.com.

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