Are your high performers prime for poaching?

Given our hyper-competitive marketplace, everyone is looking for an edge – especially if that edge comes from poaching your talent. So, rest assured, right now one or more of your competitors is probably gunning for your high performers – your workforce elite – and those likely to outperform and drive significant success within your organization. While hiring will remain lackluster in 2010 and efforts to control costs will continue to be a key focus, organizations will be ramping up their efforts to attract and hire these high performers as they seek ways to get a jump on the competition. Risk losing your high performers, and risk losing any hope of becoming an industry leader.

It’s necessary to understand that this high performing group marches to a different drummer. A cookie-cutter approach to retaining and engaging them won’t work. Any organization using a “one size fits all” strategy to manage their workforce will lose. High performers have unique needs and demand more choice and challenge – compelling organizations to employ a more flexible and customized “one size fits one” strategy.

What does this mean? Quite simply, not everyone is motivated by the same thing. And there are significant differences in what motivates high performers versus average performers. But we do know that high performers share some common needs, which include the need for greater challenge, risk, decision-making and leadership responsibility. Give them what they need and everyone wins. They’ll find their work meaningful and engaging and you’ll reap the benefits of an innovative, high performance culture.

Are your high performers getting what they need?