Getting More from Your Employees the 20-60-20 rule: The top 20 percent of employees get 80 percent of the work done, with the rest done by the average employees (60 percent) and little if any done by the worst 20 percent.
End ‘equal treatment’ today! Focus on high performers, Those high-performing workers can achieve as much as 12 times more than their average counterparts.
Bottom line, high performers are the people who give discretionary effort and really move your business forward.
While you’re not trying to hire average employees, clearly, you could skyrocket your business results if you could find and fill your team with just the top 20 th percentile. So how do you separate the brilliant wheat from the everyday chaff? It’s not easy, but there are a few behavioral and attitudinal factors you can watch for during interviews.
Here’s what we know about high performers:
1. They look great on paper
Closely scrutinize those college transcripts and ask for a copy or photo of their diplomas. Contact every one of their references. They should get glowing reviews from people who are eager to talk about them. Look for awards and letters of recommendation in their files, because these can suggest a super achiever who can hit the ground running.
2. They can articulate their goals
If you ask high achievers what they want to be doing in five, 10 or 20 years, they can describe at least roughly what that looks like and what steps they need to get there. They don’t just live in the here-and-now. They think ahead and proactively build the skill sets they need to achieve their goals.
3. They ooze ambition
The very best people want to rise up the organizational ladder. In fact, the best performers want your job. And you want someone like this, because you can’t move up unless you have someone to replace you. You can be a role model and a mentor to this person and push him or her to succeed so that other companies don’t tempt them away.
4. They focus on key priorities
High performers realize they have very little time to complete high-value tasks. They focus on strategic enablers of business, avoid time-wasters and distractions, and juggle multiple projects with panache. Ask them specific questions and pose some sample scenarios to understand how they prioritize and where they concentrate.
5. They express a can-do attitude
They don’t try, they do. In fact, the word “try” rarely escapes their lips. They throw themselves into their work, own their jobs, use their experience creatively to solve challenges, and execute skillfully in the moment. Ask candidates how they would handle hypothetical challenges and listen for this unmistakable perspective on work and life.
ACTION
In your next staff meeting, make a T-chart with one column labeled “Best Assistant” and one labeled “Worst Assistant.” Pose this question to your team: If the company suddenly had limitless budget, and each of you got to hire a personal assistant, what qualities and characteristics would you look for? Write down the responses. Then above that, write “High Performer” and “Low Performer” and challenge them to mentally rate themselves on a scale of 1-5 on the high performing characteristics (don’t report out).
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