Managing a Star Employee Effectively
Challenge your star employee so they don’t get bored. All star employees are typically goal-oriented, hard-working, and learn quickly. While this makes them a great asset, it also means they get bored more easily. Talk to your employee to find out what they need to feel challenged. Then, give them new responsibilities or work goals to help them feel fulfilled. For instance, you might allow your all star to run meetings or start working on a passion project. Don’t just heap more work onto your all star, as that can lead to burn out. If you’re giving them a new task, allow them to scale back on something else if necessary.
Allow your star employee autonomy instead of micromanaging them. Generally, all star employees work best if you delegate tasks to them but allow them to work independently. If you’re micromanaging them, your employee may get frustrated and may not reach their potential. Trust your all star to get their work done without a lot of oversight. As an example, allow your all star to decide the process they’ll use to accomplish a task instead of telling them how you’d do it. Keep in mind that your all star employee has their reputation for a reason. You should be able to trust them to meet your expectations.
Include all team members when dividing up work. While your star employee will likely do more work than other coworkers, don’t make your other workers feel unimportant. Assign them meaningful tasks so they can contribute to team projects. Additionally, give them opportunities to grow, as well. This will prevent other employees from resenting your all star and will avoid having your all star feel responsible for all of the work. For instance, let’s say you have a team that’s pitching an idea to a client. While your all star might be in charge of the presentation and client interactions, you might assign other team members tasks like doing research, preparing handouts, and running sales numbers.
Provide your star with constructive feedback to help them grow. Since all stars are typically hard-working and goal-oriented, they want to feel like they’re learning and growing. Feedback helps them continue to make progress. Give your star employee informal feedback after they complete a work task. Additionally, schedule performance reviews at regular intervals, such as quarterly or annually, so you can give formal, written feedback. Informal feedback might be something like, “Great job on the presentation today. If I had one critique, it’d be to add more images next time.” Formal feedback might consist of a written evaluation.
Ask your star employee for feedback on your performance. Feedback needs to be a two-way street so your all star employee feels like their opinion matters. Give your all star opportunities to evaluate your performance, as well as the organization. Use their constructive criticism to improve your performance, and discuss any concerns they may have so they don’t become problems. For instance, you might send an organization-wide survey every 3 months so employees can provide feedback. That way your all star can anonymously tell you if there’s an issue. Additionally, you might institute an open-door policy so all employees feel comfortable talking to you. You might ask them, "What can I do to support your performance?" or "How do you think I could improve my communication as a team leader?"
Do team-building activities to encourage group camaraderie. Because your all star employee is a high performer, their coworkers may grow to resent them. To prevent this, host team-building activities at monthly or quarterly meetings. Require that all of your employees participate so they feel like part of the team. Team-building reminds all of the employees that they're working together. Additionally, it forces them to work together on a task that isn't work related, which can help them find new ways to collaborate. Try team-building games like solving a murder mystery or doing a scavenger hunt. You could also have a blind-folded race where one employee leads a blindfolded partner through a short obstacle course.
Praising and Challenging Star Employees
Thank your star employee for their good work. Make sure your star employee knows you value them by recognizing their accomplishments. Tell them specifically what you like about their performance, and thank them for being such a hard worker. Additionally, give your star public recognition in a way that makes them feel comfortable. For instance, extroverted star employees may enjoy being called out at a company-wide meeting. On the other hand, more introverted stars might prefer a company-wide email touting their accomplishments. You might say something like, "I want to recognize Liz for doubling her sales last quarter," or "Thank you for your hard work on this report. You're an asset for this team and it's noticed."
Reward star employees for their contributions to your organization. In addition to recognition, offer your stars perks or privileges. If possible, provide them a bonus or raise. If you can’t offer them money, give them a certificate or symbol of accomplishment, like a company t-shirt or pin. This will encourage them to keep working hard. Some perks might include special parking spots or new office supplies. Similarly, privileges might include a key to come into the office at special hours or more flexibility with their work schedule.
Invest in your star employees so they continue to grow. Your star employee doesn’t want to feel like their career is stagnant. Offer them opportunities for training and continuing education. Additionally, encourage them to keep setting goals and progressing in their career. When necessary, create a new role for your star employee so they don’t have to leave your organization to keep growing. For example, you might offer your star employee the opportunity to go to a week-long training workshop that can help them advance in their career. Similarly, you might offer tuition reimbursement for employees who take night classes at a local university.
Help your star employees create meaning and purpose in their role. You want your star employee to stay engaged with their work so they don’t burn out. A great way to keep them interested is to connect work tasks with your employee’s purpose. Get to know your star employee well so you know what they value. Then, connect their work tasks to their values. As an example, let’s say your star employee values helping people. You might focus on how their work projects improve the lives of others so your employee feels more engaged.
Offer your star opportunities for advancement so they don’t quit. If you don’t promote your all star, another employer will recruit them away from you. Meet with your all star to discuss their path for advancement. Then, do your best to accommodate their personal career goals so they stay loyal to your organization. If your employee feels like they’re in a dead end job, they’ll likely start looking for other opportunities to advance. As an example, you might discuss your employee’s growth potential at each of their formal evaluations. Say something like, “We recognize that you’ve got great potential. Let’s discuss your future opportunities here.”
Ask your star employee to mentor new hires so they feel accomplished. Assigning a high performer to a mentoring role shows them that you see them as a talented, capable worker. Tell your all star that you value their skills, hard work, and dedication. Then, ask them to help train and support your newer employees. Introduce the all star to the person they're mentoring to establish the relationship. You might ask them both to come to your office, then introduce them by saying something like, "Emily is one of our top employees, so I've asked her to mentor you during your probationary period."
Creating a Welcoming Workplace
Treat all of your employees with respect regardless of status. If some employees don’t feel respected, it can undermine the morale of everyone as a whole. It shows employees, including your all stars, that anyone can fall out of favor. Be kind and transparent with all employees so everyone feels like they’re on the same level. For instance, don’t talk badly about a poor performer to other employees.
Host social events so employees get to know each other. Your star employee may feel isolated if they don't have a strong connection with their coworkers. Additionally, all of your employees will feel more comfortable at work if they know each other well. Plan social events like work parties, happy hours, and potluck lunches so employees have time to talk. This will help your employees feel invested in the workplace. As an example, start a party planning committee to host holiday and birthday parties. Similarly, host a monthly happy hour for networking. Don't make work events outside of normal work hours mandatory to attend. Some employees may not have a lot of free time outside of work.
Allow employees to personalize their work space. Encourage employees to put a personal touch on their work space so they feel happy and comfortable at work. Personal items might include photos, knick-knacks, plants, or decorative items. This will make them feel more at home in their work space so they’re more excited to come to work. If employees have an office, allow them to decorate it with things like wall art, rugs, plants, and desk decor. If employees work in cubicles or work stations, allow them a small personalizing object. If employees don’t have a designated work space, create a space that they can personalize. This might include hanging up photos in the break room or giving them lockers they can personalize.
Communicate goals and expectations so you’re being transparent. Uncertainty makes employees feel insecure, which in turn makes your workplace feel stressful. Be clear and honest about employee roles and expectations. Additionally, give clear goals and targets so star employees know what to work towards. When assigning roles, you might say, “I want you to lead this team. As a team leader, I expect you to listen to each person’s ideas and assign tasks to accomplish this project.” When discussing goals, you might say, “Our company goal is to have this project finished in 6 weeks.”
Use a communication platform to encourage team work. Connect all of the your employees using a platform like Slack, Zoom, or Proofhub. Ask them to communicate with each other, track progress on tasks, and collaborate on projects through the platform. This can create a tight knit team that works together, which helps your all star feel supported by their cohort. If all of the employees are using the platform, it'll also be easier for them to see what everyone is working on. This may help team members see the value your all star brings to the organization, and it may also encourage them to step up more.
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