Managing Top Talent

As the job market remains competitive, it remains a seller’s market. Roger L. Martin offers tips for managing top talent in the HBR article, The 3 Simple Rules of Managing Top Talent. Summary highlights follow.

First-Class Service

Martin’s advice begins with how you treat top talent. From the article, “First, treat star employees as individuals, not as members of a class. They want to know that you care about and support them, so avoid giving the impression that you value them only for their high-quality work. Recognize each employee’s uniqueness.”

Curiouser and Curiouser

It’s also important to keep things interesting. The article continues, “The next guideline is to provide opportunities continuously. Top talents want to take on big challenges and will go elsewhere if they have to wait for opportunities to be available at your organization. Offer your best employees chances to keep growing and learning, but recognize this responsibility goes hand-in-hand with finding ways for all your team members to achieve.”

Attaboys

Sure, everything counts in large amounts, but money doesn’t buy what it used to, especially for top talent. Martin concludes, “Finally, don’t assume that intrinsically motivated workers don’t need your praise. Offer regular accolades and assurance. Although these three rules sound fairly simple, they can be hard to follow because organizations tend to treat everyone the same.”

How does your company handle top talent? Do they have the resources to address them as individuals, keep challenges interesting, and praise them when deserved? It’s harder than it looks.

Trent Lyons is a Technical Recruitment Lead at Business Centric Technology. If you are interested in learning more about how to get the best IT talent in the Dallas metroplex, contact Trent, who specializes in recruiting IT talent in Dallas, Ft. Worth, and North Texas. If you are looking for a rewarding career, contact us today.