I recently delivered results of the baseline employee engagement survey we conducted to the leadership team of my client.  There was nothing especially  different or unique about this group of men and women.  They were talented senior executives who managed departments, divisions, units, and geographies. 

As we discussed the results of the employee assessment we had conducted just 7 weeks earlier, the issue of the company’s recruiting process came up a number of times.  The struggle between “putting a butt in the seat” (hiring) and finding the “right talent for the right job at the right time” (recruiting) was a big point of discussion.

Those managers who were less dependent on production were more on the side of finding a good fit between the applicant and the job.  Those managers who were more dependent on meeting “throughput” goals and expectations were more likely to want someone faster.  No surprise there, what gets rewarded gets done.

The discussion reminded me of an article I read in the local business journal earlier this year.  The author of the article put forth the premise that it was better to hire “mediocre” employees than “superstars”, ’cause as Avis used to say “We Try Harder”.   The author continued by saying that average employees would be better team players, more willing to help out the team.

As my grandmother used to say…  PISHPOSH.

Sorry, I can’t imagine why you would ever want to hire the lesser of two qualified applicants.  A company would willingly hire an employee with less competencies, knowledge, skill and experience because their drive to make the company successful and customers delighted might cause problems with current staff? 

Again, I’m not saying the superstar employee doesn’t have to be treated differently than other employees.  If you want to keep them engaged and ready for promotion or the next step in their career, you do need to be proactive.

In our upcoming book A Manager’s Guide to Workforce Engagement, Dr. Hundley and I provide specific advice for this talented group of employees:

• Fast-track for training, promotion, learning, etc.   Make sure you provide these employees the opportunity to not only learn for their current job, but also for the job they may be doing in the future. 
• Don’t let good company policy stand in the way.  Some companies require employees to stay in their current job for a year before being allowed to transfer or be promoted to a new job.  If this is the case in your company, don’t change the rules for just one person, however there are ways to provide job enrichment to the fast-tracked employee to keep them energized in the organization.
• Pay for performance is critical for these employees.  For these superstar employees, ensuring those who contribute the most receive the greatest rewards is critical.  It’s your “A” and “B” players who are most affected by perceived inadequacies in your pay for performance system.  Your “C” and “D” employees are happy to have a job, let alone a pay increase based on their performance.  Just like treating those customers who are most critical to your organization better than customers who may be more bother than they are worth, relationships with employees can be the same way. 
• Manage the manager/supervisor roles.  Your expectations for how supervisors and managers treat these employees may be different than with others.  You may want your supervisors to provide additional training or cross training even though this would cause a decrease in productivity.  You may encourage this manager to transfer the employee to another department, even though they are rated internally on the retention of their staff. 
• Tend to make decisions faster and expect results accordingly.  It’s OK to expect more from these superstar employees and expect the results more quickly.  These employees normally thrive on speed and a faster pace.  Make sure any goals and expectations meet the RUMBA Test (Reasonable, Understandable, Measurable, Believeable, Attainable), but don’t hesitate to press down a little harder on the gas pedal.

Now I totally understand the desire of an organization to ensure a good fit between the new employee and the rest of the staff, it’s one of the reasons I suggest doing pre-employment testing and assessments on applicants. However to say that mediocre employees work harder because they are mediocre is just plain silly. 

Employees “work harder” and “go the extra mile for customers” because they have a strong commitment to their organization.  When employees feel their organization provides them opportunities to grow and develop, provides a business environment that doesn’t put profits in front of ethics, and is seen positively by customers, employees, suppliers, and the community, they will work harder, stay longer, and recommend the organization as a great place to work.

How hard people work is an outcome of workforce engagement, no matter their skill level.  But hey, if you want to staff your company with hard working mediocre people, more power to ya.  It will leave the great people out there for the rest of us to find.