The Pareto Principal states that 80% of a company’s revenue comes from 20% of its’ customers.  The same principal holds true for many companies in relation to their employees…  20% of the employees do 80% of the work.  More and more companies are recognizing the importance of these superstar employees to their bottom line success.

As I discuss in my upcoming book, there are five areas that must be addressed in order to engage and retain top talent:  Daily Satisfaction, Training and Development, Rewards & Recognition, Tools & Technology, and Opportunities for Advancement. 

According to the results of our last national benchmark study on workforce engagement, it’s easy to understand why one employee voluntarily quits their job every second of every minute of every hour of every day of every week of every month of every year.

• Significantly fewer employees believe their job provides them a feeling of personal accomplishment than did employees in 2004
• Only two thirds of all employees believe there is a good fit between their skills/interests and their job
• Less than half believe they have the freedom to make their own decisions at work
• Less than four in ten employees regularly attend training programs/courses related to their job
• Less than four in ten agree their manager ensures that the best receive the greatest rewards and recognition, slightly higher than the number of employees who disagree with that statement

Superstar employees need to be challenged in a good way, have to be given opportunities to learn new things and improve their skills, an d have to be rewarded and recognized better than their peers. 

If you don’t, your superstar employee will be gone faster than a speeding bullet!