Even when the economic indicators are slipping, and there are plenty of candidates on the market, companies should take care of their top performers. Retention saves your company the time and money it takes to find new talent and retrain them. The disruption from a lost valued employee is always costly. That’s precisely why a corporate strategy around tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) to find your top performers and then rewarding them for their production efforts is so important. Here’s how to set your company and your best employees up for many years of success. 

Tracking the Top Performers 

The first step toward rewarding top performers is to figure out who they are. Establishing department metrics for success is a crucial step toward benchmarking. It’s not just sales, either; every department should have benchmarks for departmental and individual success. It is truly the only way to produce year in year out advances for your company.  

The KPIs you set for each department will be different. IT will not have the same goals and metrics, as sales and operations will also be different. But one thing that should stay the same is that the goal-setting should be a collaborative effort between the team on the frontlines and management. It is the only way to achieve true buy-in on KPIs. 

Also, make sure that the goals you set are realistic, achievable, and sustainable. Unachievable goals will do nothing but frustrate employees who are doing their best to achieve the unachievable. Over time they will check out of the process. 

Finally, decide if you want to reward not only those that achieved their KPIs but also those that showed measurable improvement over the last measurement period (perhaps with a smaller reward). This is an excellent way to keep those employees motivated who are genuinely working their hardest but, for whatever reason, fell short. Or, what about the employee that stepped outside of their comfort zone to take on a new task? Or those employees that learned a new skill? Overachieving can extend beyond the hard numbers of a sales or customer service quota, so be creative in the way that you measure your top performers. 

Once you set the goals, then it’s time to review performance and reward the high achievers. 

Kudos to the Winners 

Almost everyone likes public recognition of his or her hard work. Setting KPIs and then establishing a public recognition program along with the reward itself will do two things; it will let the employee know how much you appreciate their effort, and; it will spur other employees in working harder to achieve the same recognition possibly.  

But what kind of rewards should you give? Most employees are motivated by a bonus structure. Money is awesome. But what about additional vacation time? Or a casual dress day? Or a plaque or some public recognition like an employee of the month parking space? We’ve seen cruise vacations, new TVs or other technology, cash, and other prizes offered to top performers. All of these things are great ideas that will keep your workers motivated while letting your top performers know how much you appreciate their work. 

KPI Tracking 

Exelare can track and report on users’ KPIs and performance with our recruiting and applicant tracking software. This intelligent software can assess KPIs and keep a real-time tally of individuals, teams, and departments. The tool keeps managers informed on who’s a top performer, who is slipping, and who is in serious trouble. Talk to our team about a demo today.