Now is the time to topgrade your team!
That might seem a little counterintuitive when everything you’re hearing about is The Great Resignation and that there are currently 4.6 million jobs more than there are people available to work. I get it, but recruiters are wired to think about things a little differently so I’m going to share with you three reasons why now is the time to topgrade your underperforming team members.
Toxic and underperforming employees are easy to spot.
Your underperformers and toxic employees are very easy to spot right now. The toxic ones are the ones who are poisoning the well, stirring up trouble and well – complaining. The underperforming ones have more excuses than results – every day. Although it’s easy to think somebody is better than nobody when we keep underperforming or toxic employees too long, we put ourselves at risk of losing our great employees.
Underperforming employees aren’t pulling their weight and coworkers are having to step up (again and again). Letting employees go given the current state may provoke some anxiety. But it’s important to remember that when we keep below average employees, the great employees we have don't see any consequences happening for their behavior and they start to believe that every future day with the company still includes working alongside a toxic or lazy coworker. Ultimately this leads to great employees starting to think about making career changes that often include leaving their current company. If you’ve already lost some great employees, it’s a good time to take a close look at the message you’re sending to your employees about poor performance and bad attitudes. It may be that you’re already experiencing consequences for keeping a “warm” body in the position instead of using this time of change to topgrade the position.
Your company has undergone tremendous change.
We’ve been forced to make due with less. Employees are working more from home. We’ve dealt with extreme supply chain issues. Businesses have been forced to change and adapt. It’s given company leaders the opportunity to really look at your organization chart, identify what the business really needs and what positions the company actually needs to achieve those goals. Technology has been rapidly changing the world of work and it has likely changed the day-to-day responsibilities and expectations of many of your team members. This may mean that what was once a full-time job is now more of a part-time job. It may mean that a once manual process is now heavily automated which leads to the same level of results, but in half the time. After a period of massive change, this is a great time to pull out your job descriptions and review them to ensure they’re up to date and focused on maximizing the results the company is looking for. For some roles this means you’ll need to add new responsibilities other roles may be made redundant. . It’s likely years have passed without any meaningful modifications and they may be wildly out of date. I encourage you to have someone take a look and really inspect if they match what the business needs now and fill the time allotted for that position.
People don’t feel valued or appreciated.
This means employees are far more likely to hop on to a job board or return a call from a recruiter right now. It’s important not to confuse what’s happening. People aren’t leaving just for the sake of change – in fact, job seekers tend to be far more selective right now than they were in the past. They are extremely aware of the fact that they want more work-life harmony, want to be involved with a company that aligns with their personal mission and values and want to work for companies who truly value and appreciate their employees, but the good news is if your company is offering those things already they may be more likely to consider joining your team!
The time to topgrade your employees is now. Remember, keeping toxic or underperforming employees imposes a great risk of frustration growing in your great employees. It’s a great time to take a fresh look at your business needs, and current team and ask yourself honestly if they’re in alignment. People are struggling to feel valued in the workplace right now. It’s problematic if this is occurring in your own house, but it also presents us with an opportunity to invite people to work with you.
If you’re looking to topgrade your team, we at Building Gurus would love to provide you with support to do that. Reach out to get your free call scheduled at : buildinggurus.com/discovery.
