How to attract and retain high performing employees.

One of the most common complaints organizations make is that it is hard to find and keep employees who perform exceptionally well without needing constant management. Certainly, there are far more people who want to perform well, without needing constant management than there are people who prefer to coast on the job and seek continuous micromanagement interference. So why are many organizations having such difficulty finding high performing employees? Maybe it’s because these organizations generate working conditions that discourage employee performance and that eventually drive result-oriented people away.

What working conditions produce high employee performance?

Companies can virtually guarantee exceptional performance from their employees by creating working conditions that will encourage partial entrepreneurs to thrive. In essence, companies will want to create the Partial Entrepreneurship game. It is my personal estimation that the vast majority of people want to operate within the rules of The Partial Entrepreneurship game. As a reminder, here are the rules for players in the Partial Entrepreneurship game:

• They take responsibility for work performed and the results achieved in their specialized fields of work, but not for the total business, even though they frequently work within the umbrella of a larger organization.
• They focus their energies on performing in their chosen fields and much less on the personal wishes of any possible superiors, or on extracting favors from subordinates.
• They are compensated based upon the quality and quantity of the results they produce within their chosen areas of responsibility.
• They have more control over what their jobs will be and they have much more job security.

When employees work under the rules of the Partial Entrepreneurship game, they thrive and so does the organization.

How can you create a Partial Entrepreneurship?

We will address this from the perspective of what a manager or director of a group of employees in an organization can do. Determine what RESULTS you want from each position in the business, department, section, or group that you are responsible for. Clearly record these results, and develop a process (as automatic as possible) to measure the quality of the results so both you and the performers will be given this feedback. Determine the value to your business or organization of the results for each position. Determine the minimum duties required for each position, and I mean minimum. Refrain from dictating how the results will be produced, unless the performance of the process is more important than the results to be achieved. Establish rewards and pay scales based upon the quality, quantity and value of the results your team members produce.

Find the right people.

Find people who want to be partial entrepreneurs first. Then those who have a strong desire and capability to perform in the positions you have to create the results you described. You will want their credentials, pedigree, and connections to be secondary to their desire to work as partial entrepreneurs performing in the unique positions you have. In essence, you are creating a best-fit scenario. You will want to fit partial entrepreneurs into positions where they will shine by doing what they really like to do.

Focus on the Results.

Clearly describe the results you want from the people filling each position, and how their accomplishments of the results will affect their compensation and other rewards. Allow the partial entrepreneurs to take responsibility for their performance and permit them the personal freedom and control to achieve the best results. This way you manage results and avoid micromanagement. Micromanagement occurs when a person dictates and controls what and how others perform a task.

Get out of their way.

Then get out of their way to let them enjoy themselves, and watch the results roll in. They will reap considerable personal and monetary rewards by producing the results you want achieved. They will require little management and or motivational input, because they will be too busy enjoying themselves.

Provide a protective shield.

One of your other leadership/management functions will be to protect your Partial Entrepreneurship team from outside interference (including sources within your same organization). You want to prevent corporate power games, or politics from disrupting the ability of your team to work under Partial Entrepreneurship rules. In other words, protect your team from having bureaucratic rules imposed on them.

A well known sports example.

The Dallas Cowboys were an extremely successful professional football team, and won two championships, because Jimmy Johnson, the coach, created a very effective Partial Entrepreneurship. He produced the best fits possible, among his players, staff and assistant coaches. When Jimmy Johnson was fired, the Cowboys (a Partial Entrepreneurship) continued its success by winning one more championship the next year, because the same players, staff and assistant coaches remained. But, during the following years, the Partial Entrepreneurship conditions were replaced by bureaucratic rules to suit the personal ego and needs of the owner, Jerry Jones. Stroking Jones became more important than winning, and the new coaches could not protect the team from Jones. The team went on a serious losing streak that was marred by constant turmoil. The losing has only been recently reversed because Jones finally allowed a new coach (Bill Parcells) to create another Partial Entrepreneurship. Yet, even Parcells has not been able to return the Cowboys to reasonable successes.

Conclusion.

By creating a Partial Entrepreneurship you will be able to tap into the vast number of people in the work force who want to produce excellent results. You will be able to select from many excellent employees to find the best people who will create the best fits. You will be able to enjoy very high quality performance among your team and you will have to exert little management energy to reap team successes. This is a Win-Win-Win program. Your employees win, your organization wins, and you win.

We welcome your opinions and comments.

Bill Dueease
Editor