How to Stop Losing Your Best People Over a Few Dollars
We have all been there. We have a top performer who we want to retain, we want to invest in. They come into our office asking for a raise, they have done their homework, mustered up the courage, and booked the time. They might even have slides outlining their contributions over the last 18 months.
They deserve it. They know it and we know it. But that's not in the cards anytime soon because budgets are tight or they are near the top of their band or our internal policies are standing in the way. It breaks our heart to say no, we think there is nothing we can do, we try to sell our star performer on this.
Six months later they are out the door. Another company stepped up and paid them a little more. We are left starting over, which we know is expensive, and we might even have to fill a level higher to get someone who can step right into the role. That's not what we are here to talk about today.
I want to talk about how we avoid this situation by being proactive.
Before we jump there, let's take a look another example by examining a team lead by Lori, Director of Operations. Lori has ten operational analysts, they fall on a fairly typical bell curve with seven employees meeting expectations, two exceeding, and one who is outstanding every year.
Let's make that one outstanding employee be our “hat in hand raise seeker” from a moment ago.
We just lost our raise seeker and are down to 9. Lori is a busy leader who is now filling in for her lost star and now she is recruiting, interviewing, next she will be onboarding, training. She is THIN.
Lori doesn't notice the meeting booked on her calendar by two of her Meets Expectations employees until they are walking into her office. She has no idea what this is about and she is overwhelmed. So, when they explain that two other Meets Expectations are doing half the work they are she feels this is a moan session and she sends them on their way.
Skip ahead three months, a full quarter. A new Sr. Operations Analyst has joined to team. He is 10% more expensive that our Raise Seeker wanted to be and he needs to be trained. Lori hasn't taken a day off in three months and these two Meets Expectations employees are really starting to cause a lot of noise about the other two, who are, in fact, responding to their tickets on time and all other data points on her dashboard are green. She is very concerned her culture is eroding but in addition to not having the time, she doesn't even know where to start. She is THIN!
Now, we all know where this is going and what will happen at review time, right?
She will have seven meets expectations people - the two noise makers, the two who are just eking by, her new Sr. Operational Analyst, and two who show up, do a good job, and leave. One of the Meets from 2024 will raise to a Exceeds because they stepped in to help Lori in a time of need, and one of the Exceeds from 2024 will go up to Outstanding because they really were her right hand.
If we do nothing, what will happen in 2026?
Our Outstanding person will become our Raise Seeker and we will repeat the cycle. But we might even lost Lori because she hasn't had a real vacation in nearly two years now. Then what? Lori doesn't have a successor!!
What do we do?
We have our PAIN: Well, there is actually a lot of pain here but we will focus on the two main pain points:
We do not have budget to give a raise to our top performers
We have people in the talent pool who are becoming restless or are just getting by, which is dragging down our culture and we are too busy to address it.
How do we fix this?
What's the real problem?
We do not have a real handle on our talent leading to a pool of "Meets" and no succession planning
We are not giving our top performers or our rising stars what they need to be comfortable with their salary
NOTICE I didn't say "We didn't give them a raise!" That is not what I am talking about at all.
It might feel like a cliché to say people want more than money. But the truth is, they actually do want more than money.
We need to be sure we are paying fair market for the work we are expecting of our employees. But that's a different conversation for a different consultant. I do know one who can help you with this level of decision support should you need to look at your compensation structure against your overall package.
What I am qualified to do is explore how we can properly evaluate our talent, know how they like to be motivated, separate the masses of the middle to know who is holding us back, and create succession plans.
Through a Talent Potential Review framework and program that runs on a continuous loop alongside your annual employee performance review and budgetary planning processes.
This program will give you the insights needed to hit the ideal level of attrition, keep your team motivated and growing, and give you time back to reinvest in yourself. The program will also help you identify a successor so you can go on vacation and unplug!
Book 30 minutes with me so we can implement a program that will work for your organization or team, allowing you to enter 2026 on the right foot.
