February 2011

When to Stop Coddling the High Potential Employee

One of my clients has a VP that by any standards, would be considered a high potential employee. This individual is extremely intelligent and innovative and demonstrates an undying commitment to the service of his customers. For the past several years he has almost single handedly helped a division of the company introduce new products and revenue streams. He has been handsomely rewarded for his efforts and publicly recognized within the company for his achievements. Over the same period of time he has repeatedly asked the owner to allow him to change his areas of leadership responsibility from directing sales to leading implementation and support to developing a product management strategy for the future. Each of these change requests is typically accompanied by a period of intense engagement into the new assignment followed by an emotional melt down and a subtle threat to leave the company if his new request is not granted. His most recent request is to be appointed Executive Vice President in charge of the entire division. The owner, recognizing his value and past contribution has reluctantly acquiesced to these requests but has recently realized that the time has come for the coddling to stop. But what do you do? It's extremely difficult for any business owner to disregard a key contributor who your customers adore and who has made a substantial positive impact on your bottom line for many years. What happens if he leaves? Well, quite frankly, the bigger question in my mind is what happens if he stays and is allowed to "hopscotch" through the organization.

Please don't misinterpret my position on recognizing and rewarding top talent. Key components of successful succession planning are identifying high potential employees, developing action plans to help achieve career objectives while continuing to find ways to have these employees bring value to the company. However, succession planning and career development is not one sided or only the company's responsibility. While some may call this VP a "high potential" we found through our assessment that many in the organization see him as "high maintenance." I advised the owner that despite his contributions, this executive has repeatedly demonstrated a lack of emotional intelligence and therefore cannot be a viable candidate to lead the division at this time. In a constructive way he must be told that this continued pattern of engagement followed by emotional disconnect is a disservice to the company and his career. Clearly he is someone the organization does not want to lose but he must be made aware of his development opportunities and take action to improve.

No doubt this will be a difficult conversation but allowing him to continue this pattern of erratic behavior will have a longer term effect on the people he manages and the organization as a whole. It's clear that the coddling has to stop and it's everyone's hope that he will re-engage and realize his full potential.

If we can help you identify and manage your company's high potential employees give us a call at 610-287-1162 for a free no obligation consultation. Most importantly, don't let this winter weather get you down!

See you in the spring.

Phil

Conducting an Internal I-9 Audit

The beginning of the calendar year is a good time to consider conducting an internal audit of your employment records specifically the I-9 forms. If you are a business that hires on a seasonal basis and/ or has a diverse, multi-national employee population it's easy to fall out of compliance with the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) regulations. As with many of the other government agencies, the INS has increased its field workforce and promises to increase their audit activity. Believe me that last thing you want is one of these agents at your door asking to see your documentation. Fines can range from $250-$5500 per worker and mistakes on the form itself can result in fines of $100-$1000. In addition, employers can be barred from competing for government contracts for a year for continuing to employ unauthorized workers.

The audit is a relatively simple process and depending on the number of employee records (current and terminated in the past 3 years) the audit can usually be completed in less than a day. Follow up is usually required to correct information or complete new forms. Call us at 610-287-1162 for more information on this subject or to arrange a free no obligation consultation. We'll help you get back in compliance so you can get on to growing your business.