Do you know your ABC's?
As you might suspect, I am not referring to your elementary studies of the alphabet. I am referring to the ABC's of employees.
Chances are, as an employer, you have experienced the ABC's of employees and may not have given them a second thought. We all know that the single most valuable asset you have is your employees. With that being said, they also are likely your biggest expense and if not managed properly WILL BE your biggest headache. By adopting the ABC philosophy, you can dramatically reduce your turnover, workload, and even reduce the number of employee complaints that you receive.
The C Employee is the employee that generally feels as though you owe them something. They often have a very low salary and perform in direct proportion to their income. The B Employee is the employee that chugs along performing at the expectations given to them--nothing more and nothing less. The A Player, on the other hand, exceeds expectations. They go above and beyond the call of duty ensuring the job is done right the first time, every time.
The sticking point comes in truly believing that there is such a phenomenal difference in the performance of these employees. A general rule of thumb is that the A Employee will perform at 3 times the pace of the C Employee and about a third more than that of a B Employee. Many employers believe and agree with this ideology but not enough to actually implement it. You see, the A Player, requires a higher wage than the C Player. On the surface it seems like too much of a risk.
Thoughts such as "I can't afford to pay someone that amount of money" and "How will I be able to survive" are just a few of the concerns surrounding this topic. But, consider the following: If you have 3 C Players making $8.00 per hour, in many instances you can pay 1 A Player $15.00 per hour and they will get more accomplished than the 3 C Players combined. In this scenario there would be an actual savings of $9.00 per hour.
It's the mentality of the employee that makes the difference. You cannot turn a C Player into an A Player by paying them more money. Their attitude is going to stay the same regardless of how much money they make. Their work ethic will likely not improve, but they will gladly allow you to overpay them. This will create an inevitable confrontation at some point in the future.
In many cases, this is why some employers have a closed mind to the concept of the ABC's of employees. They have overpaid C Players in the past only to get very little in return. In fact, the problem was not in the salary but in the employee. Conversely, you will never hire and keep A Players when they are paid like their underachieving C employee peers.
So now you have it, the ABC's of employees. Truly an elementary idea.
Until next time…
Tony
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