1. Hold Private Discussions: Managers should have one-on-one conversations with these high performers to identify and address the root causes of non-compliance.
2. Reinforce the Importance of Procedures: Remind high-performers of the significance of following organizational procedures and how they relate to overall performance and goals.
3. Document Non-Compliance: Keep a written record of compliance issues to inform employees of their behavior and provide a clear path for improvement.
4. Reward Compliance: Recognize and reward employees who consistently follow procedures, emphasizing compliance as crucial as high performance.
Most organizations find it challenging to manage high performers with poor compliance. These individuals are critical to the business’s success and are considered role models by other employees.
Ignoring such incidents over time might become detrimental to the organization.
Delays in acting against such behaviors might impact the morale of other employees and lead to the creation of a toxic work culture.
Hence, organizations should take corrective measures to manage high performers with poor compliance.
High-performing employees hold a special place in the organization and often inspire their peers and co-workers.
In addition to their professional performance, their co-workers often follow and emulate their behaviors at the workplace.
Thus, their colleagues might follow suit if they disregard authority or organizational procedures.
If left unchecked, such incidents can create an environment of chaos and indiscipline, which can affect the organization’s productivity, goodwill, and credibility.
That is why poor compliance by top talent is an issue that organizations need to address without any delay.
Effective management of compliance issues by top performers is of utmost importance.
However, most organizations are unsure how to handle the same.
They often fear offending or even losing their star employees, leading to delays in action against them.
So, here are a few practical strategies that can help organizations manage high-performing employees with compliance issues with finesse:
Employees’ insubordination often results from specific problems in their private lives or other behavioral issues.
In most such cases, identifying these issues and working towards a solution can help in resolving the problem effectively.
Hence, managers should have one-to-one discussions with these employees and try to find the root cause of the problem.
A few high-performing employees may stop respecting authority or following procedures simply because they consider themselves above all.
Hence it is essential to remind them about the importance of following established procedures of the organization by every employee.
The organization should inform them about the reasons behind formulating these procedures and policies in the first place.
They should understand how these relate to their job responsibilities and performance assessment.
And how these procedures help fulfill the organization’s vision and mission.
Employees might often be unaware that they are defying authority or being responsible for compliance issues.
Written records of such compliance issues are an effective way to make them aware of their disruptive behavior.
Hence, it can help these employees identify their unacceptable behavior, making it easier for them to rectify it.
In addition, it minimizes the possibility of these employees passing on the blame in the face of documented proof.
Most importantly, it helps establish a roadmap for them to become genuinely ideal employees in every respect.
One effective strategy to overcome top performers’ insubordination issues is to reward employees with outstanding compliance records.
Making employees realize that compliance is as important as exceptional performance can push them to follow the policies and regulations.
This works better than reprimanding them publicly and helps drive the message home without embarrassing them.
These strategies for managing high-performers with poor compliance records can help organizations rectify such issues without actually taking punitive actions.
Lead author: Sagar Chaudhuri, the Co-Founder and CEO of HiFives. He is an HR Tech Evangelist with over 25 years of corporate and entrepreneurship experience. In the past, Sagar has worked in leadership roles with companies such as Genpact, Infosys, and ICICI Bank. He has an engineering degree from IIT Kharagpur and an MBA from IIM Lucknow. Connect on LinkedIn
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