Sometimes employers are concerned about managing an employee’s performance or behaviour because they believe they are ‘too important’ to the business. This Q&A explores how to reduce the reliance on vital employees and mitigate the business risk.
Many organisations feel that they are lucky to have a ‘golden egg’ employee. These are workers who have the required knowledge, skills and experience critical to business success. They become precious commodities because their relationships and intellectual property (IP) are so strong that even a personal leave day may cause disruption to normal business flow. Either intentionally or by default these employees somehow become the only one that the top client will deal with; the one that knows the trick to get the machine back working or the only person that truly understands the company software.
So, if these golden egg employees are so priceless, shouldn’t every business want one? Whist there is no doubt that skilled, valuable workers should be on every organisation’s wish list- when you put all of your eggs in one basket there are clear risks to the business.
The thing is, a golden egg employee understands that they are valuable to the business. It is clear just how much the business needs them each time they are the only one that can fix a problem. Sure – it is nice to feel needed, but the problem is that most workers in this position start realising that they are untouchable.
Leaders become hesitant to address repeated lateness or excessive personal calls for fear of rocking the boat. There is a concern about pulling them up on their attitude or inability to work effectively with others for fear that they will walk – and take the precious client list with them.
At salary review time, most workers are hopeful but ultimately accept what they are given. The golden egg employee, however, is not concerned. They know that the business can’t afford to turn down their request and that ultimately the business will reward them for being critical to success.
Valuable employees are one thing, but they should not come at the expense of leaders unwilling to make decisions because they are scared workers will leave. So what are some of the ways that organisations can reduce their reliance on one or two workers and safeguard the business?
A business-critical position (BCP) is one that if it was vacant would have a significant impact on the ability of the organisation to deliver on their core business objectives. Sometimes these positions are considered to be senior, but they are commonly specialist or technical in nature. It is not uncommon for lower level positions to be identified as BCPs as they generally have high customer touch points.
Contrary to a common view, higher pay does not always equate to BCPs. Clearly all employees are important to the business – or they should not be there, but each business has a handful of BCPs that are integral to delivering on the agreed customer deliverables, business objectives and strategic goals.
It is important that employers are able to identify their BCPs before they can put people plans in place to mitigate the business risk. To determine the BCPs, consider the following questions:
Once the BCPs are identified, it is important to determine the employees who are occupying these positions. This process enables key steps to be put into place to mitigate risk and build broader employee capability.
Succession planning is a people strategy that works to identify the key roles in the business and creates a road map to ensure that the right people with the right skills are in each position. It is often used within organisations to ensure that people are identified early for leadership positions, however any role that has been identified as a BCP should have a succession plan in place.
Many businesses engage the HR department to execute a succession plan, however each leader can also conduct this process for their own team by identifying:
It is recommended that employers also consider an emergency succession plan. This is where the person filling the position as an ‘emergency’ may be different to a longer-term solution. Unfortunately, life is unexpected and employees in BCPs can sometimes fall ill or need to leave the business without notice. In this scenario, employers that have an emergency succession plan will have the confidence to execute quick people replacement decisions.
A skills matrix is a framework that’s used to map each employee’s technical, specialist, soft and leadership skills. It is completed in a large table format to easily identify the available skills and gaps within the team and broader business. Organisations will utilise a skills matrix as a way to plan, monitor and manage existing and desired skills that are needed for a position, project or the broader business. Completing a skills matrix will allow the business to identify risks and where there is an over emphasis on an employee’s skills – thus creating a ‘golden egg’ employee scenario.
Formal and informal investments in training need to be strategic and aligned to the organisation’s goals. When you have a clear understanding of the BCP positions, a succession plan is identified and the skills matrix is complete – there should be the confidence to bridge the key gaps. Does the matrix identify that only one person knows how to do the end of month audit? Well, this presents a clear L&D opportunity that will strengthen capability and reduce risk.
It is human nature for many to believe that the world will stop turning if we don’t turn up to work and do our thing – but the truth is that no one is irreplaceable. Employees with unique skills in a business do start to believe that they are in the box seat and can call the shots, but this is only because the employer allowed the over reliance to happen.
A football game is not won on the back of the talent of one star and the business is not successful because one employee has solid networks. It is time to take a good look at the bench and invite all players onto the field. No single employee is ‘too important’ to behave or perform below baseline standards. When we allow the ‘golden egg’ employee to be filled with self-importance, we are failing to see that they are not always what they are cracked up to be.
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Georgina is Senior Content Writer and HR Specialist – Publications at Ai Group. She is an accomplished Human Resource professional with over 20 years of generalist and leadership experience in a broad range of industries including financial services, tourism, travel, government and agriculture. She has successfully advised and partnered with senior leaders to implement people and performance initiatives that align to business strategy. Georgina is committed to utilising her experience to create resources that educate and engage and is passionate about supporting members to optimise an inclusive workforce culture that drives performance.
