The A-B-Cs of Talent Management

How do CEOs keep tabs on talent across the organization?

In any given team, quality of performance will vary across employees.

Some people are your superstars, your miracle workers, your rainmakers. Others are your stragglers, the ones struggling to keep up. The rest are somewhere between.

If you're a manager, it's important to differentiate between these categories and adjust your approach to each person accordingly.

After decades of building and leading companies, I've learned that this differentiation can't be left to “vibes” on the one hand or to a complex ratings rubric on the other. Rather, you need a systematic approach that gives the manager (and leaders up the management chain) fast and up-to-date visibility into talent performance every single quarter. It’s very simple and I, of course, didn’t invent it. All it takes is having managers confidentially rate the performance of each employee for the quarter as A, B, or C.

The A-B-C Framework

Let’s start with what it means for an employee’s performance to be A-, B-, or C-level. Below is how I think about it:

• A-players are exceptional contributors to long-term profitability because they are among the top 15 percent of their peers throughout the industry. A-players also contribute to competitive advantage by being aligned with and supporting the values of the organization.

• B-players are between the top 15 percent and 50 percent of performers throughout the industry in their current roles. B-players are valuable contributors who consistently meet and may exceed expectations in many areas of performance. Management’s responsibility is to grow them into A-players in their current roles or move them into roles that best utilize their strengths.

• C-players put the company at a competitive disadvantage by being below average relative to their peers at principal competitors. Management's responsibility is to rapidly develop them in their current role or get them into a role where they can be an A-player. If this cannot be done in a timely manner, the individual should not be retained.

The Gut Check Test

Here's a simple way to validate your ratings: Imagine each person on your team came to you tomorrow and said they were quitting.