I see it often... Employee team members who should have been let go a long time ago but because they paid their dues early in the history of the company - they get to stay and drain the lifeblood from the company in terms of cash and employee morale. The "golden children" are easily recognized. They do not perform at the same levels of new employees and everyone knows it.
Unfortunately, this "story" is more common than everyone may think and it is not just a "story" of the private sector.
All companies have powerful stories of sacrifice and determination - especially during the startup phase. These stories are very important. They serve to build the character and culture of the organization. Over time, these stories help encourage future employees to give it their all - to be as "good" as one of the first employee team members - to be in the club.
The problem is that often times the current actions of some of the first employee team members no longer matches the heroic efforts represented through the stories. This may be due to their own laziness or the "Peter Principle".
Practically every company has the "golden children" employees who started with the company and did some heroic deeds and earned themselves a "lifetime employment award". Henceforth, as long as the company has money to spend on payroll, the "golden children" employees will have employment.
The "lifetime employment award" is the reward most (if not all) of the first employees of a startup company receive as a result of being there first, putting in the hours, being paid a low wage, and helping save the day a few times.
Fast forward a few years and the "golden children" are often untouchable. Often times the "golden children" are exempt from normal performance accountabilities.
For the future of the organization, the "golden children" become a serious burden. New employees join the team and what do they find? They find the politics of "golden children" who get away with accomplishing little or nothing and they are not removed from the team.
Some employee team members stay and mimic the behaviors of the "golden children". The high performers who seek simple rules and desire to be rewarded for performance leave for "greener pastures".
The results are fairly predictable. Low employee morale, higher performers leave, lower performers stay, and more dissatisfied Customers.
What can one do differently?
- Decide to shape your Culture carefully.
- Create a Culture of Personal Accountability.
- Make sure employee team members fit the job they are in.
- Ensure every employee team member knows what is expected of them.
- Hold employee team members accountable for the results they get.
- Coach and mentor employee team members to a higher level of performance.
It almost goes without saying... People really want some level of predictability. We want to know the rules so that we can "win". We want to go to work, do what is expected of us, and be rewarded fairly. In general, we all dislike ambiguity. "Golden children" are often ambiguous. Their performance is often unpredictable or nonexistent.
Now go Maximize Possibility!
Other blog posts you may be interested in:
- Corporate Culture Change, Leadership, and "Viewpoints"
- Employee Performance - Don't Forget to Measure, Measure, Measure!
- Employee Performance Expectations and the Pygmalion Effect
- Five Steps to Creating an Employee Performance Scorecard
- 10 Potential Barriers That Limit High Potentials (HiPos)
Chris Young helps organizations Maximize Possibility through talent management, cultural transformation, and strategic intervention.
