Assembling A Constellation

- David Silverman

Attracting and retaining top talent consistently ranks among the top concerns for global CEOs.1 To succeed in this increasingly competitive arena, organisations spend an incredible amount of time and energy ensuring they get the right people in the door. They attend particular networking events, post jobs in strategic places, and may source hundreds of résumés for a single open position.2 Candidates that advance in the hiring process often face three or more interviews before an offer is extended, and that offer may kick offa lengthy negotiation process. Companies expend considerable effort to fill each vacancy with an ‘all-star’.

There is no doubt that all-stars can add more value than average employees, though just how much more productive they are is up for debate. One study found that, across professions, the top 20 per cent of performers produce 50 per cent of the output.3 Bain & Company’s research suggests that top employees are roughly four times as productive as their average counterparts.4 McKinsey reports that the gap between high and low performers increases with job complexity, citing on average high performers in ‘low complexity’ jobs produce 50 per cent more than their average peers and high performers in ‘high complexity’ jobs produce 125 per cent more than their averages peers. For employees performing extremely complex work, they estimate top performers are more than eight times as productive.5 As individuals, star performers can produce staggering results.