Can you focus too much time on bad employees and not enough on good employees?

PUBLISHER: HR-Exchange

Managers are problem solvers, so they focus their time on problem areas. However, when it comes to employees, this instinct actually backfires.

Consider how much time you spent thinking about each employee during the last week. Most managers will likely find that they have most of their time on problem employees, which is common. Managers tend to focus their time on employees who need help and let the best employees continue to simply deliver. But it's a waste of a manager's time

Great managers focus their time on the best employees and largely ignore the worst employees. These managers have realized the secret of management time. Suppose a manager is given 3 bags of money. Bag A has $50, Bag B has $20, and Bag C has $0.50. If the manager is given the choice to triple the amount in any of the 3 bags, clearly he/she is going to choose to triple the amount in Bag a. Take that same methodology and apply it to 3 employees - Employees: A is a great performer $50 bag), Employee B is an average performer (Bag B), and Employee C is a poor performer (Bag C). Suppose the manager has the option to coach one person and triple that person's performance. Who does the manager choose? Clearly the great performer.

It's easy to let problem employees occupy a manager's time. Managers do need to help/address problem employees but the time spent has to be more effective. Manager's must coach the best employees first to get the best return on the manager's time and then help weaker employees as time permits.