I’m aware that one of my team members isn’t performing as they should be but they have specialist skills that we need. I’m worried they will leave if I have to have a difficult performance conversation with them. What should I do?

The short ideal answer is that their performance should be managed, as well as all other employees within the company.  It’s just as important to hold performance reviews with high-performing employees.  This will ultimately increase productivity and save the company money.

For all employees, clear expectations should be set – this would typically involve a number of SMART objectives and may reference a job description.  It may also like into the company values, so it’s not just what you do, but how you do it.

Some simple tool kits can be introduced to your company.  Visit the Performance Management page to get some more detail.

If you ultimately introduce Succession Planning as part of your Talent Management practices, you can cast the net wider within your company.  You could for example look at roles with specialist skills and single point dependencies, so you are proactively seeking out how best to prepare your company for growth and reduce any risks.  Like many of these types of practices, the key to success is the on-going action that flows out of the exercise.  By having an integrated approach, this will make it easier to become business-as-usual.