- Key insight: Find out how internal mobility strategy and benefits motivate top employees.
- Expert quote: Designing structure at work and offering valued benefits removes friction and offers peace of mind. — Matt Eurey, chief commercial officer at Carrum Health
- Forward look: Expect organizations to actively gather direct feedback from key staff to identify high-value offerings.
Source: Bullets generated by AI with editorial review
Every employer wants high performers, and those that offer the right
Veteran HR executive Matt Eurey, chief commercial officer at value-based healthcare platform Carrum Health, said high performers "often want distinct projects, they want to grow their career, and they want opportunities to learn," so designing a structure that allows for this — cross-functional projects,
"You need to be principled in order to make sure you have the structure, that you build a broader consensus around that person's candidacy as a high performer, and then you're meeting a couple of times a year to potentially put them in special projects and other things to continue that career growth," he said.
Equally important to that chance to shine, Eurey noted, is how high performers are considered from a total rewards standpoint. From training, promotions and pay, to
"Is there differentiation you can create from a base-pay standpoint? Are there training programs that you want to promote and put them in? Are there equity components that you can facilitate," he cited as a few examples. "You [also] need to make sure that you're not inhibited by unwritten rules, [such as] somebody can't be promoted in their first six months of employment, or you can't promote somebody in back-to-back years. For high performers, [you need to consider] designing and carving out some exceptions to those protocols in order to secure their retention and their ongoing growth — you have to think outside the box."
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The small things can matter most
Beyond compensation, benefits that help remove friction and create peace of mind are highly valuable, Eurey said.
"High achievers … want flexibility when it comes to their work-life balance, so you have to put things like archaic sick leave and vacation models to the side. I don't prescribe for anybody, 'Hey, I better see you online,' and, 'You don't leave until 6:00 p.m. today.' There's an element of autonomy where they can set the way they work best. We have to meet client demands, but they have an element of autonomy when it comes to their schedule," he said.
Giving additional time back is a way to build trust and thank employees for their hard work. A summer Friday afternoon off and letting them know "you earned that because of the way in which you've paced and executed so well," is something they want, Eurey said.
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When it comes to traditional benefits like healthcare as well as voluntary benefits, Eurey recommends investing in high-quality offerings, like Centers of Excellence, and curated guidance that helps them select and understand their offerings. Lastly, he said, ask them what they need.
"When I was at Time Warner Cable … our high performers were critical to us, so we wanted to hear … what mattered most to them. A funny thing happened — sometimes it wasn't the costliest benefit that they were after — for example, they wanted pet insurance," he said. High performers want things they value, and "sometimes it's smaller things that matter the most."
This is part one of a two-part series on retaining high performers in the workplace.
