Hire-Archy . When your superstar quits

The stock market did not like it when Apple’s Chief Design Officer quit recently. The long-term impact of Jony Ive’s departure, who left to set up his own company, will be known only in a few years.

Star players leaving to join rival outfits is familiar in soccer — remember Neymar leaving Barcelona to join PSG?

There is no denying that there is an immediate impact every time a star performer leaves the team. Why star performers quit is never really understood. Their bosses put them on a pedestal, their peers are in awe of them, their team worships them, and their competitors fear them.

In sports, politics, and in corporate houses, we have these uniquely talented people who seem blessed all the time. Still, they never seem to be happy with their continued success. They tend to move on from time to time, leaving their team and organisations feeling shattered. When they are treated almost like God, I wonder why they won’t stay?

Retaining them

Most often, you find these superstars have the right combination of fire, energy, speed, and many back it up with an excellent work ethic. Their hunger for success is infectious. They set audacious goals and more often than not achieve them. Often even achieving these goals can bore them. So, it’s essential to provide them with continuous challenges and stimulate them. In the organisation context, the challenges could be a new project, a turnaround situation, overseas assignment, or even an M&A. However, the hook that binds them to the organisation is their emotional connect.

For all the tenacity high performers demonstrate they too are human and can find themselves isolated. Their bosses leave them alone thinking they need space, their peers may ignore them due to jealousy, and their team could be in awe of them. Some of these superstars may not even know how to manage the adulation at work and may feel pressured.

It’s no secret that superstars also look up to mentors. Steve Jobs described Jony Ive as his spiritual partner and that probably kept the design genius going much longer at Apple even after Jobs was no longer there. To meet the emotional needs of the job, organisations need to provide the superstars mentors of their choice.

Give recognition

Ensure there are constant recognitions even if you sometimes feel the superstars have underachieved by their standards. These exceptional talents need to be treated with a positive bias even when they are underperforming. This kind of pampering is tough to pull off in an organisation context but will buy you high loyalty, and top performance from this unique talent.

I once protested with my boss when I learned that one of our peers who had a lousy year had got an incentive. My boss calmly shot back, “ In a good year, she contributes 4 million dollars to the bottom line, and this year is a bad year where she has done 3 million. If I take note of it now I know she will produce 5 million next year.”

He left me with this feeling that he did not care what I thought or what was fair. He wasn’t wrong, the following year she surpassed the number he quoted with consummate ease.

Another sure shot way of recognising these superstars would be to consult them for any new initiatives of the organisation though they might not have the capability to contribute.

I distinctly remember once our CEO took four of us colleagues into a specially convened meeting. In about 30 minutes, he presented a strategy they were considering. We gave our opinions; I sensed that he had anyhow made up his mind, but here he was cleverly getting our buy-in. However, we were all thrilled to be consulted.

As much as teams are notable, it’s the stars that give the momentum to put a company or sports outfit in the next orbit. So, they need a differential treatment. AB de Villiers, for example, wasn’t allowed to return as they felt it would affect team dynamics. But, they had no X factors in the Cricket World Cup and got ousted from it in no time.

It’s essential to keep up with the pace of the market by offering your superstars above-market salary, bonuses, ESOPs, and competitive benefits. It’s crucial they get the best designations and marquee office spaces if you can afford them. Remember that the most natural way any competitor can lure your top performers is by offering tangible benefits like money and role. Always ensure you are on top of those as they are easy to measure. The intangibles, like how they are made to feel on a day- to-day basis, the autonomy and recognitions, are not easy to match by anybody. However, on a bad day, financial motivation could become a key differentiator to leave as top performers will rationalise their move for money if not for anything else.

Dignified exits

When superstars resign, organisations need to react with dignity. Any hostile face-offs, or name-calling during the exits, limit future reconciliation. After all, we have all seen enough examples of superstars returning to their organisations after short stints elsewhere. We now hear Neymar wants to return to Barcelona. After all, beyond their talent, the ecosystem support also would have contributed to the top talent’s success. This ecosystem is challenging to replicate externally for competitors who hire them.

Not all teams survive the absence of superstars, especially when they build their success around them. The converse is also true for superstars; they can find it challenging to perform in alien conditions with new teams. Organisations may need to keep one door open for a possible second innings with their superstars.

I believe there is always a hook between the supervisor and the superstar which keeps the equation going. Some of these hooks might be money, title, autonomy, new challenges or recognition. When this hook is not clear or disappears, there is a danger of losing the superstar.

Kamal Karanth is co-founder of Xpheno, a specialist staffing firm

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