I was inspired again the other day while I was weeding my driveway. Yes, you read right -- I was weeding my driveway! You see, a few years ago Don and I decided to have our asphalt driveway removed and replaced with a beautiful pea stone driveway. The results were wonderful. We were so pleased . . . until this summer.

For those readers living in the northeast, you’ll understand. This summer, with the heat and humidity, the weeds look like they’re on steroids. Hence we have weeds growing through the stone of our driveway. Besides chemicals, there’s only one way to get rid of them. So there I was yankin’ weeds in the middle of the drive on a bright, glorious Saturday. You see, we replaced our low-maintenance driveway with a high maintenance one! It’s bad enough in the yard, but what about if it’s your business! Read on . . .

The Joys and Woes of High Maintenance Employees

Years ago I was managing a team of inside salespeople in a small company. There were four plus a customer service person and I was looking to hire one more. With my own personal selling, we could exceed our annual sales quota. I hired a fellow who had a short, but successful, track record. He came in, was a quick study, and didn’t disappoint. As a matter of fact, he was over-quota from the first month. My numbers looked great and the Board (to whom I reported directly) was very pleased.

But, there was trouble in paradise. Nothing was ever right with this guy! He complained constantly, either to me, his peers or my peers – not enough leads, the territory is broken up wrong, the company should change its products, the compensation should be changed, etc. It was one crisis after another. I could always count on spending at least an hour or two longer with him every week than any of my other salespeople. It was truly exhausting for all involved.

Four months into his employment, he was the #1 performer of all time in that company! I was faced with a dilemma. I could fire the guy and replace him with an unknown, thereby risking my numbers, or I could try to work with the situation. I decided to retain him. I put together a plan and worked with my team on skills that would help them stay focused on results and not be sidetracked by our “star.” I met with all of my peers and the CEO to devise a strategy to politely deflect criticism and help keep him focused.

I’d like to tell you that over time he stopped complaining and needed less and less management time. But, that wasn’t true. He never did! Only WE were more focused and gradually knew how to handle him.

Life is Choices . . (So take your time!)
After thinking long and hard, I decided it was worth it to keep him. His sales results were substantial and guaranteed our company a great revenue stream every month. His significant contribution could not be discounted. I made a conscious choice that I never regretted.

HME Performers – Yes! HME Nonperformers – No!

I’ve heard lots of hiring managers complain about high maintenance people. What I haven’t heard are good reasons to either keep or fire an HME. If you’ve got one on your team (and you know who you are!) sit down and do an analysis. Here are some questions you might want to ask:

• Are they over-quota all the time, some of the time, or none of the time?
• Is the business they bring in profitable? Is it long-term?
• Are they distracting and demoralizing other employees?
• Do they take an inordinate amount of time to supervise?
• And finally, does this person demoralize you? (Remember, as the leader you’ve got to keep yourself motivated and excited about your job and your team.)

If you decide to keep your HME, have good reasons! If you decide it’s just not worth it (which is sometimes the case), start the process NOW to replace him while the market is good.

The Rest of the Story . . .

You probably won’t be surprised to read that there has never been a salesperson in that company – to this day – who has topped the performance of that fellow. I’m glad I kept him.

And I’m glad we put in that pea stone driveway. It looks terrific and I love that crunchy sound when I drive in. But, check back ten years from now!