Star performers: strategy with a few grains of salt

Abstract

Researchers are advocating a star performer strategy as a way for human resource professionals to deliver value to their employers. I highlight four concerns (four grains of salt) about applying a star performer strategy. As organizations redesign their workplaces and work policies in the wake of COVID-19, academic researchers have a responsibility to make human resource professionals aware of the risks associated with a star performer strategy. A star performer emphasis might be better viewed as a short-term course correction than a long-term human resource strategy.

Keywords:

• Star performers
• human resource management
• performance management

Acknowledgments

I thank Sarah Jarvis, Sanjee Perera, Elissa Perry, Belinda Rae, Sukhbir Sandhu, and Yoshio Yanadori for their feedback and advice as I was preparing this commentary. Whether they agreed or disagreed with my opinions, their comments always helped me to articulate those opinions more clearly.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 Merriam-Webster.com defines grain of salt as a skeptical attitude, used in the phrase take (something) with a grain/pinch of salt:

—I take the guidebooks with a grain of salt, preferring to follow my instincts. Daisann McLane

—The malleability of memory … is the first reason why autobiographies should be taken with a grain of salt. Judith Rich Harris