Encourage collaboration and teamwork with a recognition program that is effective and enjoyable!
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Learn what high achievers want from performance management and how to design systems that engage, develop, and retain top talent.
In today’s fast-paced and competitive business environment, organizations are constantly seeking ways to boost productivity, drive innovation, and retain their best talent. Yet, despite significant investments in performance management systems, many companies still struggle to engage and motivate their top performers. The reason is that traditional approaches often miss what truly matters to high achievers.
Top performers are central to organizational success. They consistently deliver results, champion change, and influence those around them. However, their expectations from performance management differ from the norm and are often unmet by traditional systems.
One of the most important needs for high achievers is continuous growth and development. These individuals are driven by learning and improvement, not static evaluations. Annual reviews and rigid job descriptions do not support their desire to stretch their abilities or broaden their influence. What they seek instead are personalized development plans, opportunities for stretch assignments, consistent access to learning and mentorship, and career paths that adapt to their goals and ambitions.
Frequent, specific, and actionable feedback is also essential. Reviews held once or twice a year are too generic and too late to be useful. Top performers respond best to timely input that helps them improve in the moment. They value regular dialogue with managers who act more like coaches, and they want feedback that looks forward and offers direction, not just commentary on past performance.
To keep top performers engaged and committed, organizations must focus on the factors that genuinely motivate them:
When organizations address these priorities, they build loyalty and unlock sustained performance from their most valuable talent.
Many organizations inadvertently alienate their top talent by over-relying on standardized metrics and one-size-fits-all frameworks, providing infrequent, generic, or backward-looking feedback, lacking transparency in decision-making around promotions and rewards, rewarding conformity or risk-aversion over innovation and initiative, and failing to connect feedback and evaluation to concrete development opportunities.
To better serve and retain top performers, companies should take a more intentional and dynamic approach to performance management by implementing the following steps:
By taking these steps, organizations can create an environment where top talent feels supported, motivated, and empowered to excel—leading to stronger performance, greater retention, and long-term success.
Performance management should not be a static, bureaucratic process focused solely on measuring output. Instead, it should be a dynamic, growth-oriented partnership that unlocks the full potential of top performers. By listening to what high achievers want and need, organizations can create environments where innovation flourishes, engagement soars, and everyone benefits. Is your performance management system truly serving your top talent? It is time to find out.
Ready to empower your top performers and transform your performance management? Schedule a demo with Assembly today!
Top performers value continuous feedback, personalized development opportunities, and the freedom to work independently. They also seek meaningful recognition and transparent processes for advancement.
Organizations can improve by delivering regular, actionable feedback and aligning goals with individual strengths and aspirations. Involving top performers in shaping the system and fostering a culture of trust and transparency is equally important.
Traditional reviews are often too infrequent, vague, and focused on past performance rather than future growth. As a result, they fail to inspire or support the development needs of high achievers.
Timely and specific recognition reinforces that contributions are seen and appreciated. It boosts engagement, strengthens loyalty, and encourages continued excellence.
Get the foundational knowledge on creating an employee recognition program that boosts employee engagement and helps them feel valued.
Explore Guide
Yes, at Assembly, security is a top priority. Each quarter, we have ongoing security work that is everyone’s responsibility. While we maintain a strong security posture, it was important for us to prove to our customers that we do everything we claim to do. This led us to pursue a SOC 2 Type II report that would provide evidence of our compliance with industry gold-standard security practice.
There is study after study showing that employee recognition leads to increased engagement. This in return creates an environment where employees are happier and more motivated which increase productivity and reduces voluntary turnover significantly. In order to filled critical roles, companies tend to spend nearly twice the value of an annual salary. Assembly is an investment in your employees that supports your bottom line.
Yes, we will offer contracts for companies with longer-term agreements to help larger customers have more certainty around future costs.
The minimum agreement term is a 12-month subscription.
We do and for FREE! Any new customer needing further support to get started with Assembly to ensure you're set up for success can request custom onboarding support. Improving your employee experience is about much more than just using our amazing software; it’s about transforming your business to create a workplace that people love. That’s much easier to do with the personal support and advice from our passionate people experts.
At the time of redemption (when your employees exchange their points for a paid reward) you'll pay face value. If a reward is a $10 Amazon gift card, your cost will be $10. All paid rewards are billed for on a monthly basis.
The good news is that you don't have to pay for rewards upfront because we only charge you when points are redeemed, not when they're earned.
We offer discounts or educational or charitable organizations. In order to secure a discount, you'll first need to book a demo with a customer support specialist.
For all other organizations, we are willing to consider longer-term agreements in exchange for discounts. To set up annual plans or longer, you will need to book a demo with a customer support specialist.
If you're on a month to month plan, you can go here and cancel anytime. If you're having concerns or need help setting up your account for success, you can always book a demo with a customer support specialist.
If you're on a longer-term custom plan, you'll need to reach out to your customer support specialist to cancel your account or email us at support@joinassembly.com.
Great question! You can customize your core values to match your organization's to boost and track alignment. You can change your currency from the 🏆 emoji (our default) to any emoji of your choice. You can swap our logo for your own. You can also set up company culture rewards such as, "Lunch with the CEO," "Buy a book on us," and so much more!
While we recommend a peer to peer set up where anyone in your organization can give or receive recognition, you can set up Assembly however you want. If you need to limit the people who can give or receive recognition, that's perfectly fine and can be done from your Admin, here.
Assembly connects to the tools your employees use every day to offer an easy, seamless experience with minimal change management.
Assembly has integrations with HCM/HRIS systems like ADP, Google, Office 365, and Slack. We also integrate with communication tools like Slack and Teams so you and your employees can access Assembly wherever they work now.
That depends on the company's permissions set up. That said, over 90% of the employees on Assembly's platform are recognized on a monthly basis. That means nearly every employee across all of our customers are receiving regular recognition from their peers, managers, or leadership. We're extremely proud of this.
They are not required. You can use Assembly without having rewards set up. However, we don't recommend it if you intend to have a high adoption and usage rate. You can always keep the costs down by offering internal culture rewards that are fulfilled by you internally.
No, you can remove allowances from anyone or everyone. It's up to you but we do recommend using points whether they're worth a real dollar value or not. Companies that use points have a much higher engagement rate even if those points don't exchange for real dollars.
Please schedule time with an expert and we will help you to get all your questions answered
