WHAT’S THE REAL MEASURE OF A HIGH-VALUE EMPLOYEE?
What Latrell Mitchell teaches us about measuring employee value through availability, impact and long-term performance.
The 1.1 Million Employee
NRL finals are approaching. South Sydney are sitting seventh, and Latrell Mitchell is again one of the big talking points.
Latrell Mitchell is an extraordinary player, and Souths pay him accordingly. Reportedly around $1.1 million a year. The problem is, he isn’t always available.
Since joining Souths in 2020, he has missed more than 70 games. This season alone, he has played only 9 of South Sydney’s 21 games. That’s 43%. He’s been unavailable for 57%.
The club would obviously prefer him available every week. But after six-plus seasons, they have plenty of evidence that he is not a high-availability player.
Yet they continue to pay him as one of their marquee players because they believe that when he does play, he changes their chances of winning enough to make the deal worthwhile.
Let’s look at the numbers
The $1.1 million question is: Do Souths win more football games when Latrell Mitchell does play?
On the 2026 season alone, you might wonder whether he’s worth the money.
With Latrell: 5 wins, 4 losses. 56% win rate. Without Latrell: 7 wins, 5 losses. 58% win rate.
So despite Latrell scoring 11 tries in nine games, South Sydney’s win percentage in 2026 has actually been slightly higher without him.
But take the longer view. Since joining Souths in 2020:
With Latrell: 95 games, 59 wins. 62% win rate. Without Latrell: Souths win roughly 45% of their games.
That’s a 16.8% point difference when he’s in the side.
In other words, over seven seasons, Souths have won roughly 6 out of every 10 games with Latrell and fewer than 5 out of every 10 without him. And that raises a fascinating question about how we measure people’s value.
Are you paying people to turn up or to make a difference?
We tend to measure people’s value by availability, activity and output. How often are they there? How much do they do? How many hours do they work?
Perhaps the real measure of a high-value employee isn’t how often they turn up. It’s what happens to the organisation when they do.
South Sydney aren’t paying Latrell Mitchell for perfect attendance. They’re paying for impact.
His value is reflected in what happens around him. The decisions that get made. The confidence he creates. The standards he lifts. The performance he unlocks.
So here’s the $1.1 million question for every business:
Would you pay one of your highest-paid employees $1.1 million a year if they had been available for only 43% of the year, but the long-term numbers showed your organisation performed significantly better when they were there?
