A new study from Best Practices LLC shows that the best performance management and measurement tactics not only affect the bottom line, but also significantly enhance employee satisfaction. Companies that heavily invest in their employees reap the rewards of their investment. Some examples include:

• A leading manufacturer that requires 85 percent of its employees to be in continuous training showed production rates at four times that of its competitors.
• An apprentice program designed to train employees across competencies enabled the company to achieve Six Sigma quality and a 90 percent retention rate for participating employees.
• A company that evaluates employee satisfaction through interviews, surveys, safety performance, turnover rates, crew meetings, grievance procedures, strikes and personal interaction, found that this integrated approach helped it to achieve a turnover rate of less than 0.25 percent.

The study also found that employee engagement and success is a two-way street. Companies need to define a set of behaviors and ethics that lead to success. Employees can do their part by thinking of themselves as assets to be invested in through professional growth activities and making themselves accountable to management for both successes and failures.

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