High Performers How the Best Companies Find and Keep Them

Leon Martel illustrates that there is a connection between firms that have high-performing staff and firms that are highly profitable. Martel, a senior fellow at the Conference Board, examined twenty-five disparate companies across a variety of industries and found that the one common element shared by all of the firms was the high value placed on developing a quality workforce. Martel went inside companies including Microsoft, Harley-Davidson, Merck, and Starbucks to explore their human resource practices. In his interviews with managers at the twenty-five "best companies," Martel discovered some surprising practices. For example, the chief executive of Computer Associates International, Charles Wang, revealed that he did not use e-mail so his staff would be encouraged to speak to him in person, while managers at Microsoft describe their policy discouraging telecommuting. In the end, Martel concludes that while employees today want to be compensated for their contributions, what they really value are work environments and positions that allow them to grow and develop.