News: Performance Management
HR excellence: Global firms 'prioritise performance management'
14 August 2008
Computer giant Hewlett-Packard (HP) and financial corporation Capital One demonstrate the impact which effective performance management and customer care training can have on the achievement of business goals, according to a new report.
Analysis by global business-research body The Conference Board suggests the international firms' human resources leaders recognise that nurturing "human capital" establishes a competitive global advantage.
It notes HP's 2002 launch of a new initiative aimed at building and maintaining a 'customer-centric' culture.
The firm's 'business performance chain' harnesses ideas and talent from cross-divisional teams as a means to better understand the complex relationships between employees, customers and financial performance.
"Since 2004, HP has been measuring [the] behaviour and performance of its customer support operations teams," confirms The Conference Board.
"Findings established important correlations between lower-level operational measures and key customer experience measures - allowing HP to diagnose a decline in operational level measures before it affects the bottom line."
The New York-based research organisation explains that Capital One introduced an executive coaching programme with the similar aim of correlating customer satisfaction with retail-branch revenues.
According to not-for-profit management analyst The Conference Board, such evidenced-based approaches to human resources will eventually grow widespread in the business arena.
