Publications

September 2015 (Revised September 2020)
Case

Gap Inc.: Refashioning Performance Management

By: Joshua Margolis, Paul McKinnon and Michael Norris

In 2014, clothing retailer Gap Inc. rolled out a new performance management process for headquarters staff that did away with a traditional rating and ranking system. The new process involved informal monthly meetings between managers and their reports, and it more... View Details

Keywords: Performance Management; Retail; HR; Motivation and Incentives; Performance; Management; Human Resources; Performance Evaluation; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Retail Industry

Article

Employee Growth through Performance Management

By: Michael Beer and Robert Ruh

Research Summary

Performance Management Systems in Healthcare

By: Susanna Gallani

Performance management in healthcare provider organizations presents particular challehges, motivate by historical industry practices, market structures and dynamics, and cultural peculiarities. Through her research studies and case studies, Prof. Gallani explores... View Details

Keywords: Performance Management; Compensation; Incentive Systems; Burnout; Health Industry

October 1995 (Revised January 2002)
Background Note

Managing Performance

By: John J. Gabarro and Linda A. Hill

Encourages managers to think critically about how to prepare for and give a performance appraisal interview. Presents frameworks for evaluating subordinates' work and suggestions for coaching them. View Details

Keywords: Performance Evaluation; Framework

10 Aug 2009
Research & Ideas

High Commitment, High Performance Management

With many companies battered by the economy, commitment from leaders and employees might seem like increasingly precious resources. Yet commitment and performance are essential elements of any successful... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

25 Mar 2014
News

Know Thyself--and Your Employees

Keywords: career management; employee management

Research Summary

Performance Management Systems

By: Robert S. Kaplan

Kaplan's research on performance management systems includes further applications of strategy maps and The Balanced Scorecard for effective strategy execution. His recent research... View Details

October 13, 2021
Editorial

How Companies Can Improve Employee Engagement Right Now

By: Daniel Stein, Nick Hobson, Jon M. Jachimowicz and Ashley Whillans

A year and a half into the pandemic, employees’ mental “surge capacity” is likely diminished. Managers must take proactive steps to increase employee engagement, or risk losing their workforce. Engaged employees perform better, experience less burnout, and stay in... View Details

Keywords: Employee Retention; Employee Engagement; Employee Relationship Management; Work-Life Balance

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November 15, 2022
Article

Using Simulations to Upskill Employees

By: Frank V. Cespedes, Trond Aas, Alex Hunt and Huw Newton-Hill

Reskilling employees tops the agenda in many organizations, according to a LinkedIn report. Korn Ferry estimates an 85-million person talent shortage by 2030, and McKinsey likens the challenge to the shift from agricultural to manufacturing work that occurred in the... View Details

Keywords: Employee Engagement; Managing People; Talent Development; Training; Human Capital; Experience and Expertise; Talent and Talent Management; Retention; Personal Development and Career

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Article

Prosocial Bonuses Increase Employee Satisfaction and Team Performance

By: Lalin Anik, Lara B. Aknin, Elizabeth W. Dunn, Michael I. Norton and Jordi Quoidbach

In three field studies, we explore the impact of providing employees and teammates with prosocial bonuses, a novel type of bonus spent on others rather than on oneself. In Experiment 1, we show that prosocial bonuses in the form of donations to charity lead to happier... View Details

Keywords: Satisfaction; Groups and Teams; Performance; Compensation and Benefits; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Banking Industry; Sports Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; Canada; Belgium; Australia

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2013
Working Paper

Prosocial Bonuses Increase Employee Satisfaction and Team Performance

By: Lalin Anik, Lara B. Aknin, Michael I. Norton, Elizabeth W. Dunn and Jordi Quoidbach

In two field studies, we explore the impact of providing employees and teammates with prosocial bonuses, a novel type of bonus spent on others rather than on oneself. In Experiment 1, we show that prosocial bonuses in the form of donations to charity lead to happier... View Details

Keywords: Satisfaction; Groups and Teams; Performance; Compensation and Benefits; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Banking Industry; Sports Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; Canada; Belgium; Australia

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2010
Module Note

Employee Management At HDFC Bank – A Case Study

By: Shashank Shah and A. Sudir Bhaskar

Keywords: Employee Engagement; Human Resource Practices; Employee Empowerment; Banking; Banking Industry; India

January 2025 (Revised February 2025)
Technical Note

Skills-First Talent Management Onboarding, Development, and Performance Management

By: Boris Groysberg, James Barnett, Robin Abrahams and Katherine Connolly Baden

The second in a series of notes on how organizations manage skills-first talent-management chains, covering onboarding, development, and performance management. Onboarding included the practices, programs, and policies used by an organization to facilitate new employee... View Details

2018
Working Paper

Managing Through Organizational Change: Employee Alignment in the Presence of Unexpected Career Concerns

By: Ohchan Kwon and Jee-Eun Shin

This study examines performance consequences due to unexpected career concerns – layoff risks due to institutional reasons. Exploiting a company-wide announcement of a merger decision by management as a trigger event for unexpected career concerns, we examine employee... View Details

Keywords: Career Changes; Performance Measures; Incentives; M＆A; Employees; Personal Development and Career; Mergers and Acquisitions; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Performance; Motivation and Incentives

08 Jan 2015
News

What Marissa Mayer Got Wrong (and Right) About Stack Ranking Employees

Keywords: stack ranking; management; employee performance; turnarounds; News, Library, Internet, and Other Services; Information

October 2001 (Revised October 2017)
Case

Store24 (A): Managing Employee Retention

By: Frances X. Frei and Dennis Campbell

Provides a retailing context in which employee retention strategies are explored through analyzing detailed store-level data. View Details

Keywords: Retention; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Analytics and Data Science; Strategy; Mathematical Methods; Retail Industry

29 Sep 2020
Cold Call Podcast

Employee Performance vs. Company Values: A Manager’s Dilemma

Keywords: Re: Nitin Nohria; Financial Services

January–February 2019
Article

Corporate Purpose and Financial Performance

By: Claudine Gartenberg, Andrea Prat and George Serafeim

We construct a measure of corporate purpose within a sample of U.S. companies based on approximately 500,000 survey responses of worker perceptions about their employers. We find that this measure of purpose is not related to financial performance. However, high... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Purpose; Purpose; Employee Motivation; Belief Systems; Corporate Performance; Human Capital; Middle Management; Culture; Corporate Culture; Meaning; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Culture; Employees; Perception; Values and Beliefs; Performance Effectiveness

SSRN

July 2012
Case

Performance Management at Vitality Health Enterprises, Inc.

By: John Bingham and Michael Beer

Vitality Health Enterprises, a medium-sized firm that manufactures health and personal care products, has experienced six straight quarters of strong revenue growth. James Hoffman, the new Senior Vice President of Human Resources, fears that the chain of success is... View Details

Keywords: Performance Evaluation; Motivation and Incentives; Compensation and Benefits; Talent and Talent Management; Health Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States