PR Newswire US, November 4, 2005, Friday

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PR Newswire US

November 4, 2005 Friday 2:08 PM GMT


HEADLINE: Gevity Institute - Cornell University Study Links HR Practices, Employee Outcomes & Firm Performance;
* Employees say they work harder, cooperate better and are less likely to leave when employers use effective HR practices * Positive employee response leads to better financial and operational performance for small businesses

DATELINE: BRADENTON, Fla. Nov. 4

BODY:
BRADENTON, Fla., Nov. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Gevity (NASDAQ:GVHR), the leading provider of a comprehensive insourced employee management solution, sponsors research on employee management in small- and medium-sized businesses through the Gevity Institute. Gevity has published the third phase of a landmark study by Gevity Institute and Cornell University researchers on how people management practices affect small business performance.
The study's first and second phases yielded answers on the type of people management practices that help firms improve workforce alignment, which is defined as having the right people with the right skills in the right jobs.
Following up on these findings, the third phase of the study, under the leadership of Dr. Christopher Collins of the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations, focused on how employee management practices affect specific employee behaviors and outcomes, including effort, cooperation and trust. The study was designed to reveal what specific impact employee outcomes have on firm performance.
The Cornell team found that firms using robust HR practices have higher levels of positive employee outcomes, including commitment to supervisors, trust in management, cooperation, effort and involvement and lower employee turnover intentions.
The Cornell researchers also found that positive employee outcomes are linked to higher levels of financial and operational performance:
* Financial growth and competitive advantage: Companies using HR practices that promote positive employee outcomes, such as high levels of employee involvement and low turnover intentions, had the best financial growth and outperformed competitors.
* Better operational performance: Higher customer service performance, product or services quality and new product or service development levels were traced to specific employee outcomes, such as commitment to supervisors and trust in management.
According to Erik Vonk, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Gevity, "We provide HR consultation to help our clients improve HR practices, and this study further validates what we are already experiencing -- upgrading HR improves financial performance. It also provides specifics on the type of employee outcomes to look for to meet a business leader's individual goals. We'll continue to craft solutions for our clients based on the knowledge we gain from ongoing Gevity Institute studies."
For more on the HR practices that led to positive results and details on other aspects of the research, see copies of Cornell's phase three study, an executive summary and other Gevity Institute-sponsored research by visiting the Gevity Institute Web site at http://www.gevityinstitute.com/ . Click Research Library and then select Research Reports. You may also obtain a copy by contacting David Sikora, Institute Director, at david.sikora@gevity.com .
About the Gevity Institute
The Gevity Institute was established to identify and quantify the link between people management practices and small- and medium-sized business performance. The Institute's goal is to establish an ongoing stream of information, data and recommendations focused on effective people management for smaller companies. The Institute sponsors research at leading universities and business organizations. Gevity will apply knowledge gained from Gevity Institute research to practical solutions that help smaller companies improve business performance.
About Gevity
Gevity helps clients increase profits, grow sales and improve customer satisfaction through our comprehensive employee management solution. We serve as the insourced human resource department to small- and medium-sized businesses nationwide. Our unique approach integrates three key drivers of business success: workforce alignment, administrative relief and business protection. We deliver our solution through our innovative people, processing and portal approach, combining the resources of our highly skilled human resource consultants and our scalable, Web-enabled technology platform.
A copy of this press release can be found on the company's Web site at http://www.gevity.com/ .
CONTACT: Anne-Marie Megela, Senior Director, Investor Relations, Gevity,
+1-800-243-8489, ext. 4672, or annemarie.megela@gevityhr.com
Web site: http://www.gevity.com/
http://www.gevityinstitute.com/
SOURCE Gevity HR

URL: http://www.prnewswire.com