PR Newswire US, November 30, 2005, Tuesday

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PR Newswire US

November 30, 2005 Wednesday 9:34 PM GMT

HEADLINE: Study Finds Superior Performance in Medical and Legal Firms With Effective HR Practices;
* Gevity Institute-Cornell University Research Quantifies 15% to 22% Performance Advantage Overall

DATELINE: BRADENTON, Fla. Nov. 30

BODY:
BRADENTON, Fla., Nov. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Gevity (NASDAQ:GVHR), the leading provider of a comprehensive insourced employee management solution, announced completion of a landmark study sponsored by the Gevity Institute and conducted by Cornell University researchers. The study shows medical and legal firms using effective employee management practices achieve up to 22% better business performance than firms that do not use human resource (HR) practices that demonstrate a commitment to employees.
A team of researchers from Cornell's School of Industrial and Labor Relations examined the connection between employee management practices and business performance at 100 medical and legal practices with between 5 and 125 employees. It was part of a broader study led by Dr. Christopher Collins of Cornell University's Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies.
The first three phases of the study established a clear link between effective employee management practices and better employee performance, and between better employee performance and greater business success. In addition to confirming these links, the study quantitatively measured the level of superior performance achieved by firms with a commitment to their employees.
Quantifying the level of improvement

Among the study's key findings were:

* Companies with more than 40 employees that used effective employee management practices attained approximately 22% higher performance.
* Companies with fewer than 40 employees that used effective employee management practices attained approximately 15% higher performance.
* Firms with effective employee management practices saw 28% greater effort from clerical employees, 8% greater effort from assistant professional employees (nurses and paralegals, for example) and 29% greater customer orientation across both groups of employees.
* Firms with employees who viewed customers as their top priority performed 42% better than companies with employees who did not view customers as their first priority.
* Firms that view their assistant professional employees as highly important outperformed those that did not by nearly 40%.
* When clerical employees went above and beyond what was required and expected of them, firms achieved a 23% higher level of performance.
Competitive advantage, customer satisfaction and business success
Participating companies' commitment to their employees was measured based on their use of employee management best practices in the areas of hiring, training, motivation and performance management. Company performance was measured based on competitive advantage, customer satisfaction and fulfillment of the firm's potential for business success.
The study showed that companies using greater numbers of employee management best practices were more likely to have employees who:
* Are more willing to go above and beyond their job requirements.
* Increase their workload during challenging times.
* Act in ways that demonstrate customers are a top priority.
* Provide customers with the best possible service available.

The study focused on assistant professionals and clerical employees because in most cases the firms' professionals were also its principals. The study determined that firms implemented somewhat different employee management practices for their assistant professionals and their clerical employees. While both populations contributed to improved company performance when managed effectively, practices aimed at assistant professionals tended to have a greater overall impact.
High-performance employees: small businesses' biggest advantage
"Evidence of the connection between effective employee management practices and improved business performance is mounting, but until now there has been precious little hard data showing the measurable extent of the improvement that can be attained by small businesses that implement these practices," says Erik Vonk, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Gevity. "At Gevity, we will continue our commitment to help small businesses understand the link between employment practices and business success as well as help them implement the practices that will drive their performance higher."
For more details or to obtain a copy of the study, visit 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 .
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@gevity.com
Web site: http://www.gevityhr.com/
http://www.gevityinstitute.com/
SOURCE Gevity HR