High performance working: Case studies analytical report

This Evidence Report is a key output from the Skills Utilisation project led by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills. This project has looked at how High-Performance Working (HPW) can help to ensure skills are better used in UK workplaces. In the report HPW is defined as a general approach to managing organisations that aims to stimulate more effective employee involvement and commitment to achieve high levels of performance. The report builds on the knowledge gained from existing research to explore the implementation of HPW through the experience of eleven case study organisations. Specifically, this research set out to: understand how decisions by employers to engage with HPW are made; how managers and leaders shape and influence practice; to explore the practices themselves and how they affect the experience of work; and to identify barriers to the take-up of HPW and how they are resolved. In order to understand what support is available to organisations in the UK, to promote and assist in the adoption of High-Performance Working (HPW) practices please have a look at our Policy Review report published alongside this report. If you are interested in a more detailed description of our case studies, please refer to the Employer Case Studies report also published alongside this report.