Evaluating high performance the evidence-based way: The case of the Swagelok transformers

Abstract

Many of the publications on achieving high performance have been written by North American researchers and consultants, and the case companies they described originate mainly from the United States. However, there is a lack of long-term studies that subject the described techniques to rigorous evidence-based management research in North American companies, to test the ideas in practice over a period of time to evaluate their relevance to managerial practice. In this article, we evaluate the high performance organization (HPO) Framework, a scientifically validated technique for helping organizations become high performing, in the North American context. This framework evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of the internal organization of a company, using a questionnaire. This questionnaire was applied in 2013 at seven Swagelok locations in the United States and Canada. From the questionnaire improvement opportunities were identified on which the locations subsequently worked. In 2015, the questionnaire was repeated to evaluate the effects of these improvements on the locations’ performance and to identify the most effective interventions. The study results show that the application of the HPO Framework had different outcomes depending on local circumstances. Some locations experienced a growth while other locations used the framework to battle the consequences of adverse economic circumstances. All locations agreed that the HPO Framework had been instrumental, in a positive way, to the development of their organization and its people.