Over the past several years I have been involved in a large-scale research project with my colleague at the Harvard Business school, Jim Heskett. Our findings indicate the companies that have distinguished themselves in the way they hire and train and treat their employees have experienced:

• Increases in service, quality and customer satisfaction of over 50%
• Growth rates 60-300% better than competitors
• Return on sales 200-300% greater than competitors
• Return on assets 150-300% greater than competitors

results stem primarily from improvements in employee retention, which directly impact customer retention. Old customers are more profitable than new ones.

"... a complete prescription for improving customer service and by extension, profitability, (is a result of) focusing on a manager's primary customer-fellow employees."

Professor Leonard Schlisinger, Harvard University Graduate School of Business, 1990