WMU News

Conference on maximizing employee performance

Dec. 1, 1997

KALAMAZOO -- Safety directors and production managers from the Kalamazoo area's 20 largest employers will gather on the Western Michigan University campus Friday, Dec. 12, for a conference that features two of the nation's leading experts on implementing positive change in the workplace.

Presented by the WMU Society for Performance Management, the conference, titled "Maximizing Employee Productivity and Safety," begins with a reception and registration at 8:30 a.m. at the Fetzer Center. Workshops get under way at 9 a.m. with Dr. Aubrey C. Daniels and Dr. Judy L. Agnew, each nationally known for utilizing the principles of behavioral psychology to improve employee performance.

In the first session, Daniels will discuss "Bringing Out the Best in People: Applying Performance Management." He is president of Aubrey Daniels & Associates Inc., the largest industry-focused behavioral consulting firm in the United States. He is widely considered the founder of the field of Performance Management, a scientifically-based method of managing people so they perform at their best every day. He also is the author of the internationally-recognized book, "Performance Management: Improving Quality Productivity Through Positive Reinforcement."

Agnew headlines the second portion of the conference, which begins at 11:20 a.m. She's a consultant with Aubrey Daniels & Associates and is one of the lead instructors in the firm's flagship Advanced Performance Management Training program. Agnew specializes in integrating proven applied behavior analysis techniques to initiate organizational change. Her session is titled "Behavior: The Cornerstone of Performance and Safety."

Both presentations will feature lectures and some group activities. Organizers expect more than 70 participants to attend the event.

"Folks in the business community don't often know about performance management," says Dr. John Austin, WMU assistant professor of psychology and adviser to the WMU Society for Performance Management. "It turns out that a lot of techniques are so easy that they can learn something in a workshop and use it at work that same day."

The WMU Society for Performance Management consists of undergraduate and graduate students interested in promoting performance management in the workplace. The group provides students opportunities to form strategic alliances with local businesses and gain real-world experience in industrial/organizational psychology and implementing performance management techniques in an organization.

For information about the conference, persons should call Austin at (616) 387-8348. To arrange or confirm coverage, contact Julie Paavola, WMU Marketing, Public Relations and Communications, at (616) 387-8413.


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