Summary: Effective implementation of performance-based management, as envisioned in the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993, hinges on agencies' ability to strategically manage all of their resources--financial, information, technology, and people--to achieve their missions and goals. However, discussions about how agencies plan to strategically manage their most important asset--their people or "human capital"--has been notably absent from many federal agencies' annual performance plans. This report identifies common principles that underlie the human capital strategies and practices of private sector organizations regularly cited as leaders in the area of human capital management. GAO provides case illustrations that offer practical examples for federal agencies to consider as they try to improve their own human capital strategies. The nine private sector organizations are Federal Express; IBM; Marriott; Merck; Motorola; Sears, Roebuck, and Company; Southwest Airlines; Weyerhaeuser; and Xerox.
