| F or 17 years, the Optimas Awards have recognized workforce management initiatives that directly improve business results. While many of the qualities involved in creating excellent and profitable organizations don’t vary, each year’s winners do reflect the changing business environment. In the early ’90s, human resources shed its administrative straitjacket. In the dot-com era, innovation reigned, and companies showered employees with unprecedented perks. In the crash that followed, the winning organizations showed a resolve and a determination to do more with less. Now, as the global economy changes dramatically, a different theme is emerging. In nearly every category this year, the winning organizations’ entries centered on talent. How to find it—sometimes in dizzying numbers. How to bring people into an organization quickly. How to maximize their abilities. How to steep them in a company’s culture. How to retain the best people in the face of ever-increasing competition. It’s our pleasure to honor the achievements of the 2007 Optimas Award winners, and to share them with you. |
| GENERAL EXCELLENCE Goldman Sachs & Co., New York |
| COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE Edwards Lifesciences, Irvine, California |
ETHICAL PRACTICE Putnam Investments,Boston |
| FINANCIAL IMPACT GM Service Technical College, Troy, Michigan |
| GLOBAL OUTLOOK Infosys Technologies, Bangalore |
INNOVATION Best Buy, Minnesota CultureRx, Minneapolis |
| MANAGING CHANGE Luxottica Retail,Mason, Ohio |
| PARTNERSHIP CVS Pharmacy, Woonsocket, Rhode Island |
| SERVICE U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Washington |
| VISION Sun Healthcare Group, Irvine, California |
