Prometheus: Ensuring World-Class Performance

Based in San Mateo, California, Prometheus Real Estate Group, Inc. manages a portfolio of more than 17,000 luxury apartments in the Bay Area, Sacramento, Seattle, Portland and Los Angeles. Prometheus retains 675 employees (affectionately dubbed “Prometheans”) and is known for its creative, customer-centric approach to the rental market.

Coordinating and managing the performance reviews of hundreds of employees is challenging for any company. For Prometheus, a cumbersome paper-based review process meant evaluating employee capabilities was both labor intensive and, according to Mattson Hill, director of human resources & organizational capabilities, “extremely painful.”

In 2011, ADP, a Cornerstone partner, introduced Prometheus to the Cornerstone Performance Cloud, a comprehensive, automated software solution designed to track and integrate performance, skills and competencies, succession, and compensation. “The Performance Cloud also integrates seamlessly with our ADP solution, which meant we could have a single sign-on platform,” said Hill.

While company leaders were impressed by the Performance Cloud’s flexibility, ease of use, and integrated approach, it was Cornerstone’s Learning Cloud that cemented the decision to upgrade. Employee training and development are critical components in Prometheus’ employee engagement and retention program, and the ability to integrate both performance reviews and continuing education promised not only improved productivity but comprehensive, complete employee development.

Cost Savings: Significant cost savings were realized early on, the result of increased efficiency when compared to the paper-based manual system. In the first year, adoption rate among corporate employees reached 100 percent, while the company’s diverse field employees embraced the system at a rate of 60 percent.

Improved Manager Involvement: The Cornerstone Performance Cloud has also inspired managers to take a more active role in providing reviews and feedback. The system makes it easy to rate each Promethean’s performance, identify skill gaps and areas for improvement, and weed out underperformers. “Performance empowers managers to feel like they have a say in the review process versus it all being from human resources,” said Hill.

Enhanced Employee Engagement and Productivity: A sense of empowerment and ownership has also resulted in a more cohesive connection between the review process and employee development, a key component in Prometheus’ integrated approach to talent management. “Cornerstone Performance makes it easier to make those connections to, and transition between, performance reviews and development plans,” said Hill. “The process is now more interactive between the Promethean and the manager when identifying competency areas designated for improvement and productivity.

Pay-for-Performance Culture: Implementing the Cornerstone Compensation Module allowed Prometheus to enhance the security and integrity of its compensation data, as its outdated spreadsheet-driven system was replaced with Cornerstone’s web-based module. This module generated another level of system centralization for Prometheus, creating efficiencies for Administrators and end users and saving consulting fees. Overall review ratings were also used for compensation in a pay-for-performance model. High performers received higher compensation adjustments as a result of their review ratings.