This article presents an empirical evaluation of the human resources management (HRM) effectiveness in relation to quality of labor and quality of care in older people's and nursing homes. The authors suggest that innovative policies, in terms of HRM and work design, increase the likelihood of lower stress rates and higher scores on quality of care. The data supply little empirical evidence for this hypothesis, which means that innovative policy practices have very little effect on the realities of stress, burnout, and individually tailored care. A question that arises from this is whether the search for best practices is then equal to a measure for nothing. This is not the authors' opinion. The reference framework for research must be turned round. This can be achieved by no longer starting from the normative (practice) theory but starting instead with excellent practice, which can teach researchers important content and policy lessons.
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