Lone Tree, CO, May 1, 2014 – As part of its continuing mission to grow and support top-performing sales professionals, Sandler Training is pleased to announce its latest sales training book, “Prospect the Sandler Way, A 30-day Program for Mastering Stress-Free Lead Development.”
Authored by certified Sandler Trainer John Rosso, the book offers an authentic, real-world approach to the sales process and focuses on buyers' and sellers' attitudes and behaviors, in addition to specific sales techniques.
Additionally, it addresses the need to transform the following:
- Attitudes - a salesperson's mindset and confidence level towards selling.
- Behaviors - the daily accountabilities and activities that lead to success.
- Techniques - the things that should be said or done at each individual step of the sales process to produce a positive outcome.
"Many sales people we deal with believe that prospecting is the worst part of their job," Sandler Training President Chuck Terry said. "John has written an amazing book that breaks down Sandler Training's ‘no pressure’ prospecting approach into a simple, effective 30-day turn-key program".
About Sandler Training
Founded in 1967, Sandler Training is the largest provider of sales, leadership and customer service training in the world, serving businesses of all sizes with short- and long-term programs that offer continuous coaching, reinforcement and support for sales professionals.
This novel philosophy of "reinforcement training" was developed by David Sandler, considered one of the most innovative sales trainers in America.
Sandler Training Releases New Book on Prospecting
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GP Strategies Reports Record Revenue for the First Quarter of 2014
COLUMBIA, Md., May 1, 2014 - Global performance improvement solutions provider GP Strategies Corporation today reported financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2014.
Overview of First Quarter 2014 Results:
- Revenue of $117.9 million for first quarter of 2014 compared to $101.4 million for first quarter of 2013, up 16 percent
- Gross profit of $18.4 million for first quarter of 2014 compared to $16.2 million for first quarter of 2013, up 13 percent
- EBITDA of $9.7 million for first quarter of 2014 compared to $9.5 million for first quarter of 2013
- Diluted earnings per share of $0.22 for first quarter of 2014 compared to $0.26 for first quarter of 2013
The Company's revenue increased $16.5 million or 16.3 percent during the first quarter of 2014 compared to the first quarter of 2013. The Company achieved organic revenue growth of 12% during the first quarter due to strong performance by its Learning Solutions, Professional & Technical Services and Energy Services segments due to contracts with new clients and expansion of work with existing clients. Gross profit was $18.4 million, or 15.6 percent of revenue, for the first quarter of 2014 compared to $16.2 million, or 16 percent of revenue, for the first quarter of 2013. SG&A expense increased $2.5 million or 27.5 percent during the first quarter of 2014 largely due to increased costs associated with the company's global expansion to support recent outsourcing contracts. Income before income tax expense was $7.1 million for the first quarter of 2014 compared to $7.5 million for the first quarter of 2013. Net income was $4.3 million, or $0.22 per share, for the first quarter of 2014 compared to $4.9 million, or $0.26 per share, for the first quarter of 2013.
"In the first quarter of 2014, the Company achieved record revenue of approximately $117.9 million and increased EBITDA compared to the corresponding quarter of 2013," commented Scott N. Greenberg, Chief Executive Officer of GP Strategies. "The quarterly results include the continued build-out of our infrastructure to support our growing global business, as well as expenses associated with establishing 14 subsidiaries along with local business support in countries in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America in the last six months, implementation of our accounting system in certain foreign jurisdictions and completion of the acquisition of the Effective-People and Effective-Learning companies. The Company is at a true inflection point and these investments enable us to execute on a global basis, which is becoming a key differentiator of GP Strategies in the training and performance improvement industry. We are starting to see increased global opportunities. These are exciting times for GP Strategies and we look forward to future success."
Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Highlights
As of March 31, 2014, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $5.2 million compared to $5.6 million as of December 31, 2013. The Company had no long-term debt, $2.8 million of short-term borrowings outstanding and $46.1 million of available borrowings under its revolving line of credit as of March 31, 2014. Cash provided by operating activities was $0.7 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2014 compared to $5.3 million for the same period in 2013. The decrease in cash provided by operating activities was largely due to an increase in unbilled receivables during the first quarter of 2014.
About GP Strategies
GP Strategies Corporation (NYSE: GPX) is a global performance improvement solutions provider of training, eLearning solutions, management consulting and engineering services. GP Strategies' solutions improve the effectiveness of organizations by delivering innovative and superior training, consulting and business improvement services, customized to meet the specific needs of its clients. Clients include Fortune 500 companies, manufacturing, process and energy industries, and other commercial and government customers. Additional information may be found at www.gpstrategies.com.
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SAVO Amplifies Sales Engagement Series with Inspire
CHICAGO, May 2, 2014 – SAVO Group, the market leader in sales productivity solutions, today announced it has expanded its Sales Engagement Series to include SAVO Inspire, a new digital postcard application. A result of the company’s acquisition of StoryQuest, Inc., SAVO Inspire enables marketing and sales executives to create personal and interactive multimedia communications that average a six times higher open rate than HTML emails.
“Hundreds of emails flood our prospects’ inboxes daily, vying for their attention. We needed to find a way for our sales reps to easily incorporate video and interactive multimedia elements into personal emails to distinguish their notes from the clutter,” said Jamie Shanks, president of Sales for Life. “Inspire empowers our reps to create and tell visual stories that prospects and customers care about. As a result, we are able to have more productive virtual communications with key decision makers because recipients are spending an average of six times longer with the notes, and consuming four times as much content from the message.”
Inspire provides deep analytics to reveal how many people have received the postcard, opened it and how much time was spent on each tab. The application makes it simple to have efficient, effective and engaging virtual meetings by providing a story narrative, relevant context, supporting content and a compelling call to action. When recipients click the email link, they are directed to a hosted microsite where they can navigate between multiple tabs of personal, marketing-approved content that has been pre-recorded by the sender.
The digital postcard solution is applicable for sales conversations, internal communications, training, and pre- and post-event announcements. It can flexibly integrate with marketing automation and CRM solutions based on business analytics requirements to incorporate the latest customer data and ensure relevant conversations.
“Typically, 80 percent of leads are sent back to marketing for additional nurturing, which puts sales quotas at risk,” said Kurt Andersen, executive vice president of sales enablement and marketing, SAVO. “Inspire complements the other applications within SAVO’s sales productivity platform to give reps the tools they need to successfully interact with their prospects and customers in a memorable and engaging manner that helps close more deals.”
Available immediately, pricing for SAVO Inspire starts at $15 per user per month.
About SAVO
Founded in 1999, SAVO enables its clients to drive sales productivity improvements through its on-demand sales enablement platform, which maximizes the sales team’s ability to communicate value and differentiation in clear, consistent and compelling ways. Combining proven sales and marketing best practices with award-winning technology, SAVO addresses all aspects of the sales enablement challenge — spanning people, process, insight and technology.
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GP Strategies Awarded Major Contract Renewal by Leading Health Services Company
COLUMBIA, Md., May 5, 2014 — Global performance improvement solutions provider GP Strategies Corporation (NYSE: GPX) announced today that it has signed a new five-year agreement with a leading health services company to provide continued full-service learning and development outsourcing offerings, including global program support.
Since 2007, GP Strategies has delivered a broad range of learning services in support of this client's Corporate University, including implementing a learning management system and providing training administration support, helpdesk, project management, content design and development, delivery, training facility and vendor management services.
"Our customer, who prefers not to be identified, conducted a comprehensive, complex and fair assessment of the current Learning Services market. We are pleased that they selected GP Strategies to continue to provide managed learning services. I look forward to working with them for the next five years as they continue to grow globally," said Don Duquette, GP Strategies Executive Vice President, Learning Services.
"This contract renewal affirms our ability to deliver comprehensive managed learning services to a Fortune and Global 500 company. We look forward to this organization continuing to be a top 10 customer in terms of revenue for GP Strategies," said Scott Greenberg, GP Strategies Chief Executive Officer.
About GP Strategies
GP Strategies Corporation (NYSE: GPX) is a global performance improvement solutions provider of training, eLearning solutions, management consulting and engineering services. GP Strategies' solutions improve the effectiveness of organizations by delivering innovative and superior training, consulting and business improvement services customized to meet the specific needs of its clients. Clients include Fortune 500 companies, manufacturing, process and energy industries, and other commercial and government customers. Additional information may be found at www.gpstrategies.com.
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Raytheon Debuts New Helicopter Underwater Escape Training
DALLAS, May 6, 2014 — Raytheon Professional Services LLC, (RPS), a subsidiary of Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN), and Petrofac Training Services announced a first-of-its-kind offering under their jointly owned Hi-Con Training program. The new Tropical Helicopter Underwater Escape Training (THUET) course is being launched at the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston, this week.
Approved by OPITO, an accreditation body for the oil and gas industry, this new training for high-consequence oil and gas exploration scenarios will be offered at NASA's Neutral Buoyancy Lab (NBL), and has been accepted by Shell UA and other Gulf of Mexico operators to satisfy their warm-water HUET requirement. It has also been reviewed and endorsed by the P&T Wells organization.
"With Tropical HUET, the Hi-Con Training program becomes one of the first in North America to offer this important safety course," said Marc Pretorius, operations director at Petrofac Training Services Americas. "Tropical HUET represents our commitment to deliver the latest and most innovative training to a rapidly changing oil and gas industry."
The THUET course ensures workers traveling to and from offshore oil and gas installations and vessels by helicopter stay calm in an emergency. It also teaches delegates to escape a helicopter following an unexpected water landing by providing specific training in pre-flight and in-flight requirements.
"As part of our focus on service and excellence, Hi-Con Training is constantly reviewed, upgraded and expanded, ensuring it is current and of the highest quality," said Tracy Cox, director of performance consulting at Raytheon Professional Services. "The OPITO-approved Tropical HUET is a safety and survival game changer and an important initiative for oil and gas workers in the Gulf of Mexico."
Hi-Con Training's THUET course is taught by some of the industry's leading training professionals at the NBL at the Johnston Space Center in Houston. The 6.2 million gallon, 40-foot deep pool, once used exclusively to train astronauts, allows for an extremely realistic learning experience, and a Modular Egress Training Simulator allows participants to experience the feeling of escaping from a helicopter fully submerged in water.
The industry initiative to put additional focus on training led OPITO to update its THUET requirements, increasing the training from a four- to eight-hour course. Every four years, rig workers must recertify by completing an eight-hour repeat course.
To learn more about Hi-Con Training's award-winning learning solutions for high-consequence environments and to watch videos of training in action, visit www.hicontraining.com.
About Petrofac Training Services
Petrofac is a leading international service provider to the oil and gas production and processing industry, with a diverse customer portfolio including many of the world's leading integrated, independent and national oil and gas companies. Petrofac designs and builds oil and gas facilities; operates, maintains and manages facilities and trains personnel; enhances production; and, where it can leverage its service capability, develops and co-invests in upstream and infrastructure projects. With more than 18,000 employees, Petrofac operates out of seven strategically located operational centres, in Aberdeen, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Woking, Chennai, Mumbai and Kuala Lumpur and has a further 24 offices worldwide.
About Raytheon
Raytheon Company, with 2013 sales of $24 billion and 63,000 employees worldwide, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, security and civil markets throughout the world. With a history of innovation spanning 92 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration and other capabilities in the areas of sensing; effects; and command, control, communications and intelligence systems, as well as cyber security and a broad range of mission support services. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, Mass.
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Intrepid Learning Launches Corporate MOOC Offering
Seattle, WA, May 6, 2014 — Intrepid Learning announced the launch of their latest innovation in corporate learning and development, the Intrepid Agile Corporate MOOC solution. The product is inspired by academic MOOCs (massive open online courses), but is designed specifically for use in corporate environments.
The product debuts this week.
In conjunction with the product launch, Intrepid Learning is scheduled to host a massive open online course (MOOC) educating corporate leaders about the value of corporate MOOCs as a solution to solve key business challenges. The MOOC is scheduled to begin on June 9.
"We believe that corporate MOOCs have the ability to radically change the way we deliver and experience learning in the corporate environment," said Sam Herring, CEO of Intrepid Learning. "Corporate MOOCs have the ability to solve very specific business problems, such as educating customers and partners, identifying and acquiring new talent, and deploying learning solutions at scale."
The MOOC offers learners an opportunity to experience the Intrepid Agile Corporate MOOC solution firsthand. At the end of the three-week MOOC, participants would be able to:
Articulate the value proposition of MOOCs to an organization
Identify the critical elements that make a corporate MOOC successful
Formulate a corporate MOOC strategy
Develop a high-level MOOC design for their organization
About the Intrepid Agile Corporate MOOC
The Intrepid Agile Corporate MOOC solution is built on the renowned Intrepid Agile platform, which is optimized to deliver a fully-realized collaborative learning experience. Features of the platform include gamification, social, collaborative tools, and learning paths to train specific skills.
About Intrepid Learning
Intrepid Learning is an organization of 300-plus learning professionals who design and deliver technology-enabled learning solutions and strategic learning consulting services. These solutions and services adapt to how individuals learn best, and they also scale to meet an organization‘s business needs and challenges. Intrepid believes that learning can empower individuals and transform organizations. The company is also committed to the idea that learning, when expertly designed and delivered, can drive business performance and growth. Founded in 1999, Intrepid is passionate about learning – and exclusively dedicated to it.
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Pearson's Technology and Content Solutions Improving Learning Outcomes
New York, May 06, 2014 – Each higher education institution, course, and classroom is unique, yet instructors today face a series of common teaching and learning challenges. Institutions are using technology and content solutions to address these various educational challenges. Pearson released a report today highlighting five New York-based institutions that have made a positive, measurable impact on teaching and learning.
The 2014 Science and Engineering Efficacy Report shows that the Mastering technology platform engages students inside and outside of the classroom with personalized and continuously adaptive learning experiences. Mastering reacts to how students are performing, offering data-driven guidance that helps them better understand course material and difficult concepts.
John Tweeddale, Pearson's Senior Vice President of Efficacy and Quality, said that education can and should have a measurable, proven impact on learners' lives.
“Working closely with educators to address some of today's most common academic challenges,” he said, “we carefully measured and evaluated the results of each institution's course to ensure that our products and services are truly equipping learners with the tools, resources and support they need to succeed.”
The Rochester Institute of Technology has been using MasteringBiology since 2009. This has enabled more active learning opportunities, promoted more-efficient lectures and office hours, and resulted in higher exam scores. Because students come to class better prepared, professors are able to implement more active learning in the classroom, making learning in a large lecture setting more engaging, more effective, and more fun.
"The results show a six to eight percentage point increase in exam grades as I required MasteringBiology assignments, increased the value applied to them, and included the program's study-area content on my exams," said Assistant Professor Sandra J. Connelly, Rochester Institute of Technology.
Other New York higher education institutions featured in the report include:
University at Buffalo
State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry
Genesee Community College
Clinton Community College
About Pearson Pearson is the world's leading learning company, with 40,000 employees in more than 80 countries working to help people of all ages to make measurable progress in their lives through learning.
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Corporate Visions Launches New Tool Helping Marketers Increase Messaging Success
LARKSPUR, Calif. – May 7, 2014 – Corporate Visions, Inc., the leading marketing and sales messaging, tools and training company, today announced the introduction of Power Launch™, a new digital postcard tool for helping marketers increase the success of new messaging launches delivered to their field sales teams.
The tool proactively pushes mobile-ready content to sales reps’ inboxes and drives higher engagement and adoption with personalized and compelling videos that have been proven to be more engaging than traditional email and portal-based launch communications. Power Launch was developed to help salespeople gain competence and confidence in delivering newly created whiteboard-based messages that leverage Corporate Visions’ highly successful Power Messaging® skills training concepts.
With Power Launch, an interactive postcard is sent to each rep’s email inbox and consists of brief eLearning videos containing new messaging demonstration and skills-sharpening tips. Its virtual delivery of content and coaching helps field sales teams master messages anytime, anywhere and in easily consumed modules. The initial send is followed by six weekly push emails with refreshers on the messaging techniques, as well as practice opportunities to master the presentation.
Power Launch also gives frontline sales managers an opportunity to lead local coaching sessions with their teams. The tool comes with a coach’s guide to using the video content in staff meetings for hands-on application and role-plays. Companies do not need to purchase any software, download applications to mobile devices, or change their website to implement Power Launch. The tool is accessible via any Web browser and easily works within the existing, standard, everyday workflow of marketing executives and salespeople.
“Companies come to us to develop unique visual storytelling presentations, which rely on simple, concrete, whiteboard-style graphics and provocative messaging to communicate a distinct point of view in the market,” said Tim Riesterer, chief strategy and marketing officer for Corporate Visions. “To make sure your sales delivery is as remarkable and memorable as the new messaging and tools you just developed, you need to launch that content in an equally powerful way.”
Riesterer added that Power Launch helps marketers give their sales teams the opportunity to understand the decision-making science that goes into these types of stories, the chance to see the story demonstrated as they should deliver it, and the tools to regularly practice and perfect the conversation.
About Corporate Visions, Inc.
Corporate Visions is a leading marketing and sales messaging, tools, and skills company that helps global B2B companies create more sales opportunities, win more deals and increase sales profitability by improving the conversations salespeople have with customers. Companies engage Corporate Visions to help in three key areas:
Developing compelling messages to break the status quo, differentiating their solution, justifying a purchase decision and protecting margins;
Deploying that message through tools and visual stories to enable salespeople to engage multiple decision-makers across the buying cycle; and
Delivering sales skills training that helps salespeople confidently use these messages and tools to create, elevate and capture more value in their customer conversations.
Corporate Visions helps clients such as ADP, Motorola, Philips, UPS, Cisco and others align marketing and sales with a repeatable approach for developing and delivering winning customer conversations.
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Brainshark Announces New Product Capabilities, Enhancements
WALTHAM, Mass. — May 7, 2014 — Brainshark, Inc., the leader in cloud-based business presentations, today announced important new product capabilities and enhancements. These include the availability of custom filters within the Brainshark Content Portal – providing powerful functionality to categorize, find and access corporate video presentations quickly and easily. Brainshark also unveiled new themes for its desktop player, giving users the flexibility to change its appearance with a single click.
As video continues to improve and redefine enterprise communications, Brainshark makes it easy to create, share, track and organize video presentations – which can be viewed online and via mobile, anytime, on-demand. One Brainshark presentation is viewed every second, with Brainshark presentations consumed on every continent and in 98 percent of the world’s countries last year.
Custom Filters
Across industries, productivity is intimately linked to being able to find the right content at the right time. In sales, for example, hunting for relevant and up-to-date content can be a major productivity-buster. A recent Brainshark survey shows that one in three sales reps frequently can’t find the materials they need to close more deals – and of that group, more than 44 percent cite haphazard enterprise content management as a major hurdle.
Brainshark’s new custom filter capabilities enable instant content organization at the enterprise level – making it easy for sales professionals and other users to find and access relevant presentations. Companies can deliver content in a way that mirrors their business operations, so employees can find what they need instantly and intuitively, and be assured they have the right version at their fingertips – boosting both productivity and satisfaction.
Here’s how it works:
Company administrators can create content filter names – using, for example, labels such as “industry,” “purpose,” “content type,” “stage of sale,” etc. – to help categorize content in their Brainshark account.
Then, when authorized users create Brainshark presentations, they can make the content easy to find by applying relevant filter values.
Employees who navigate and search their company’s content portal can use the filters to locate what they need instantly – narrowing their search by selecting one or more filter values.
Salesforce.com users can also use the custom filter functionality when accessing and sending marketing-approved content from within Salesforce, using the Brainshark Connector for Salesforce.com.
“Consumers today are accustomed to finding what they need online effortlessly, using Amazon and other ecommerce sites,” said Andy Zimmerman, Brainshark’s chief marketing officer. “Employees expect that same experience in the business world. With custom filters, the Brainshark Content Portal now employs the best practices found on ecommerce sites to enable employees like sales reps to quickly locate and use the content they need as part of their day-to-day activities.”
New Player Themes
Brainshark is also introducing new themes for its desktop player, providing more flexibility to content authors and a unique experience for viewers. Administrators can now let authors choose from three player themes when creating Brainshark presentations, selecting the look and feel that best suits their individual presentation and viewers’ preferences.
Player themes include Brainshark Light, Brainshark Classic and Brainshark Dark. Companies who have worked with Brainshark’s professional services team to create their own custom themes will see those options as well. The designated player theme will be used when audiences view Brainshark presentations from desktop browsers – whether those presentations are accessed via Web link or embedded in websites, blogs, social media, or third-party applications and portals. .
About Brainshark, Inc.
Brainshark enables companies to improve productivity with cloud-based business presentation solutions for sales, marketing and training. With Brainshark’s easy-to-use solutions, customers transform static documents such as PowerPoints into dynamic, mobile-ready content that can be accessed quickly and viewed as on-demand video presentations or presented live – anytime, anywhere. They can also measure the effectiveness of their communications in ways never thought possible and use these insights to take action. Thousands of companies – including half of the Fortune 100 – and millions of individuals rely on Brainshark to increase the impact and reduce the cost of their business communications. Learn more at www.brainshark.com.
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Totara LMS Enterprise’s Newest Version Focuses on Adaptability
WELLINGTON, New Zealand, May 7, 2014 — Totara Learning Solutions released version 2.6 of its leading Totara LMS Enterprise platform, this week. The release continues the fast pace at which Totara is adding rich features requested by large corporations, government entities and not-for-profits worldwide.
After the large 2.5 release, which included the powerful performance management module, Totara Learning has focused on a wide range of enhancements to existing features and a narrower set of new functionality.
“Totara LMS is becoming so feature-rich now that we’ve actually added a feature so that administrators can readily customize the navigation and appearance, turn things off and not use all of Totara’s power,” Totara chief executive Richard Wyles said. “Enabling adaptability is one of our key objectives, consistent with our open source philosophy.”
Adaptability features also include responsive themes and fully configurable learner catalogs, enabling organizations to define the way this critical window into an LMS should be presented. The default theme in Totara is now fully responsive and works across multiple screen resolutions i.e. tablets, phones and desktop.
About Totara
Totara Learning Solutions is dedicated to fundamentally changing the nature of the LMS software market. TotaraLMS is open source with its enterprise edition available via subscription. Totara can reduce a corporate enterprise's learning management costs significantly whilst providing some of the most advanced learning management functionality.
From a simple concept; that open source software, developed with an active community, can deliver real benefits in learning and development for corporate organizations, comes a big vision; to transform how learning technologies are developed, delivered and purchased. Totara is delivering this vision though:
• Driving down costs with zero license fees • Delivering peace of mind with commercial support • Collaborative model of innovation • Making customisation easy • Ensuring freedom from vendor lock in
Totara users come from a wide variety of sectors, including finance, retail, energy, health, government and not-for-profit organizations. Customers range from small enterprises to large multi-national corporations with over 200,000 employees - a testament to Totara's robust versatility and scalability. Organizations throughout the world have chosen Totara as their eLearning platform. For more information visit: www.totaralms.com
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AMA Enterprise Survey Results Show Many Leadership Teams Out of Touch
NEW YORK, May 7, 2014 – Many corporate teams operate as though stuck in a leadership bubble, according to a survey of more than 300 executives and managers conducted by AMA Enterprise, a division of American Management Association.
One-third of respondents believe their leadership is stuck in a bubble most of the time, while another half said it happens on occasion. Only 18% indicated their leadership team has not, to some degree, lost touch with the organization.
The leadership bubble phenomenon is neither new nor unique, according to the findings. Three-quarters of respondents reported that they have worked at an organization where the leadership team was out of touch and operated as though it was stuck in a bubble.
“Whether the prevalence of the bubble phenomenon is a reality or just perceived as such, employees clearly feel that leadership hasn’t bothered to pay attention to their concerns or what is really going on in the workplace. Therefore, simply being seen as out of touch with what’s going on in the organization becomes a widespread and critical challenge for leadership teams,” said Jennifer Jones, Director at AMA Enterprise, which provides organizations with assessment, measurement and tailored training solutions. “If leaders appear insulated from the everyday reality of the workplace, their plans and edicts may not be taken seriously. In the end, they lose credibility…and clout. And for leadership teams, that is not a good position from which to operate.”
The bubble problem is made worse, according to Jones, because leaders themselves are seldom aware of the situation. “In fact, a majority of respondents feel their leadership almost never realizes the presence of a communication breakdown, and that clouds everything else the team is trying to achieve.”
If you’ve experienced the bubble phenomenon, how often was the leadership team, itself, aware of the problem?
Usually nine percent
Sometimes 34 percent
Almost Never 56 percent
Don't know one percent
According to Jones, the degree to which senior leaders are exposed to the bubble phenomenon is usually a direct reflection of organizational culture. “Relationships are built through continuous open and honest communication. Senior leaders who find themselves surrounded with ‘yes’ men and women may not be open to hearing feedback or ideas that counter their own thinking. This undermines authentic communication, which in turn, can lead them to operate in a bubble.
The survey was conducted March 8 to March 24. Respondents consisted of 316 senior-level business, human resources, management professionals and employee contacts drawn from the AMA database of contacts.
About AMA Enterprise
With more than 90 years’ experience and headquartered in New York, American Management Association is a global leader of comprehensive talent development. AMA Enterprise, a specialized division of AMA dedicated to building corporate and government training solutions, transforms enterprise-wide talent to fuel a culture of innovation, high performance and optimal business results.
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Microtek Announces New President
CHICAGO, IL (April 29, 2014) - MicroTek, a leader in the delivery of training, meeting and event solutions is pleased to announce the appointment of Hugh McCullen as President. He officially joined on April 7, reporting to Don Slivensky, CEO.
McCullen brings more than 35 years of industry experience to MicroTek. Having previously served as the GM of Collaboration Solutions at Avaya, McCullen led a global team of business development, sales, engineering, customer service, training and marketing experts. This team was expressly committed to driving strategic initiatives for Fortune 500 enterprises including financial, healthcare, education, energy, manufacturing and government verticals.
“Hugh’s wealth of experience will help accelerate MicroTek’s ongoing evolution for providing best in class, high value training and communication solutions that enable our customers to be competitive, market leaders. With his guidance, I’m confident our company will see tremendous growth in the next few years,” said Slivensky.
McCullen also provided an early indication of his vision and management expectations; “Our goal is to build upon MicroTek’s core strengths: superior experience management and effective training and communication solutions delivered with exemplary customer support. We will be expanding our services portfolio and global presence with innovative and adaptive turnkey solutions that ensure business performance optimization. As a trusted partner of choice, the focus on providing speed and flexibility for training, meeting and event management will help our customers evolve non-core services into strategic assets."
McCullen is a graduate of the John A. Walker School of Business, Appalachian State University. He is based at MicroTek’s corporate headquarters located in Chicago, IL.
ABOUT MICROTEK
Since 1991, MicroTek has been committed to the customized delivery of high-quality and effective training, event and meeting planning solutions. Providing best in class customer service integrated with the industry's leading single-source facilities and logistics management, MicroTek has twelve major metropolitan based facilities throughout North America, and access to a network of 3,000 additional sites worldwide. With strategic partnerships in every sect of the training industry, MicroTek also offers advanced services including courseware management, remote user access and on-site technology assistance that can easily bundled into a total turnkey solution. Our mission is to help clients orchestrate and successfully manage any size training program, employee or customer meetings and sales events, anywhere in the world. MicroTek was named as a 2013 Top Training Company for the sixth consecutive year by Trainingindustry.com.
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Adobe Launches Voice for iPad
Adobe has launched Voice, a free multimedia iPad app that puts the creation of narrative, animated videos directly into consumers’ hands. It features real-time motion graphics, audio sweetening, and HD video output without the need for photo or video experience or design training.
Adobe Voice is designed to substitute for and enhance PowerPoint-style deck presentations by placing the emphasis on both audio and visual elements. It’s targeted to small businesses, educators, and students who want to create an original message with artistic flair.
Built on the foundation of After Effects motion graphics, Voice facilitates the creation of animated videos that inform and persuade. Though the final story is output in video format, Voice does not work with video per se, rather presentations are a mix of stills, schematics, text, recorded voice and background audio tracks. You touch the screen to record voiceovers one line at a time with background music automatically added.
About Adobe
Whether it's a smartphone or tablet app, a game, a video, a digital magazine, a website, or an online experience, chances are that it was touched by Adobe technology. Our tools and services enable our customers to create groundbreaking digital content, deploy it across media and devices, and then continually measure and optimize it based on user data. By providing complete solutions that combine digital media creation with data-driven marketing, we help businesses improve their communications, strengthen their brands, and ultimately achieve greater business success.
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d’Vinci Develops 508 Compliant e-Learning for the National Park Service
HAGERSTOWN, Md, May 9, 2014 - Learning solutions and interactive development company d’Vinci Interactive just launched two e-learning programs for National Park Service employees that teach web content management including strategy, writing, analytics, accessibility, images, and publishing.
Users are able to apply what they’re learning through interactive exercises and scenarios as they take the modules. In addition to making the programs engaging, d’Vinci met 508 compliance standards by creating courses accessible for learners with disabilities. Each course includes a scored assessment and is tracked in the NPS learning management system. The basic course includes 10 modules and the intermediate course contains five modules.
By employing eLearning to train its employees, the NPS will reduce time spent in classroom training and eliminate travel costs. d’Vinci instructional designers worked closely with NPS subject matter experts to define the learning objectives and structure the content and activities.
d’Vinci made the course both interactive and 508 compliant by programming the modules in web technologies such as HTML, CSS, and jQuery. The modules can also function on mobile tablets and in any modern web browser.
In the coming months, d’Vinci will create training modules for two other NPS contracts and develop programs on business resources and human relations best practices. These GSA (General Services Administration) contracts with the National Parks Service contribute to d’Vinci’s continued growth in designing and developing eLearning solutions that reduce training costs for government agencies.
About d’Vinci Interactive
d’Vinci Interactive creates websites, web and mobile applications and eLearning experiences for educational and training purposes. d’Vinci’s clients include the American Board of Pediatrics, the National Institutes of Health, the National Park Service, the Center on Congress at Indiana University, and many others. Since 1994, d’Vinci has served leading businesses, national associations and government agencies.
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Kallidus Achieves Certification Demonstrating Information Security
CIRENESTER, U.K., April 24, 2014 — Kallidus, the leading provider of learning and talent management solutions, has achieved ISO 27001 certification, the internationally recognized information security management standard.
The certification puts Kallidus at the leading edge for best practices in managing information security and is an important part of company strategy to safeguard the integrity of all aspects of customer data and information.
Chief Operations Officer Carole Laithwaite said the certification is an important differentiator for Kallidus as it demonstrates the company’s ongoing commitment to ensuring having the highest standards in place to prevent information security risks across all aspects of our business.
“Above all, it provides our customers with peace of mind that their data will be secure with us,” she said.
ISO 27001 is a process-based certification which recognizes companies for implementing, establishing, maintaining, and continuously improving their Information Security Management System (ISMS.) The ISO 27001 certification is the most widely recognized security standard accreditation in the world. Kallidus has been awarded the standard for the design, development, configuration and provision of software and services to support the delivery of learning, talent and performance solutions.
Kallidus is committed to developing best practice standards across its business. In addition to receiving ISO 27001 certification, the company was recently awarded the prestigious Investors in People Bronze accreditation for best practice in people management and also achieved The International Standard for Service Excellence (TISSE2012) in December 2013.
About Kallidus
Kallidus (previously e2train and 81Boxes) is an award-winning supplier of learning and talent management solutions.
Kallidus helps organizations develop talent and improve business effectiveness. Its mission is to empower individuals and organizations to develop continually, learn effectively and improve their performance.
The company supplies software systems, consultancy services and content development to some of the world's leading blue-chip, public sector and mid-sized organizations, working in partnership to provide innovative trusted solutions. Kallidus prides itself in its commitment to outstanding customer service. Customers include Boots, the NHS, Nissan Europe, O2, Transport for London and Eurostar.
Founded in 2000, the company continues to achieve year-on-year profitable growth.
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Industry Pioneer Don Kirkpatrick Passes
PEWAUKEE, WI, May 12, 2014 — Don Kirkpatrick, best known for creating a highly influential 'four level' model for training course evaluation used industry-wide for more than 50 years, passed away at age 90.
He was a luminary in the training and development industry and his four levels of training evaluation created in the 1950s became the industry standard for measuring the impact of training programs.
Dr. Kirkpatrick’s four-level model, often referred to as the Kirkpatrick Model, was the subject of his dissertation in 1954. In 1959, his ideas were published in a series of articles in the US Training and Development Journal. In 1994, he published his first book on the model entitled “Evaluating Training Programs.” He went on to publish seven more books. He remained in academia for most of his professional career until retiring in 1986.
His work is carried on by his son, Jim, and daughter-in-law, Wendy, through their company, Kirkpatrick Partners.
Kirkpatrick completed his B.A., M.B.A, and Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin, and was a past President of the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD). He was honored with many awards, including the ASTD Lifetime Achievement Award, ASTD Legend in Training and Development, ASTD Gordon M. Bliss Award and Training Magazine Hall of Fame membership. Kirkpatrick was also proud to be a U.S. Army veteran who served during World War II.
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HealthcareSource Introduces Online Neonatal Critical Care
Woburn, MA , May 13, 2014 — HealthcareSource(R), the leading provider of talent management solutions for the healthcare industry, today released a new web-based neonatal critical-care orientation program that provides NICU clinicians with the foundational, core topics pertinent to caring for the critically-ill neonate. The Essentials of Neonatal Critical Care Orientation program was developed by the Children's Hospital Association. The Essentials of Neonatal Critical Care Orientation program offers a comprehensive, standardized educational package ideal for new neonatal critical care nurses as well as more experienced staff who seek the opportunity to review foundational orientation content in an online, self-paced learning environment. The orientation program, which offers 22 CNE hours, is comprised of five key topic areas - patient care, respiratory care, neurology, endocrine, and vascular access. The topic areas are broken into 22 lessons and the solution includes an online Instructor's Guide to facilitate precepting and blended learning. The blended learning component, or education where both instructor-led training and eLearning are used, allows learners to receive the standardized education program via the online course, with hands on training provided by organization-assigned preceptors. "We're proud of our relationship with the Children's Hospital Association, which allows us to offer the Essentials of Neonatal Critical Care Orientation as part of our eLearning Library and integrate the course on our customers' learning management systems," said Michelle Leavitt, Director of Courseware and Product Strategy at HealthcareSource. "Typical orientation programs can take 12 to 26 weeks and learners often feel overwhelmed. They can struggle to translate the new knowledge into actionable items. Blended learning models like this have been proven to be more effective orientation solutions." The HealthcareSource eLearning Library, a part of the HealthcareSource Quality Talent Suite℠, contains more than 4,000 courses in clinical and non-clinical compliance, coding and reimbursement, continuing education, clinical reference, and other areas. In addition, the eLearning Library has partnerships with industry-leading organizations, like the Children's Hospital Association, to provide users with access to award-winning, world-class, online education. About HealthcareSource With more than 2,300 healthcare clients, HealthcareSource is the leading provider of talent management software for the healthcare industry. The HealthcareSource Quality Talent Suite℠ helps healthcare organizations acquire, develop and retain the best workforce possible in order to improve the patient and resident experience. The company's cloud-based talent management solutions include applicant tracking, behavioral assessments, reference checking, employee performance, compensation, competency and learning management, and eLearning courseware. A private company focused exclusively on the healthcare industry, HealthcareSource consistently earns high marks for client satisfaction and retention. KLAS Research recently named HealthcareSource a category leader for Talent Management for the third consecutive year, in addition to recognition from Modern Healthcare's "Healthcare's Hottest," Inc. 500|5000, and Deloitte Technology Fast 500. About the Children's Hospital Association The Children's Hospital Association advances child health through innovations in the quality, cost and delivery of care. Representing more than 220 children's hospitals, the Association is the voice of children's hospitals nationally. The Association champions public policies that enable hospitals to better serve children and is the premier resource for pediatric data and analytics, driving improved clinical and operational performance of member hospitals. Formed in 2011, Children's Hospital Association brings together the strengths and talents of three organizations: Child Health Corporation of America (CHCA), National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions (NACHRI) and National Association of Children's Hospitals (N.A.C.H.). The Children's Hospital Association has offices in Alexandria, VA, and Overland Park, KS.
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Skillsoft’s LMS Helping Industry Transition to Mobile Learning
NASHUA, N.H., May 13, 2014 — As today’s workplace adapts to a more mobile generation of workers, Skillsoft is meeting the growing demand for on-the-go learning by driving mobile initiatives across a wide product portfolio. Skillsoft’s mobile solutions provide access to assets wherever employees learn best, ensuring content is available at the point of need – which is especially important for today’s 73 percent of organizations that are actively engaging in mobile learning.
Within its suite of mobile learning solutions, Skillport 8 Learning Management System (LMS) features a learning experience that is optimized for tablet delivery. The mobile backbone of Skillport 8 gives organizations confidence in devising and deploying mobile learning programs that can immediately drive the development of their workforce. Skillport 8 also provides access to a full library of mobile-friendly learning content and other assets – including more than 8,000 videos, 40,000 books and 1,000 tablet-friendly business skills courses. In addition to Skillport 8, Skillsoft offers full custom content capabilities and rapid content assembly tools, such as Skillsoft Dialogue Design, which allows organizations to quickly create and publish their own content for time-critical business initiatives.
“Today’s generation of workers is used to having information instantly available at their fingertips. Employees want to be able to use their tablets and smartphones and, as user preferences change, it’s important for learning programs to evolve in tandem,” said John Ambrose, Senior Vice President, Strategy and Corporate Development, Skillsoft. “Mobile learning is key to breaking down barriers in participation and engagement of employees within changing workforces. Whether it’s sales teams working through development plans while in the field or traveling executives accessing on-demand content to refresh their skills before a big presentation, mobile learning enables a smarter workforce, no matter where they are.”
With Skillsoft’s mobile learning, users can start on one device and finish on another, allowing them to learn within their own workflow. The functionality of Skillsoft’s solutions transforms learners’ devices into both an office and a classroom. These solutions enable organizations to embrace emerging mobile learning initiatives while still meeting their overall learning objectives.
About Skillsoft
Skillsoft is a pioneer in the field of learning with a long history of innovation. Skillsoft provides cloud based learning solutions for its customers worldwide, ranging from global enterprises, government, and education to mid-sized and small businesses. Skillsoft's customer support teams draw on a wealth of in-house experience and a comprehensive learning e-library to develop off-the-shelf and custom learning programs tailored to cost-effectively meet customer needs. Skillsoft's courses, books and videos have been developed by industry leading learning experts to ensure that they maximize business skills, performance, and talent development.
Skillsoft currently serves more than 6,000 customers and more than 19,000,000 learners around the world.
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TrainingIndustry.com Announces Top 20 Content Development Companies List
CARY, NC – May 15, 2014 – TrainingIndustry.com has announced its Top 20 Content Development Companies List, as part of its mission to continually monitor the training marketplace for the best providers of training services and technologies.
View the 2014 Top 20 Content Development Companies
Selection to this year's Top 20 Content Development Companies List was based on the following criteria:
Industry visibility, innovation and impact
Capability to deliver multiple types of training services
Company size and growth potential
Strength of clients
Depth and breadth of subject matter expertise
Geographic reach
“Providing superior custom training content and curriculum design is at the heart of any major training initiative,” said Doug Harward, Chief Executive Officer, Training Industry, Inc. “Our 2014 Top 20 companies truly put their excellent diagnostics skills to work to keep the programs they develop aligned to the clients’ goals.”
“The 2014 Content Development Top 20 List sets the bar for vertical or subject matter expertise and strategic program design for the industry,” said Ken Taylor, Chief Operating Officer, Training Industry, Inc. “This year’s selections aggressively introduce new approaches, tools and technologies to make the learning stick. They are all focused on pushing the envelope on some and driving many of the key innovations in the marketplace.”
Email info@trainingindustry.com for thoughts or feedback regarding the list.
View the 2014 Top 20 Content Development Companies
About Training Industry, Inc.
TrainingIndustry.com spotlights the latest news, articles, case studies and best practices within the training industry. Our focus is on helping dedicated business and training professionals get the information, insight and tools needed to more effectively manage the business of learning.
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SAVO Unveils New App to Accelerate New Hire Ramping
CHICAGO – May 21, 2014 – SAVO Group, the market leader in sales productivity solutions, has expanded its Sales Accelerator Series with the launch of Sales Onboarding Pro, a new application that helps recently hired sales reps contribute earlier and stay on track as they ramp to meet quota expectations. By providing training, coaching, content, messaging and internal expert connections at the right time and in the right context, the application helps to reinforce best practices at every step of the onboarding process and ensures a smooth transition for sales pros preparing to enter a new sales experience.
With Sales Onboarding Pro, managers, trainers and coaches can create an automated learning environment that maintains records of task completion and performance, allowing leadership to keep reps on track by providing timely and appropriate guidance when needed. Built-in collaboration tools help new hires establish relationships across the organization and capture “tribal knowledge” by finding answers and easily soliciting real-time feedback from product experts and peers.
The new application also provides a centralized, automated system that is fully customizable to align with a company’s training process, sales methodologies and on-the-job tools. The solution flexibly integrates with sales force automation and learning management systems to allow new hires to train on the same systems they will use in the field.
Kurt Andersen, executive vice president of sales enablement and marketing at SAVO, believes that a slow ramping process has many unanticipated effects on a company, including frustrating new hires, reducing management productivity, weakening customer relationships and hurting sales.
“Sales Onboarding Pro addresses these challenges by breaking down the entire learning curve into a logical sequence of purposeful steps with defined goals and verifiable outcomes,” he said. “This ensures that when reps transition out of their company’s onboarding program, they’ll be well-equipped with the tools they need to be successful.”
Kyle Lagunas, talent acquisition analyst of Brandon Hall Group, points out that this transformation does not happen overnight, and that incorporating a faster and more efficient ramping process can help derive more value from each hire, boost team morale, reduce employee turnover and empower reps to sell more effectively.
“There is real demand for a product like Sales Onboarding Pro, and the application is in line with what we have seen to be most effective for supporting reps as they adjust to a new organization and business process,” he said.
About SAVO
Founded in 1999, SAVO enables its clients to drive sales productivity improvements through its on-demand sales enablement platform, which maximizes the sales team’s ability to communicate value and differentiation in clear, consistent and compelling ways. Combining proven sales and marketing best practices with award-winning technology, SAVO addresses all aspects of the sales enablement challenge — spanning people, process, insight and technology.
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