Heidelberg, Germany − April 4, 2016 − The Swiss dairy processor Emmi is converting its HR processes and HR technology with the help of tts. In the past, there was no group-wide unitary HCM system for the recording, administration and analysis of employee master data. Talent management proceeded in a correspondingly heterogeneous fashion at the company’s various locations. Given that Emmi has experienced strong international expansion, this individualized mode of operation was no longer feasible. The company therefore decided to implement the IT solution SAP SuccessFactors. By using the Recruiting Management, Employee Central and Learning modules, Emmi can now recruit, manage and train its employees quickly, cost-effectively and sustainably. Further modules and functionalities are currently being rolled out internationally.
The project first applies to the 3,000 employees in Switzerland. By 2017 all 5,300 employees in 13 countries are to be integrated into the system, which Emmi will make available in five languages: German, English, French, Italian and Spanish.
“The international coverage is important for us, which is why we selected SuccessFactors and tts,“ explains Michael Lötscher, head of HR excellence & development, Emmi Group, Lucerne (CH). Although the software offers many new functionalities, “its operation has become significantly easier for end users.”
The project is pursuing several objectives: the rollout of Employee Central, the standardization of talent and advanced training processes, the administration of training courses in a learning management system (LMS) and the transfer of the technological infrastructure into the cloud. The professional consultancy and international network of tts were of the utmost importance in the decision. As a result, Emmi could already go ahead with the go-live of Employee Central and Recruiting Management in Switzerland in the summer of 2015 – just eight months after the project kick-off.
Emmi profits in several areas: training processes are more transparent, performance can be better managed, and comprehensive reporting simplifies analysis. The automatic creation and filling in of job advertisements in the vacancy management function within the Employee Central module simplifies recruiting and shortens lead-times. Processes have become more efficient, and more effective. “Previously, a large amount of information was shown on the screen, to cover every possible eventuality,” according to Lötscher “Today we focus on what really matters; the screens are uncluttered and clear and the processes run more efficiently than ever.”
About the Emmi Group
The company now known as Emmi was founded in 1907 as the Zentralschweizerischer Milchverband Luzern (Central Swiss Milk Association Lucerne, MVL). Since 1947 it has marketed itself under the Emmi brand; in 1993 it was renamed Emmi AG. In 2004 the company was listed on the stock exchange, with the majority of shares still owned by dairy farmers to this day. The Emmi Group has approximately 25 manufacturing plants of various sizes in Switzerland. Emmi is also present in 13 other countries through subsidiaries, including seven foreign production plants. Emmi exports to around 60 countries from Switzerland. Its workforce comprises approximately 5,300 employees worldwide, 3,000 of them in Switzerland. Emmi’s 2014 revenues amounted to CHF 3.4 billion (€ 3.14 billion).
About tts
tts is a full service provider for talent management and corporate learning. With innovative solutions in the IT and SAP environment, tts helps organizations to develop to their full potential. The tts portfolio covers talent management (SAP Human Capital Management and SAP SuccessFactors) and corporate learning (training and e-learning), together with the tts software tt performance suite (authoring & documentation solution plus performance support). With its corporate HQ in Heidelberg, tts is also represented in nine European cities and the USA.
Emmi Gets Started with SAP SuccessFactors
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SageCrowd to Expand Training Series with Course from Joe Santana
New York, NY − April 4, 2016 – Executive Coach and Group Chair Joe Santana and enterprise training software company sageCrowd have partnered to create a training program on diversity and inclusion. SageCrowd will add this course to their existing Diversity and Inclusion Training Series which features women’s leadership author Gloria Feldt.
This new course will help organizations develop the inclusion and diversity practices necessary to increase their competitive edge and improve organizational synergy. It is designed to help enterprises learn how to use best practices to drive business benefits. Participants will learn real actionable tools such as inclusive strategies for effective meeting facilitation.
“Employee training in the areas of diversity and inclusion has become a necessity for the survival of organizations today,” said Santana. “This course will focus on fully engaging the entire organization; from the onboarding of new employees all the way to the ‘C’ suite, to ensure the highest levels of innovation and performance are met. Those who take this course will learn to develop an inclusive mindset, with the goal of achieving organizational synergy while maintaining individual diversity to drive innovation and growth.”
Santana is a prominent expert on leveraging diversity into a top competitive asset for enterprises. He works with companies so they can successfully produce strategies that will increase employee diversity and inclusion in the workplace. He also helps leaders navigate their way through increasingly difficult diversity issues in order to make their companies better and more innovative places to work.
“In many organizations, best practices can often be found within their own walls,” said Sean Sears, CEO of sageCrowd. “This is what is so innovative about this new course — it empowers employees to be involved in the pursuit of company-wide diversity and inclusion practices, and it advises company leaders, managers, and human resources personnel on how to turn to their employees for input.”
Santana’s course will be an important part of sageCrowd’s diversity and inclusion training Series. This series contains courses that will help companies to fully embrace diversity and create a sustainable organizational culture of inclusion. The series will ensure enterprises receive a return on investment in diversity training and, in turn, strengthen their bottom line.
About Joe Santana:
Joe Santana is a dynamic executive coach, group leader and thought-leading author of thousands of articles, including feature pieces for Diversity Executive Magazine and Insight into Diversity Magazine. He is Chairman of i4cp’s CDO Board, President of Joseph Santana, LLC and a member of the Insight Into Diversity Editorial Board. Joe focuses on helping enterprises increase the business value they derive from diversity by increasing inclusion.
About sageCrowd:
SageCrowd is a software company transforming enterprise training by leveraging breakthroughs from new research in cognitive learning. SageCrowd believes that aligning training to the brain’s natural learning process is the key to better results. They have built the science-based learning methodology, SAGECROWD WAY and a matching learning platform. The goal is to help enterprises implement their most mission critical training projects. It is a whole new way to learn.
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JPL Partners with Training Industry to Provide Insights from TICE 16
April 6, 2016 − JPL will once again be partnering with Training Industry to share insights from learning and development leaders at the Training Industry Conference & Expo (TICE2016) in Raleigh, NC, May 10-12.
The JPL team will interview industry leaders at the conference and share the video highlights on the company’s blog. Thought leaders from top corporations including GE, IBM, and Dish Network are lined up to discuss how organizations develop and distribute learning experiences to improve performance and accomplish goals.
In addition, JPL will be talking with conference attendees to produce daily recap videos that Training Industry will share with people at TICE and with thousands of Training Industry members worldwide.
As a sponsor of the conference, JPL will also conduct a session on how to build partnerships with content development vendors that produce successful training results.
Training Industry is still accepting registrations for the conference. You can learn more by visiting their website and by watching this promotional video JPL created for the conference.
You can follow the conference on Twitter by following JPL Learning Solutions and searching #TICE2016.
About JPL Learning Solutions
JPL combines creativity and interactivity to design engaging learning experiences that improve performance. The firm partners with clients from strategy through content development and technology implementation. JPL’s learning solutions produce results in leading global corporations, associations and government agencies. JPL is a four-time TrainingIndustry.com Content Development Watch List honoree.
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KM Institute Adds New Certifications in Change Management and Transformational Leadership to Curriculum
Washington DC – April 7, 2016 − The KM Institute, the global leader in Knowledge Management Certification, has added Change Management training to its growing curriculum, debuting with a symposium event this June focused on Transformational Change Leadership.
Students can earn new Certified Knowledge Specialist Certification in Transformational Change Leadership, and past Grads (CKM) can earn their Master CKM in Transformational Change Leadership. The event, called the “Transformational Change Management and Leadership Symposium” will feature three tracks and up to 16 courses ranging from half-day to full-day classes. The event will be held June 27-29 at the Sheraton Tysons in Tyson’s Corner, VA, outside Washington, DC.
“Change management has rightfully focused on traditional communications and learning plans,” says Douglas Weidner, KM Institute Chairman, “but change is accelerating. Today’s Knowledge Age leaders need to master transformational leadership models and methods. For the first time, in one program, this symposium provides the knowledge and learning leadership skill sets well ahead of traditional offerings. The KM Institute’s mission is to enable you to excel in the Knowledge Age.
This symposium will set you on that path to success.”
KMI is partnering with leading experts and consultants in the Change Management space, including Jane Maliszewski (Owner, VAULT Associates), John Lewis, Ph.D. (co-founder, CoHero Institute, LLC), Paula Pierce (CEO and principle culture builder, Peridona Strategies), Katy Saulpaugh (practice lead at Enterprise Knowledge, LLC) and Arno Boresma (World Bank, and acclaimed consultant in Design Thinking).
The entire event will be video recorded, so attendees can literally benefit from all sessions. These sessions will be converted to online/e-learning programs (2017), which will enable online Certification programs for the CKS and MCKM. Students who attend the debut event will be granted access to the e-learning courses when available.
This training and its associated pre-requisite training for certification is ideal for anyone tasked to lead or help manage a traditional Change-related project, or an enterprise transformation such as a KM implementation entails. But all classes are open-enrollment master classes, not just certification programs.
Common Change Management will be addressed, from IT adaptability to cultural awareness to leadership and personnel challenges. Plus new methods and techniques for enterprise transformation will be explored by leading consultants in the field.
About the KM Institute
Based in Washington DC, the KM Institute is the global leader in KM Certification and Training (many thousands certified since 2001 with classes delivered in over 23 countries). The KM Institute trains and certifies KM Team Members and Knowledge Workers in the methods and tools that enable individuals and organizations to transform (and substantially improve) human performance in the Knowledge Age.
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TrainingIndustrycom Announces the 2016 Training Outsourcing Companies Watch List
Raleigh, NC – April 7, 2016 – TrainingIndustry.com has announced its Training Outsourcing Companies Watch List, as part of its mission to continually monitor the training marketplace for the best providers of training services and technologies.
View the 2016 Training Outsourcing Companies Watch List
Selection to the 2016 Training Outsourcing Companies Watch List was based on the following criteria:
Innovative service offerings
Ability to provide services on a global basis
Unique and proven approach to Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) solutions
Quality of client served
“The companies on this year’s Training Outsourcing Watch List are a combination of several emerging and a few targeted established companies in this space,” said Ken Taylor, president, Training Industry, Inc. “These organizations demonstrate their focus on clients’ training needs by delivering superior learning services.”
“The 2016 Training Outsourcing Watch List represent a solid group of organizations that are prepared to support your company’s training endeavors,” said Doug Harward, CEO, Training Industry, Inc. “The Watch List companies demonstrate the ability to develop and deliver focused learning solutions and programs.”
Please provide any thoughts or feedback on this list by emailing info@trainingindustry.com.
View the 2016 Training Outsourcing Companies Watch List
About Training Industry, Inc.
TrainingIndustry.com spotlights the latest news, articles, case studies and best practices within the training industry, and publishes annual Top 20 and Watch List reports covering many sectors of interest to the corporate training function. Our focus is on helping dedicated businesses and training professionals get the information, insight and tools needed to more effectively manage the business of learning.
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Mind Click Announces Conversion Solutions to Modernize Legacy ELearning Courses
April 8, 2016 − Before the huge rise in multi-device e-learning, most online training courses predominantly used Flash for development, which is restricted to desktop and not supported by many mobile devices. Over time this caused a decline in the use of Flash, with more and more learners demanding digital, modern ‘on-the go’ learning experiences.
Converting Flash courses to HTML5 is a useful way to retain the existing assets of e-learning modules, but converting them into something on-demand and fully responsive. It can be a powerful method for organizations that are ready to embrace technology and go multi-device with their e-learning as it supports both desktop and all mobile devices (including tablets and smartphones).
Migrating existing legacy Flash courses to HTML5 can be an effective solution for organizations who do not have the time or budget to create bespoke content from scratch, as companies are able to make the most out of the content and resources they already have. Additionally it’s a far more time efficient approach to futureproofing online training, as a single bespoke module can take between 6-8 weeks to develop, whereas Mind Click’s Flash conversion services can migrate a twenty minute course in as little as two weeks.
“It’s so important to stay up-to-date in the world of learning technologies and at Mind Click we’re always looking for creative ways we can innovate and grow our services to assist our customers,” said Sean Reddington, managing director at Mind Click. “We’ve recently helped one of our great clients transform over 30 courses from Flash to HTML5, so their learners can experience on-demand training on-the-go. And with the ever growing need for delivering learning that’s modern and responsive, we understand that this is an essential service for organizations who want to take those first steps towards mobile learning.”
With learners’ needs ever-shifting towards digital e-learning experiences, Mind Click’s legacy conversion services are key for organizations that don’t have the resources in-house but have the need to future proof their e-learning.
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Global Knowledge opens new branch in Qatar
Doha, Qatar – April 11, 2016 − Global Knowledge, the world's leading learning services and professional development solutions provider, announced the opening of a new branch in the State of Qatar.
The new Global Knowledge location gives organizations in the rapidly-developing economy of Qatar the opportunity to accelerate their success by having access to a choice of customized private programs, convenient public training scheduling options, continuous learning support and flexible delivery formats.
"We're extremely pleased to open our new branch in Qatar", said Sean J. Dolan, president and chief executive officer at Global Knowledge. "It is a reflection of our commitment to the State of Qatar, our customers and our IT vendor partners that we are prepared to make this investment at this time."
"We aim to be instrumental in supporting the continued growth of Qatar, its industries and its people by providing market leading educational solutions, certification and business skills development" added Maged Thabet, managing director gulf at Global Knowledge. "We're certain that our new branch will give more choices and higher levels of quality and professionalism to our customers in Qatar."
Global Knowledge's new location in Doha is designed to provide the best training solutions from the world's leading IT vendors such as Cisco, Microsoft, VMware, IBM and many others. The worldwide leader in IT, best practice and business skills training also offers a range of delivery formats to match the customer's requirements, location and budget for an effective, convenient and enjoyable learning experience.
About Global Knowledge
Global Knowledge is the world's leading learning services and professional development solutions provider. We deliver learning solutions to support customers as they adapt to key business transformations and technological advancements that drive the way that organizations around the world differentiate themselves and thrive. Our learning programs, whether designed for a global organization or an individual professional, help businesses close skills gaps and foster an environment of continuous talent development.
Offering the most relevant and timely content delivered by the best instructors, we provide customers around the world with their choice of customized private programs, convenient public training scheduling options, flexible delivery formats and continuous learning support to accelerate their success. Our business skills solutions teach essential communications skills, leadership development, business analysis, project management, IT service management and process improvement. With thousands of courses spanning from foundational training to specialized certifications, our core IT training is focused on technology partners such as Amazon Web Services, Cisco, IBM, Microsoft, Red Hat, SAP and VMware. We offer comprehensive professional development for advancements in application development, big data analytics, change management, cloud computing, cybersecurity and networking.
Founded in 1995, Global Knowledge employs more than 1,700 people worldwide and is headquartered in Cary (USA), with EMEA headquarters in London, UK.
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MIT and SapientNitro Celebrate 15th Anniversary of OpenCourseWare
Cambridge, MA – April 12, 2016 − MIT and SapientNitro, a leader in helping businesses transform for the digital age, celebrate the fifteenth anniversary of MIT OpenCourseWare (OCW), a web-based program designed to share materials used in the teaching of MIT's 2,300 undergraduate and graduate courses openly and freely with the world. Since the program’s launch in 2002, OCW course materials – including more than 100 courses with lecture videos, over 60 free online textbooks and more than 60 courses where faculty share in-depth insights on the art and science of teaching – have been accessed by more than 200 million educators, students and self-learners worldwide.
“MIT’s OCW program enables educators, students and self-learners around the world to access resources and educational materials through a web-based experience that is highly-accessible and designed around the needs of users,” said Michael Maione, director of client services, SapientNitro. “SapientNitro has been proud to support OCW and MIT’s faculty for the past 15 years and we look forward to continuing to help millions more harness the power of this groundbreaking program.”
SapientNitro, part of the Publicis.Sapient platform, is providing extensive creative services to promote the anniversary, including anniversary brand identity creation, web development and design, and video production, to showcase the program’s impact, reach, and innovations.
Because OCW is Creative Commons licensed, anyone can download and save OCW content, adapt and remix it to meet their needs, and share freely with their friends and colleagues. Through the program, OCW has distributed 368 copies of the site on hard drives to universities in bandwidth constrained regions, and translation partners have created more than 1,000 translated versions of OCW courses.
SapientNitro has been instrumental in the design, construction and implementation of the publishing platform for sharing MIT faculty’s educational resources, as well as the creation of a seamless and intuitive user experience for the program’s global network. The agency will continue to deliver technical support and web services for OCW’s course publishing group.
OCW has also been sustained by the generous support of MIT itself, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Ab Initio Corporation, MathWorks, Telmex, Dow, Lockheed Martin, Accenture, thousands of individual donors, and other foundations and corporate sponsors.
About MIT OpenCourseWare
At MIT OpenCourseWare (OCW), we make the materials used in the teaching of MIT's undergraduate and graduate courses—more than 2,300 in all—available on the Web, free of charge, to any user in the world. Our website receives an average of 2.3 million website visits per month from more than 215 countries and territories worldwide.
About SapientNitro
SapientNitro®, part of the Publicis.Sapient platform, is a new breed of agency redefining storytelling for an always-on world. We’re changing the way our clients engage today’s connected consumers by uniquely creating integrated, immersive stories across brand communications, digital engagement, and omni-channel commerce. We call it our Storyscaping® approach, where art and imagination meet the power and scale of systems thinking. SapientNitro’s unique combination of creative, brand and technology expertise results in one global team collaborating across disciplines, perspectives and continents to create game-changing success for our Global 1000 clients, such as Chrysler, The Coca-Cola Company, Lufthansa, Target and Vodafone, in 31 cities across The Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific.
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WILL Interactive Launches New ELearning Video Asset Library
Potomac, MD − April 13, 2016 – WILL Interactive, the nation’s leading developer of immersive video-based simulations, has created a brand new business offering. Utilizing their proprietary learning technology, WILL is launching Cinario, an extensive video asset library of cinematic clips to be incorporated into a wide range of learning materials.
“We are delighted to offer our learning solutions in a new and affordable format that can be used across so many industries,” said WILL Interactive CEO, Sharon Sloane. “As video-based learning continues to grow in popularity and effectiveness, we are providing exciting new varieties of content."
Cinario is targeted to learning professionals who want to use engaging video clips as presentation assets or to enhance e-learning programs. WILL developed filmed scenarios to be utilized as independent learning experiences. Video topics include, but are not limited to: leadership, communication, law enforcement, workplace harassment, team building, racial profiling, safe healthcare practices, and ethical decision-making.
The micro-burst eLearning video library includes both linear and branching models. The linear scenarios follow a single path to the story's conclusion, while branching scenarios have decision points that affect the outcome of the story. Both methods increase learning engagement and deliver powerful narrative.
About WILL Interactive WILL Interactive creates live action immersive learning simulations that are played on a computer or mobile device and address important issues (PTSD, veteran re-integration, leadership prescription drug abuse etc.) that require new and novel approaches to organizational change. During the interactive movie, called a "simulation", players are prompted to make a variety of decisions by clicking on one of several courses of action related to the storyline. When play resumes, they experience the outcome of their choices. Clients look to WILL to help them change peoples' behavior or actions. Some of these clients include the U.S. Army, the U.S. Navy, the National Football League, the US Department of Health and Human Services, Hilton Worldwide and numerous schools around the country.
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United Fresh Launches New Sales Training Program For Produce Industry Professionals
Washington D.C. – April 13, 2016 − United Fresh announces a new sales training program specifically designed for the fresh produce industry. The program will focus on the fundamentals of selling for up-and-coming produce sales staff. The day and a half program will be offered twice this year; once in Seaside, CA and once in Dallas, TX.
An initiative of the United Fresh Grower-Shipper Board, the Produce Sales Training program was created to deliver baseline selling skills and techniques for staff who want to deepen their knowledge of the sales process. The course is designed to be highly interactive and customized in a limited environment of 20 participants. Attendees will learn key objectives such as how to identify customer needs, how to engage customers, and how to close a sale.
“Our board identified an important training need for sales professionals in our industry,” said Tom Deardorff, president, Deardorff Family Farms and chairman of the United Fresh Grower-Shipper Board. “The fundamental sales tools and techniques taught in this course will allow them to expand their sales skillset, advance our businesses and ultimately the way we sell across the industry.”
United Fresh’s Produce Sales Training program is presented by Jan Kessinger of Henderson Kessinger Consulting (HKC). HKC Inc. was founded in 1994 with a focus on creating sales with a commitment to meeting the needs of the customer. Kessinger specializes in delivering customized sales training programs and boasts a diverse portfolio of clients across myriad business sectors. He brings real-world experience to his training as a former buyer, salesperson and manager. He has a deep knowledge of the produce industry, with nearly two decades of experience at The Packer as sales director and associate publisher.
About United Fresh Produce Association
Founded in 1904, the United Fresh Produce Association brings together companies across every segment of the fresh produce supply chain, including growers, shippers, fresh cut processors, wholesalers, distributors, retailers, foodservice operators, industry suppliers and allied associations. We empower industry leaders to shape sound government policy. We deliver the resources and expertise companies need to succeed in managing complex business and technical issues. We provide the training and development individuals need to advance their careers in produce. Through these endeavors, we unite our industry with a common purpose – to build long-term value for our members and grow produce consumption.
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Britannica Knowledge Systems Demos at WATS Leading Edge Strategies for Aviation Training Optimization
Orlando, FL − April 14, 2016 − Britannica Knowledge System will demonstrate Fox, its advanced training management system for pilots, cabin crew, maintenance personnel and ground crew, at the 19th World Aviation Training Conference and Tradeshow (WATS) April 18-21 2016 in Orlando, Florida.
Offering new management strategies and automation in the areas of scheduling, AQP, qualifications, grading, and compliance, Fox helps aviation training operations oversee training and learning while reducing training costs, minimizing scheduling and recovery time, expanding training capacity, maximizing resource utilization, and adhering to rules and regulations.
“Before using Fox, our aviation customers struggled with efficiency and compliance in the areas of training operation scheduling, resource and instructor utilization, and qualification management,” said Miki Ringelhim, VP of sales and business development, Britannica. “They discovered that Fox not only simplifies and improves training processes, it optimizes their entire operation resulting in significant cost savings.”
One of Britannica’s customers, United Airlines, will present its own case study at WATS on the issues and decisions leading to its training operation automation. United’s presentation, “New Strategies and Technologies to Optimize Aviation Learning and Training,” will take place in the session, “Applying New Technologies in Air Carrier Training” on April 20th.
Ringelhim explained that more and more sizeable organizations are choosing optimization through Fox as their path forward in improving processes and cutting costs. Fox is fitted to each customer’s unique goals through the support of Britannica’s expert product delivery team who works closely with each customer to reflect their requirements in system configuration.
“Some customers seek maximized resources, the measurable ability to do more with less.” said Ringelhim. “Others stress achieving total compliance as well as continuous learning achievement in this highly-regulated industry where training assimilation is critical to life and safety. In all cases, we guarantee increased operational efficiency, improved training effectiveness, and reduced expense.”
About Britannica Knowledge Systems
Britannica has a 30-year proven track record of providing optimal training management solutions for the most prestigious and demanding operations in the areas of civil aviation, defense, security forces and corporate training management. Premier airlines, training centers, and aircraft manufacturers worldwide choose Britannica’s Fox to optimize training scheduling, qualification and grading management. Delivered by experts who ensure Fox's precise fit to distinct customer needs, Fox maximizes scheduling and resources, maintaining compliance and reducing expense. It prevents certification expirations, fulfills complex AQP requirements, and adeptly oversees learning/grading. Fox's robust analytics ensure ongoing program improvement.
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PD Training Introduces Pearls of Wisdom Microlearning to Australia
Sydney, Australia – April 15, 2016 − Microlearning videos are a great adjunct to traditional classroom learning, especially for Millennials attracted to bite-sized online training, according to Paul Findlay, Managing Director of Australian-owned professional training company, PD Training.
PD Training, which operates in 10 countries including the U.S., announced that it has introduced the pearls of wisdom ® series of videos to its extensive suite of training materials.
“Training programs that are self-directed and always accessible on any device offer important additional resources that are consistent with the behaviors and customs of contemporary learners,” said Findlay. “We have 200 short pearls of wisdom ® videos on essential management and leadership topics that deliver timely and relevant nuggets of knowledge to time-deprived learners of all ages. We believe that training should not only talk sense but also engage the senses. Microlearning by video is increasingly effective because it can be used flexibly and easily. If the videos are engaging, pacy and succinct, they can ease three of the biggest barriers to training – cost, time and geography.”
“As a company focused on innovation, PD Training is continuously scouring the marketplace for training solutions that match the trends in the world of professional development,” Findlay said. “We’ve sourced the pearls of wisdom ® series because we believe the videos can be part of a microlearning solution for managers seeking to attract and retain talented young millennials.”
Deloitte’s annual 2016 survey of 7,000 Millennials showed that nearly 63 percent believe their leadership skills are not being fully developed.
“Organizations can improve their productivity and performance by choosing the pearls of wisdom ® videos about management and leadership that are appropriate to their workplace,” Findlay explained. “Subjects in the video series include authentic and ethical leadership; understanding and excelling at change; developing self; performance management; coaching and mentoring; motivation; effective communication; team building; strategy and organization; leadership and management styles; project management, critical thinking and creative thinking.”
About PD Training
PD Training is an Australian-owned professional development company founded in 2009 operating in 10 countries. It develops bespoke training programs to support an organization’s objectives and delivers more than 4,000 courses in the workplace and online via a 1,000 strong network of trainers. PD Training is redefining workplace learning by using the latest digital and learning innovations to build more productive teams.
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The TAS Group Evolves as Altify Accelerates Innovation and Research to Take Sales Performance Higher
Dublin, Ireland and Seattle, WA − April 18, 2016 − The TAS Group, the global leader in sales transformation, announced it is now Altify, a name that reflects the company’s focus on helping its customers achieve their highest goals. Altify believes customer success shouldn’t just be measured in transactions, but in the lifetime and network value of each business relationship. Altify guides organizations to create value through the sales experience and make every connection between business buyers and sellers a win-win outcome. Leveraging its 30 years of sales knowledge and cloud software, Altify’s newest innovation provides its customers with Altify Max, the first Augmented Intelligence Platform for Sales.
“The TAS Group was in the cloud even before it was called ‘cloud,’ and we’ve been developing sales methodology for 30 years” said Donal Daly, CEO of Altify, formerly The TAS Group. “Our vision from the outset has been to take world-class methodology, blend it with smart enterprise cloud software and make it universally accessible, leading to a more professional level of selling. Now, we want to raise the bar again and help our customers ‘altify’ — achieve an even higher altitude — for their performance. We chose the name Altify to reflect this higher aspiration of great sales teams: to create value for both their organization and their customers.”
“When BMC began transforming its business over two years ago, the focus wasn’t only on bringing innovative, new products and solutions to market, but also on embracing a fundamental shift in everything we do to deliver a totally new experience for our customers,” said Paul Appleby, executive vice president, Worldwide Sales and Marketing at BMC. “We selected The TAS Group for its ability to combine powerful customer-focused solutions with a constant lens on supporting our business transformation. Under its new brand, Altify will continue enabling BMC to innovate, further our own business transformation and accelerate our customers’ digital journeys.”
The TAS Group has consistently set the standard for a cutting-edge approach to sales, having been one of the first to adopt adaptive “smart” technology and integrate real-time data, sales methodology, knowledge and contextual analytics into its solutions. It has also experienced dramatic growth over the past year, working with companies such as Autodesk, BT, GE, Johnson Controls, Optum and Salesforce to create better outcomes for customers.
“The TAS Group’s technology has helped us genuinely advance our business, and now they’re working to change the sales profession as a whole,” said Janice Rapoza, Director, Global Sales Operations at Brocade. “Software has shifted toward solutions that combine data, context and intelligence to provide more effective results. As the company moves forward as Altify, it will continue the industry movement toward a more advanced, customer-focused breed of sales.”
Altify also announced Altify Max, the first Augmented Intelligence Sales Platform. Altify Max is integrated across the complete Altify Platform, encompassing account management, opportunity management and sales performance management. Altify Max watches what is happening in the opportunity, the account, the pipeline and forecast, assesses the impact and notifies the salesperson to act, prescribing the next best action to take. Altify Max has 30 years of deep sales knowledge and insights built in to the software and customers can extend and customize the knowledge with their own insights. This real-time coaching solution makes sales teams exponentially more effective for greater sales results.
With Altify Max, and the Altify Platform, every salesperson becomes a sales expert with a deeply insightful understanding of their customer’s problems. This higher level of selling, which only AltifyMax makes possible, was the inspiration for the name Altify.
Amongst the first initiatives under its new name, Altify announced the launch of Altify Knowledge – a knowledge and research resource for its customers and the broader sales community. Altify Knowledge has started by publishing the Altify Buyer/Seller Value Index 2016, a first-of-its-kind research study of 1,245 buyers and sellers across 66 countries. Altify Buyer/Seller Value Index 2016 uncovers the truth about the gaps between buyers and sellers, when buyers engage sellers, the costs incurred by both parties, and the opportunity to create greater mutual value.
About Altify
For progressive B2B sales organizations, Altify helps sales teams make their customers more successful, so they win the deals that matter, increase wallet share in existing customers and manage overall sales team performance. With applied knowledge and insight we make it easy for your customer to buy from you, making it easy for salespeople, managers and executives to accelerate revenue growth consistently.
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Mobify Acquires Pathful Advanced Machine Learning Technology to Help Retailers Leverage Shopper Interaction With Content
Vancouver, BC − April 18, 2016 − Mobile customer engagement leader, Mobify announced the acquisition of Pathful, provider of advanced machine learning-based technology for behaviour-based targeting. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Founded in 2011, Pathful helps retailers and B2B customers understand how visitors interact with content, capturing micro interactions on the web as well as with desktop and mobile devices to surface content that engages with customers and increases conversions. Pathful machine algorithms are able to generate and analyze 25 times the data of Google Analytics for unparalleled on-page insights. The technology is being integrated with Mobify's Mobile Customer Engagement Platform, enabling retailers that use content marketing and marketing automation to acquire and qualify customers by understanding the entire customer journey, from acquisition through conversion.
Pathful is Mobify's second recent acquisition, following its purchase of Dónde, a Chicago-based provider of location-aware mobile technology in December. The ability to provide individualization based on multiple contexts including location and behavioural data in order to deliver highly relevant content increases the competitive advantage of Mobify's Mobile Commerce and Engagement Platform. Mobify was named a leader in The Forrester Wave™: Mobile Commerce And Engagement Platforms Q1 2016 report.
Pathful's team have joined Mobify, including co-founders Boris Lau as Senior Software Engineer and Campbell Macdonald as an advisor.
"We're very pleased to welcome Campbell and Boris and their team and to introduce Mobify customers to Pathful's exciting technology,” said Igor Faletski, Mobify CEO. “With more insights into the needs and wants of online and retail audiences, Pathful's advanced machine learning technology makes intelligent mobile marketing automation a breeze."
While alternative approaches to content analytics show page views and other vanity metrics, Pathful captures how visitors interact with content to understand the entire customer journey, from acquisition through to conversion, surfacing the most valuable insights to enable marketers to take action to drive results.
One Pathful customer wanted insight into how the content on each page of its site was performing and to understand why so few visitors were converting into customers. Pathful was able to show:
How each visitor interacted with content throughout their entire lifecycle, capturing mouse movement, touch, pinch and zoom, as well as analyzing the page structure
How visitors arriving from organic search channels were 2.1x more likely to convert to a new product trial than the average website visitor
Which content improvements would contribute most to conversions and how marketing designs, newsletters, messaging, and other programs could be more effective at getting attention and conversions.
Integrating content-specific data collection into the Mobify platform will improve the ability for retailers and other B2B customers to present more individualized content in Mobify-powered experiences.
A Techstars 2013 company, Pathful received funding from Foundry Group, Angel List, Drummond Road Capital and G2T3V.
About Mobify
Mobify delivers technology and services that help companies engage connected consumers to increase revenue online and in-store. Mobify's mobile customer engagement platform creates powerful mobile web and native applications and delivers the latest mobile push notification and location-based technology across all mobile devices. Delivered via the cloud and implemented with on-page tag technology that minimizes IT involvement, Mobify has more mobile experience and expertise than any traditional technology vendor, ensuring the best possible mobile experience and revenue outcomes.
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Former Skyscanner Finance Chief Joins EdTech Startup Administrate as CFO
Edinburgh, Scotland – April 18, 2016 − Administrate, an EdTech SaaS solution for training providers and corporations, has appointed Derek Gardner as CFO. The former head of finance at travel search site Skyscanner joins the team at one of Scotland's fastest-growing tech companies as Administrate enters its next phase of growth. Also joining, as Chief Product Officer, is Troy Michels, previously the CTO at healthcare technology firm Sentry Data Systems. The company is on the hunt to expand its technical team and is looking to add a number of engineering roles.
In addition to these key hires, the firm announces that it has opened its first international office in Bozeman, Montana. North America is the company's fastest growing market and the U.S.-based team will help better serve an expanding client base in the region.
Administrate sells its software to large organizations that struggle to define, manage, report on and sustain employee engagement through training. The average firm spends more than $1,800 (£1,200) per employee per year but faces problems when trying to accurately track this spend and measure engagement. After implementing Administrate, customers realize huge time savings, can drive strategic training initiatives and increase overall student engagement. Clients include Elsevier, Scania, Becker Professional Education, FIVB, ForgeRock and the Brunswick Corporation.
"We're delighted to welcome Derek and Troy to our team and excited to learn from their experience,” said John Peebles, CEO of Administrate. “Like our headquarters in Edinburgh, Bozeman is characterized by a first class university, beautiful surroundings, an outstanding talent pool and a quality of life that is a great fit with the ethos of our business."
About Administrate
Administrate currently employs 40 people across its Edinburgh and Montana offices. The Administrate training management solution includes:
CORE: Training Management System – designed to handle all administrative tasks and save tons of time. Administrate customers use the core system to run their entire business or internal training department.
LMS: Learning Management System – a highly ranked, mobile friendly, SCORM compliant e-learning system.
WEB: Website Integration – turn any website into a course booking and registration machine. Accept payments, make your website SEO friendly and automatically update course listings.- While the overall global market for training services is estimated at almost $300 billion according to TrainingIndustry.com, Learning Management Systems (LMS) and eLearning are the fastest-growing market segments and fit squarely with Administrate’s product offering. The LMS and e-learning markets are valued at approximately $7 billion and $100 billion respectively.
In December 2015, Administrate secured an additional $2.5 million (£1.7 million) in an oversubscribed funding round led by Scottish angel syndicate Archangels. 2015 saw the team more than triple in size in response to significantly increased demand for its products from North America, the UK and the Middle East.
In January 2016, Administrate was selected as one of the UK’s most promising startups for Tech City UK’s Upscale accelerator program.
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tts Promotes Educational Access for Refugees
Heidelberg, Germany − April 19, 2016 − Refugees have a hard time getting access to higher education. They have to wait for their right of residence to be determined, and their documents often go missing during flight. Berlin’s Kiron Open Higher Education wants to provide a remedy to this situation, and is enabling displaced people from around the world to pursue a course of study right through to a recognized degree qualification, free of cost. Participants complete online foundation courses over two years while learning German. When they have finished all of the required modules they can take a third year at one of Kiron’s many partner universities to complete their course of study.
tts, the market leader for technology and services in e-learning, is actively supporting Kiron by making its cloud-based e-learning authoring environment, tt knowledge force, available free of charge. This will enable Kiron to produce and manage its own high-quality e-learning courses efficiently. On top of this, tts is providing standard learning resources to Kiron’s employees and students, for example so that they can develop skills in Microsoft Office, and is advising the University on the integration of content in the learning management environment.
“tts employs people from 25 countries and we unreservedly view this as enriching our company,” said Sandro Franke, partner manager at tts. His colleague Axel Lindhorst adds, “Fast and unbureaucratic access to education is one of the keys to integrating refugees, and as an important vendor of learning technology, we feel a sense of duty in this respect.”
Kiron Open Higher Education’s curriculum already covers the subjects of Information Technology, Economics and Engineering Science. RWTH Aachen and the University of Heilbronn are among the educational institutions that have already recognized Kiron’s online courses for refugees.
About Kiron Open Higher Education
The none-profit Kiron University was set up by Markus Kreßler and Vincent Zimmer in Berlin and is currently supported by the Social Impact Lab. Kiron’s mission is to enable refugees to gain access to university education, enhancing their prospects and facilitating their integration in the host country. Kiron does not charge admission fees for its study courses, which are provided to world-class standards and are available before the asylum process has even started.
About tts
tts is a full service provider for talent management and corporate learning. With innovative solutions in the IT and SAP environment, tts helps organizations to develop to their full potential. The tts portfolio covers talent management (SAP Human Capital Management and SAP SuccessFactors) and corporate learning (training and e-learning), together with the tts software tt performance suite (authoring & documentation solution plus performance support). With its corporate HQ in Heidelberg, tts is also represented in nine European cities and the USA.
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EDUonGo Unveils Newest Theme Selection for Professional and Corporate Training Courses
Bellevue, WA – April 19, 2016 − EDUonGo, a cloud-based learning platform that hosts online academies, has released its newest selection of course catalog and dashboard themes. The rollout marks the company’s latest move to present their platform as an alternative to Moodle and other traditional learning management systems (LMS) used to build and manage online courses.
“EDUonGo is a great Moodle alternative,” says Ridvan Aliu, CEO of EDUonGo. “Moodle developers switch to EDUonGo to save themselves from the headache of hosting the platform. We also grant them access to free round-the-clock IT support.”
For clients like Shift Workplace—a provider of professional training courses that helps promote workplace efficiency and productivity—the learning platform helps seamlessly migrate existing courses, saving Moodle developers time and money when changing and managing their courses.
Using EDUonGo, clients can build their own templates from scratch through rich application program interface (API). They can also implement ready-to-go templates from this page, which makes it easy to integrate EDUonGo into their existing websites.
About EDUonGo EDUonGo is a cloud-based learning platform that empowers companies to create professional and corporate training courses. Companies save time and money by using EDUonGo as their custom eLearning solution. The platform’s flexibility and development support makes it a great alternative to traditional LMSs like Moodle.
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BMW Northern Europe Awards Comprehensive Training Outsource Contract to Raytheon
Ruesselsheim, Germany − April 19, 2016 − BMW Group Northern Europe has awarded Raytheon Professional Services LLC, a subsidiary of Raytheon Company, a three-year contract to provide training for BMW and Mini dealers in the Nordic Markets and Baltic States. The contract includes an option for two additional years.
Raytheon will provide training delivery, training administration and management, deployment and local adaptation services. The countries covered are Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
Raytheon Professional Services will deliver its market-leading services through its proven model, which uses both in-country and virtual teams. RPS currently has offices in France, Germany, Sweden and the UK, and an award-winning customer service center in Barcelona, Spain. Additional teams of learning experts are located across Europe, with some in countries covered by the contract.
"Our goal at BMW is to provide our dealers with high quality, premium training that helps to drive competitive advantage," said Andreas Rönnqvist, qualification cluster manager, BMW Group Northern Europe. "RPS' decades of experience in the automotive industry, advanced technology solutions and flexibility positions it well to help BMW move to ever-more-efficient and innovative training."
Training will be delivered primarily to BMW technicians, body repairers, service and parts advisors, sales consultants and various dealership management functions. Training areas will range from certification training and product training to sales launch training and dealer coaching.
"BMW Northern Europe wanted a training partner with a strong European footprint, who can build on its current training system, introduce the right innovations and ensure a consistent and efficient approach across the region. RPS is the perfect fit," said Mark Oliver, managing director, EMEA, Raytheon Professional Services.
About Raytheon Raytheon Company, with 2015 sales of $23 billion and 61,000 employees, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, civil government and cybersecurity solutions. With a history of innovation spanning 94 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration, C5I™ products and services, sensing, effects, and mission support for customers in more than 80 countries. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, MA.
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Pearson and Flatiron School Partner to Provide Coding BootCamp Training Solution to Help Students Acquire Skills That Increase Their Employability
San Diego, CA – April 21, 2016 − According to Glassdoor’s “25 Best Jobs in America 2016” survey, a software engineer career ranks among the top 10 in terms of average base salary, job openings and career opportunity. Now through a new partnership between Pearson and Flatiron School, college and university students can participate in an on-campus “Coding Bootcamp” to build the skills that lead to those high-paying jobs. Through the partnership, learners will have access to a full-time, 800-hour training program in high-demand software development skills that precisely simulate a professional coder’s environment.
“Through our collaboration with the Flatiron School, we are enabling institutions to provide their students with access to rigorous, career-ready higher education opportunities that will position them to meet their employment goals upon graduation,” said Leah Jewell, managing director, career development and employability, Pearson. “This partnership is part of our comprehensive portfolio of professional development and training course offerings designed to provide high-impact credentialing and employability solutions that prepare learners for successful, accelerated entry into the workforce.”
To communicate their skills and content mastery to employers effectively, students complete the training program with a professional profile on Github, an industry-standard project-hosting tool for storing and collaborating on software code.
“Our goal at Flatiron School has always been to expand access to outcomes-oriented education. Bringing this training into traditional institutions of higher education through our partnership with Pearson is a great step towards bridging the gap between traditional education and modern skills,” said Adam Enbar, co-founder and CEO, Flatiron School. “In addition, we’re thrilled to be partnering with Delta, given their focus on providing industry-focused training through programs such as those at The Creative Circus in Atlanta.”
“Our collaboration with Pearson and Flatiron School supports our ongoing commitment to providing students with high-quality, hands-on, real-world learning experiences that will continue to help change futures and lives,” said Jason Pfaff, VP of product development, Delta Career Education Corporation.
The Flatiron “coding bootcamp in-a-box” includes: -A dynamic, continuously updated curriculum, -A virtual learning environment that uses the same real tools professionals use in industry, -Resources for instructors to manage classes, including syllabi, course structure and grading tools, and -Virtual-classroom features that allow students to interact and collaborate in real time.
Pearson’s partnership with Flatiron School is part of a broader initiative to increase access to high-quality courseware offerings focused on helping learners to develop the skills and competencies they need to succeed in high-demand career fields. Pearson's comprehensive portfolio of alternative credentialing and employability solutions include partnering with higher education institutions to provide labor market analysis, courseware offerings, and digital badging.
About Pearson Pearson is the world's learning company, with 36,000 employees in more than 70 countries working to help people of all ages to make measurable progress in their lives through learning.
About Flatiron School Flatiron School trains creative, passionate people in web and mobile development. Established in 2012 by founders Adam Enbar and Avi Flombaum, 99% of Flatiron School's adult graduates have launched careers at companies like Google, Intel, and Microsoft. All classes are facilitated by highly skilled instructors. Flatiron School is a recognized partner of NYC Department of Small Business Services, creating opportunities for all New Yorkers.
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Orion Learning Expands Global ISO Customer Service Certification Programs
Toronto, Canada − April 22, 2016 − Orion Learning, an international leader in competency-based learning and development solutions, announced that it has expanded their ISO-based international certification programs to include Certified Customer Service Manager.
“We are thrilled to be able to offer a global Certified Customer Service Manager (CCSM) program geared to anyone who manages a customer service/contact center operation or organization” said Ken Kavanagh, founder and president of Orion Learning. This new certification program includes 21 courses covering the topics of professionalism, communication, technology, health & safety, monitoring & leading operations and basic human resources and upon completion of the program, results in a professional designation.
The addition of this program expands Orion’s certification program offering to 5, which include Certified Contact Center Agent, Certified Customer Service Agent, Certified Contact Center Supervisor and Certified Customer Service Supervisor.
“All of our certification programs are ISO based and follow the curriculum established by the national occupational standards (NOS) for Canada, UK and USA” said Kavanagh. The NOS defines the competencies that are required for an individual to be skilled for their position and are created by representatives of government, industry and educational institutions.
“What makes our certification programs different from any other certification program in the world, is that our programs are industry neutral, competency based and provides a solid foundation for any employee to receive product and service training from their employer.” says Kavanagh.
Additionally, individuals who are registered for a certification program are also added to a global public register of certified individuals.
“This allows anyone, anywhere to verify an individual’s certification” said Kavanagh. “We are raising the bar for customer service standards everywhere, by creating competency based certification programs, supported by solid curricula, digital delivery and a public register” said Kavanagh. “Our certification programs are the only ISO based customer service certification programs in the world that follow an ISO standard supported by a solid NOS curriculum that is competency based and is international in scope. No other certification program is like ours and our delivery is 100 percent digital, meaning you can complete our programs anywhere that has internet access”.
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