Boston (PRWEB) July 15, 2013 -- Fortune 500 global technology company taps Interaction Associates to develop women leaders.
Interaction Associates is the choice of a global high-technology company to deliver a specialized executive education program designed to develop the company's worldwide women leaders.
The leading innovator of workplace methods that develop leaders, build trust, and deepen collaboration to help drive business results, Interaction Associates has a unique and powerful perspective on developing women leaders. The firm's Women in Leadership program (WIL) focuses on five key skill areas: self-awareness, negotiating skills, mentoring and networking, effective conversations, and gender dilemmas. The program pressure-tests and hones women leaders' business skills -equipping women not only for career success, but for major contributions to the company, as well.
"Many companies know that developing all their people is a competitive advantage - and we see the Women in Leadership program as an important component in a strategy to attract, involve, and retain the best people in the industry," said Linda Stewart, Interaction Associates President and CEO. "Research shows women leaders bring diverse points of view and insights into customer needs that are invaluable to an organizations' success," Stewart added.
The global technology solutions firm joins other companies that are also developing their women with this targeted program. It has retained Interaction Associates as part of its focus providing development opportunities for employees worldwide. The aim is to leverage gender diversity for strong business results, and attract and retain top talent, while assuring a strong, diverse leadership bench.
"The program is challenging, insightful, and practical," said Stewart. "Women in Leadership achieves that balance to give women leaders grounded and actionable insights and skills. We are thrilled to collaborate with such an innovative global company to further innovate leadership solutions for strong business results," added Stewart.
About Interaction Associates
Interaction Associates (IA) is a 43-year innovator that equips people to work better together in order to realize superior business results. The firm helps global organizations build high-involvement, collaborative cultures by developing their leaders, teams, and change agents. IA's clients achieve a new measure of ROI - Return on Involvement - where employees go "beyond engagement" to share responsibility for business success. IA offers customized consulting, learning and development, and coaching services. It was named one of Training Industry's top 20 Training Companies in 2012 and 2013. For more info: www.interactionassociates.com.
Interaction Associates Introduces Timely Program for Developing Global Leaders
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GP Strategies Awarded up to $25 Million Contract by the US Department of the Interior
ELKRIDGE, Md. - Global performance improvement solutions provider GP Strategies Corporation (NYSE: GPX) announced today that it has been awarded an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity base year contract with four option years with the US Department of the Interior's (DOI's) Interior Business Center (IBC) to provide talent management system (TMS) support, including technology implementation and training services. The selection was made through an open request for proposal process, which included both hosted and Software as a Service (SaaS) bidders. Funding will be provided on an individual task order basis and the maximum five-year contract value is $25 million, assuming all option years are exercised and the contract is fully funded.
These services will provide a talent management solution for both the DOI and its human resources shared services customers. IBC will provide TMS services through an interagency agreement. GP Strategies will provide program management, implementation services, system training and migration services for SuccessFactors Business Execution (BizX) talent management suite. GP Strategies will also bring SaaS transition and implementation expertise to the IBC to serve their customer base, along with an extensible, enterprise class, multi-tenant system and a scalable and secure infrastructure.
Billy Biggs, GP Strategies Director of Public Sector, said, "The recent IBC contract award bolsters GP Strategies' long-standing reputation as a leading talent management technology services provider within the federal government. Our extensive experience providing Talent Management Technology services, specifically delivered in a Federal Shared Services Provider Model, will help ensure IBC customers meet their business and training requirements without compromising their core missions. We are excited to have the opportunity to partner with the IBC and look forward to a long, successful partnership."
About DOI IBC
Located within the Department of the Interior, the Interior Business Center (formerly the National Business Center) is a federal Shared Services Provider that offers business solutions to create efficiencies and economies of scale for the Interior Department as well as other federal agencies. For more than 30 years, the Interior Business Center has supported Interior offices and bureaus, and other federal agencies by providing business solutions that allow these organizations to focus on their core missions. Today its government workforce of dedicated professionals with extensive knowledge of federal business practices, including federal acquisition, financial management, budget and finance systems, human resources, training services, administrative support services for drug and alcohol testing and payroll systems, serves a customer base of more than 150 government offices and agencies. For additional information, please visit the IBC website, ibc.doi.gov.
About GP Strategies
GP Strategies Corporation (NYSE: GPX) is a global performance improvement solutions provider of sales and technical 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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Redtray changes name to Commelius
Taining and learning technology provider Redtray Solutions Ltd announced today it has a new company name - Commelius Solutions Ltd.
“We’re still the same great organisation with the same great variety of products and services," CEO Carl Smith said. "The only thing that has changed is that we now have a name that reflects what we try to achieve for our customers.”
In the past couple of years Redtray has gone through some exciting changes and organisational developments. Last July the company launched a new brand which was reflected in the fresh and energetic look and feel of their website. This year they’ve decided to go with a new name which, as Mr Smith puts it, would signify the company vision.
The term Commelius comes from a combination of two Latin words ‘commentare’, which means transform, and ‘melius’ meaning better. Mr Smith explains that the new name represents the company’s mission statement, which states:
‘Bringing learning and technology together to drive change’ and
‘Making learning technologies a better experience’
“We wanted a name with real meaning behind it; and now we have a great name which reflects what we do as a company– helping organisations to better transform their businesses through learning and technology," Smith said.
Visitors can find out more about Commelius Solutions Ltd at www.commelius.com.
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Meridian to Implement LMS that Educates Californians about Affordable Care Act
Herndon, Va. – July 17, 2013 – Meridian Knowledge Solutions, a leading provider of integrated performance and learning management systems (LMS), is implementing its Software-as-a-Service LMS and Social platform for the California Health Benefit Exchange, also known as Covered California™. The LMS will play a role in educating nearly nine million Californians about the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Meridian’s LMS software will deliver training to workers at community organizations responsible for explaining the Affordable Care Act and encouraging Californians to apply for benefits.
California was the first state to create a health benefit exchange following the passage of the Affordable Care Act. In May 2013, Covered California awarded $37 million in grants to community organizations such as Catholic Charities and the NAACP to educate Californians about the Affordable Care Act. Meridian’s LMS will provide approximately 40,000 grantees and state workers, among others, with 15 learning tracks that include courses on applying for healthcare coverage or submitting an appeal if denied. Healthcare coverage though Covered California begins January 1, 2014. In addition to meeting the current requirements, Covered California chose Meridian’s platform to keep up with rapidly evolving policy changes to the Affordable Care Act at the local, state and federal levels.
Covered California signed this contract in June, and is now launching the first training program of its kind anywhere in the United States for grantees to learn about the Affordable Care Act.
Grantees and, eventually the public, will access the training delivered by the Meridian SaaS LMS via a password-protected web site. Some people learning about the Affordable Care Act will not be familiar with technology. So, Meridian has designed the software’s interface to be intuitive for people with even basic computer skills.
“Meridian’s software gives administrators a quick way to assign training, administer tests and deliver knowledge to kiosks, PCs, smartphones and tablets,” said Jason Marceau, chief operations officer for Meridian. “To make it easy for people of all abilities to understand and talk about the Affordable Care Act, our software provides users video content as well as collaborative tools like wikis and blogs for sharing information and policies.”
Grantees will access the Affordable Care Act training via the Meridian LMS at www.coveredca.com. The public will begin taking training at the same site on January 1, 2014.
About Meridian
Meridian Knowledge Solutions provides technology platforms that empower enterprises, governments, and member-based organizations to develop their people by delivering learning, assessing performance, and fostering collaboration. To learn more, visit www.meridianksi.com, or follow Meridian on Twitter @meridianks.
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Corporate Sales Coaches Announces Client Centric Perpetual Content Licensing
Atlanta, Georgia – (July 22, 2013) Corporate Sales Coaches today announced the ability for clients to have Unlimited Internal Use of its sales, sales management and customer service course content. The Perpetual License Agreement never expires so clients can utilize the courseware forever.
“Previously when an organization desired to license our courseware for facilitation by its trainers, it was done on an annual or multi-year basis,” said Jack Cullen, Partner for Corporate Sales Coaches. “Recently we asked clients if this new option would be beneficial and the response was extremely positive. In fact, several companies have entered into Perpetual License Agreements with us already.”
“This is not an unlimited use licensing approach for just off the shelf courseware,” noted Len D’Innocenzo, Partner. “These are customized courses created for the specific client to achieve its goals and objectives for investing in their people. The benefit can include building long term business relationships.”
Upon executing the Perpetual Content License Agreement, Corporate Sales Coaches provides the electronic courseware file to the client.
“That enables the client to update things like role play exercises or case studies keeping the content fresh and relevant,” explained Cullen.
The company will continue to also offer Term Licensing as an option. About Corporate Sales Coaches
Corporate Sales Coaches is a learning solutions company with a proven track record of helping clients maximize employee potential to drive bottom line results. Since 1988, led by our founders, Len D’Innocenzo and Jack Cullen, Corporate Sales Coaches have trained thousands of corporate sales, sales management and customer service professionals to realize increased success. Visit www.corporatesalescoaches.com.
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Nuclear Protection Academy Aligns with Total Protection Services Global to Intensively Train and Educate Nuclear and Energy Facility Security Professionals
CHARLOTTE, NC, July 2013 – Phrantceena T. Halres, CEO of Total Protection Services Global (TPSG)—America’s only certified security services company at focused exclusively on high threat/close proximity safety and security services for the protection of critical infrastructure assets in the corporate, nuclear, energy, and government and personal protection sectors—today announced her company has aligned with the Nuclear Protection Academy (NuclearPro) to provide a ground-breaking education and training resource for armed and unarmed security professionals of nuclear power facilities, and also provide a workforce development program for personnel both inside and outside the nuclear industry. Online registration now underway for classes offered in Charlotte, NC and Hattiesburg, MS, with customized remote, on-site security training also available for individuals and businesses elsewhere in the country. TPSG is concurrently developing a Security Training Center of Excellence (STCE) in southern Mississippi—a training alternative for a variety of military, law enforcement, and civilian security specialists, including foreign military and law enforcement. STCE will include mobile training units with live instructors and mentor coaching. “The nuclear power industry is best served by the professionalization of what is perceived by some as only a blue-collar workforce,” notes Halres. “The nuclear security workforce must improve its capacity to meet new and evolving security threats through more comprehensive training and education that extends well beyond mere regulatory compliance. NuclearPro will fulfill that need.” Halres continues, “In addition, today’s standardized security training just isn’t getting done well enough outside of the largest federal agencies and the military. There is no true industry standard for security instructional programs, so the STCE is designed to fill the gap and establish higher standards for the security industry—particularly for civilian security forces and local law enforcement. The STCE will also bring hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars into the Hattiesburg-Gulfport region, a much needed economic boost for one of the most distressed, high-poverty regional economies in the country. The STCE will also evolve into a new way employers can hire to meet their security needs.” A report by the Nuclear Energy Advisory Committee states that operators of nuclear facilities should not rely merely on the mechanical application of rules, but on real-world solutions to real-world security challenges. Toward this end, both NuclearPro and the STCE aim to raise workforce performance standards of this highly specialized sector of security personnel through experience-based training and continuous education, while concurrently promoting a robust safety culture through safety conscious work environment initiatives, human performance improvements and heightened threat awareness. The programs will also streamline workforce recruitment, convergence and retention measures by working closely with the security professionals responsible for hiring these officers. Classes have been designed to comply with state-level training requirements and will, therefore, be adjusted to meet specific state requirements for nuclear facilities across the country. Halres continues, “NuclearPro and the STCE will provide professional education and training resources based on field experience. The curricula will be developed by nuclear professionals and courses will be implemented through multiple delivery systems, including distance learning, on-site classroom instruction, publishing, seminars, forums, workshops and other methods designed to align security workforce development to constantly evolving security threats. In addition, courses covering the usage of common security devices such as OC Spray, baton, firearms, and self-defense will be offered through NuclearPro. Also, in keeping with my career-long mission of working on other key workplace issues, NuclearPro will also offer soft skill classes covering diversity, women and minorities, sexual harassment, and more.” Classes are ongoing at NuclearPro's Charlotte, North Carolina and Hattiesburg, Mississippi locations, with monthly classes following. "We can train nuclear and energy security officers at our North Carolina and Mississippi locations or we can offer our academy services remotely, on site at any location,” urges Halres. “Our goal is that every nuclear and energy security officer has access to the highest level of training available to them.” About the Expert
As founder, chairman and CEO of Charlotte, NC-based Total Protection Services Global and its multiple divisions (www.total-protections.com), Phrantceena Halres leads the nation’s first woman-owned business—and the only certified security services company at large—focused exclusively on high threat/close proximity safety and security services for the protection of critical infrastructure assets in the corporate, nuclear, energy, and government and personal protection sectors. She has more than twenty years of experience in the establishment of recruiting, staffing, training, and consulting programs. A workforce diversity expert and national thought leader, Halres has served on the State of North Carolina's Commission on Workforce Development, as appointed by Governor Mike Easley in 2004.
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Huthwaite CEO’s New Book Uses Military History As A Backdrop For Selling Better
Arlington, Va. – July 25, 2013 – Huthwaite CEO and President John Golden’s recent book, “Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories”, is a breakthrough guide that extracts lessons from significant, yet colorful, episodes of military history and applies them to the battle that companies wage daily: how to sell more of their products and services.
Organized into three parts – the sales call, account strategy, and sales management – the book is a how-to manual to best practices in successful selling and deconstructs battles from ancient Egypt to the American West to explore effective preparation, the buying cycle and analyzing vulnerability.
“The book features a reinforcement of Spin concepts,” said Golden, whose company teaches the SPIN Selling® technique. “The choice to combine military history with sales tools makes the book more enjoyable since a lot of business books tend to be serious. This book makes learning more entertaining.”
There’s no way to look up the best tactic to use to close a deal when the critical moment has arrived, Golden added. But, writing about war helps address it. He said that humans remember by association and by mentally linking concepts to images and stories.
“Whether you are a history buff or just enjoy learning,” he said, “this book distills the most valuable sales tactics, based on history’s greatest military victories and blunders, into simple memorable strategies that can be applied to real-world sales challenges.”
For more information about “Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories,” visit www.WinningtheBattleforSales.com.
About Huthwaite:
Huthwaite is the world’s leading sales performance improvement organization. Founded on scientifically validated behavioral research, their methodologies—which include the internationally renowned SPIN® Selling—guarantee sales success. Huthwaite assesses its clients’ needs and develops customized sales performance improvement and coaching programs for sales and marketing professionals that drive real business results. Continually recognized as a leader in the field for its successful work in sales performance improvement, this spring both Selling Power magazine and the website TrainingIndustry.com named Huthwaite to their lists of top companies in the sales training industry.
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Corporate Sales Coaches Announces Personal Coaching for Sales Leaders and Professionals
Atlanta, Georgia – (July 26, 2013) Corporate Sales Coaches announced the ability for business clients or individuals to benefit from personal coaching. The target audience is sales team leaders of any size organization, as well as sales professionals. The company has been testing its approach successfully with existing business clients that may have participated in sales training.
“We concluded that there is a real need in the sales world for this type of individualized hands on coaching service,” said Len D’Innocenzo, Partner in Corporate Sales Coaches.
“We focus on some time tested basic fundamentals to allow sales team leaders to maximize their potential as coaches for their sales team members.”
“Our coaching can include investing time in the field with a sales leader and sales rep. This involves observing sales interviews and sales calls followed by seeing first hand the coaching approach used by the manager during the day,” noted Partner, Jack Cullen. “That is a basis for determining the developmental needs of individuals so they can get targeted one on one coaching.”
D’Innocenzo added, “Professionals in a wide variety of fields capitalize from coaching to fine tune their skill set and the same applies to sales leaders. Many sales managers were promoted because they were skilled salespeople. They need to be coached on how to develop their team members. Without that either they or the sales rep or both can become frustrated. As an example, the sales manager may act as ‘super sales star’ and take over calls. Not a good situation for either.”
The company is planning to also offer a variation of this coaching service to individuals.
About Corporate Sales Coaches - Training Solutions That Produce Results.
Corporate Sales Coaches is a learning solutions company with a proven track record of helping clients maximize employee potential to drive bottom line results. Since 1988, led by our founders, Len D’Innocenzo and Jack Cullen, Corporate Sales Coaches have trained thousands of corporate sales, sales management and customer service professionals to realize increased success. Visit www.corporatesalescoaches.com.
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GP Strategies Reports Second Quarter 2013 Financial Results
COLUMBIA, Md., Aug. 1, 2013 -- Global performance improvement solutions provider GP Strategies Corporation (NYSE: GPX) today reported financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2013.
Overview of Second Quarter 2013 Results:
* Revenue of $104.9 million for second quarter of 2013 compared to $102.3 million for second quarter of 2012
* Operating income of $8.6 million for second quarter of 2013 compared to $9.9 million for second quarter of 2012
* Diluted earnings per share of $0.27 for second quarter of 2013 compared to $0.31 per share for second quarter of 2012
* EBITDA of $ 10.6 million for second quarter of 2013 compared to $12.0 million for second quarter of 2012
* Backlog of $243.8 million as of June 30, 2013 compared to $197.2 million at June 30, 2012
The company's revenue increased $2.6 million or 2.5% during the second quarter of 2013 compared to the second quarter of 2012. The revenue growth is primarily attributable to acquisitions completed during the second half of 2012 and 2013. Operating income decreased 13.8% to $8.6 million for the second quarter of 2013 from $9.9 million for the second quarter of 2012. Income before income tax expense was $8.6 million for the second quarter of 2013 compared to $10.0 million for the second quarter of 2012. Net income was $5.2 million, or $0.27 per share, for the second quarter of 2013 compared to $6.0 million, or $.31 per share, for the second quarter of 2012.
"While the second quarter of 2013 did not show improved operating performance, it was a transformational quarter for the Company. The major award from HSBC and other positive business developments have placed the Company in a very strong position for future growth," commented Scott N. Greenberg, Chief Executive Officer of GP Strategies. "In addition to the HSBC contract that is only partially reflected in backlog, we are pleased with the success we're having diversifying our business internationally. Other global clients are looking to GP Strategies for increased levels of support. These are exciting times for GP Strategies, and we look forward to the future."
Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Highlights
As of June 30, 2013, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $5.2 million compared to $7.8 million as of December 31, 2012. The Company had no long-term debt outstanding as of June 30, 2013 and had $6.8 million of short-term borrowings under its $50 million line of credit as of June 30, 2013. Cash provided by operating activities was $5.5 million for the six months ended June 30, 2013 compared to $4.4 million for the same period in 2012.
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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FutureThink Presents the Next Generation in Corporate Learning
(NEW YORK, Aug. 6, 2013) — Controversial studies suggest that people remember 10 percent of what they read, 20 percent of what they hear, 50 percent of what they see and 90 percent of what they do. Betting that the future of learning is in seeing and doing, innovation training firm futurethink developed Tool School, a new series of engaging 10-minute video tutorials. Produced by Goldbug Films with actors from Law and Order and 30 Rock, the videos teach leaders and employees how to apply innovation techniques in everyday work situations and transform organizational cultures into more innovative ones.
“There’s tremendous pressure on employees to be more creative and innovative,” said Lisa Bodell, futurethink CEO and award-winning author of Kill the Company: End the Status Quo, Start an Innovation Revolution. “Yet teams are often globally dispersed and inundated with endless emails, meetings, and reports. Tool School solves today’s workplace challenges with bite-sized learning that is both outcome-focused and cost-effective.”
With a style that more resembles the TV series, “The Office,” than the typical training video, each Tool School episode is led by a senior facilitator in real-world business settings and includes step-by-step, onscreen instructions. Tips for leaders are highlighted in asides—and blooper reels remind viewers that experimentation and mistakes also have a place in the innovation process.
Tool School will be available on Sept. 1, 2013.
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Personal Coaching For Individual Sales Professionals and Managers
Atlanta, Georgia – (August 7, 2013) Corporate Sales Coaches announced the ability for individual salespeople or sales managers to benefit from personal one-on-one coaching. Individuals initially complete a complimentary self assessment that identifies specific areas that need to be addressed in the one-on-one personal coaching sessions. Unlike training this personal coaching relationship between a client and coach targets areas of interest and specific objectives the client has. This highly focused approach yields faster personal results.
The target audiences are sales team leaders of any size organization, as well as sales professionals. The personalized coaching process has two distinct tracts. One process is for salespeople and the other for sales managers.
Regarding sales managers, “The fact is that today's contact management software is a terrific tool for many businesses and sales managers,” said Jack Cullen, Partner in Corporate Sales Coaches. “However, should it becomes a crutch or substitute for the most important activity a sales manager must engage in - that is coaching and developing sales team members then the sales team’s performance will suffer as will revenue growth.”
“We concluded that there is a real need in the sales world for this type of individualized hands on coaching service,” said Len D’Innocenzo, Partner in Corporate Sales Coaches.
“Too many sales leaders are spending far too much time looking at the numbers rather than investing time coaching their sales teams to make the numbers.”
“If the sales team leader is not inspecting, assessing and coaching then they are assuming a great deal by not observing reps and sooner or later will be suffering poor results” noted Cullen. “That is a basis for determining the developmental needs of individuals so they can get targeted one on one coaching.”
D’Innocenzo added, “Professionals in a wide variety of fields capitalize from personal coaching to fine tune their skill set and the same applies to the sales profession. If you ask a salesperson questions like we have such as; ‘Are you making your numbers or trying to catch-up? Are you proud of your sales results or discouraged? Are you excited to open that commission check or not?’ the answers indicated many are struggling.”
“The fact is that today's selling environment is as tough as ever,” Cullen noted. “With many things being equal, the key difference maker has to be that sales professional taking ownership for their own success and holding oneself accountable.”
About Corporate Sales Coaches - Solutions That Produce Results.
Corporate Sales Coaches is a learning solutions company with a proven track record of helping clients maximize employee potential to drive bottom line results. Since 1988, led by our founders, Len D’Innocenzo and Jack Cullen, Corporate Sales Coaches have trained thousands of corporate sales, sales management and customer service professionals to realize increased success. Visit www.corporatesalescoaches.com for more information.
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New Research Study Exploring Leadership Development and Virtual Environments
Cary, NC – August 8, 2013 – Training Industry is now conducting a research study to better understand how companies deploy leadership training and development initiatives, particularly using virtual environments.
Training Industry is seeking participants to contribute to a short survey, which will remain open until end of day Friday, August 23rd, 2013. The survey can be accessed here by visiting: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PRLeadershipDevelopmentandVEs
Training Industry will keep all personal data confidential. Each participant will receive a summary of the results, including:
Effective approaches for designing leadership training and development initiatives
Common challenges when providing leadership training and development initiatives
Best practices for incorporating virtual environments in leadership training & development initiatives
“Our industry research is designed for the use of global training executives and professionals,” said Ken Taylor, Training Industry Inc.’s Chief Operating Officer. “We strive to ensure that our research accurately reflects current industry trends and addresses the challenges and best practices shared by professionals in the training and development space.”
Training Industry spotlights the latest news, articles, case studies, and best practices within the training industry. Training Industry research captures the collective wisdom of learning professionals, revealing fresh data on trends and practices in the evolving training market.
For additional information on Training Industry research, email info@trainingindustry.com or visit www.trainingindustry.com.
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Insala Announces New Mentoring Software Website
Dallas/Fort Worth - August 15, 2013 - Insala announces the new release of its mentoring software website: MentoringTalent.com. The new and improved website features an intuitive and streamlined interface that is designed to enhance the reader's experience and organized to help employers discover mentoring solutions that fulfill their organization's specific talent management objectives. The new website provides employers and program administrators with key information on mentoring programs through improved access to Insala's wealth of research and resources, featuring webinars, whitepapers, and articles. Most notably, the website reflects an overall refocusing of the company's mentoring solution offerings. With solutions ranging from workshops on mentor matching to program planning, program consulting, targeted mentoring programs, mentor training, and mentoring software, the site presents six distinct categories of versatile mentoring solutions: - Mentor Matching - Insala's Hi-Impact Mentoring(R) workshop guides employers in creating a comprehensive plan for conducting the program's matching process, based on selected objectives and measures. - Program Planning - program administrators gain expert guidance in answering key questions to establish objectives and create a best-practice plan to ensure the success of the mentoring program. - Program Consulting - Insala's mentoring experts consult with employers to implement new mentoring processes and improve existing programs through comprehensive analysis and evaluation of the organization's current practices. - Targeted Mentoring Programs - organizations of every kind and size can implement a mentoring program specifically designed to target the unique needs and challenges facing their industry and institution. Program formats can be adapted for large corporations, schools and universities, initiatives for diversity and inclusion, or any specific talent development initiative. - Mentor Training - employers and program participants can take full advantage of their mentoring programs and ensure program success by completing training that prepares them to most effectively fulfill their roles as mentors, mentees, and program administrators and facilitators. - Mentoring Software - customized software subscription plans match organizations' specific needs and objectives: a complete mentoring software solution enables administrators to manage multiple programs with advanced tracking and reporting, while a basic software solution satisfies smaller budgets and focuses on streamlining participant matching. About Insala Insala is a leading global provider of talent development solutions through their innovative Web-based SaaS (Software as a Service) technology. Insala seeks to be a partner to organizations by focusing on their employees' development at every stage of their employment lifecycle, providing solutions for career development, mentoring, coaching, career transition, and corporate alumni programs. For more information, please visit us at www.mentoringtalent.com or www.insala.com.
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GP Strategies to Provide Key Operator Training at Power Plant in South Africa
COLUMBIA, Md., Aug. 21, 2013 -- Global performance improvement solutions provider GP Strategies Corporation (NYSE: GPX) announced that its Energy Services Group has been awarded a multi-year contract extension to provide training services at Eskom's Medupi Power Station. Medupi is currently under construction and will be the fourth largest coal-fired plant in the world when completed; it is owned by Eskom Holdings Ltd., South Africa.
GP Strategies previously provided Eskom with a training needs assessment for its power plant operators and designed a competency-based training program. Under the contract extension, GP Strategies will develop and deliver operations training and qualification programs to plant staff.
"We are pleased that Eskom has selected GP Strategies to support training of the Medupi plant staff. This is a major step in bringing GP Strategies' award-winning training services to Africa. We look forward to working directly with Eskom's management and training organization to ensure that the workforce will be fully prepared to operate the plant in a safe, efficient and environmentally responsible manner," stated Joe Nasal, Senior Vice President of GP Strategies' Energy Services Group. "The Medupi project incorporates today's most efficient power generation technologies for coal-fired power plants, which will result in better use of natural resources such as water and coal, and improved environmental performance." Nasal added.
About Eskom Eskom Holdings SOC Limited (Eskom) is South Africa's primary electricity supplier. Eskom generates approximately 95% of the electricity used in South Africa and approximately 45% of the electricity used in Africa. The company, which is wholly owned by the South African government, generates, transmits and distributes electricity to industrial, mining, commercial, agricultural and residential customers. It also sells electricity to municipalities, which in turn redistribute it to businesses and households within their areas. Additional power stations and major power lines are being built to meet rising electricity demand in South Africa. Eskom will continue to focus on improving and strengthening its core business of electricity generation, transmission, trading and distribution. Eskom's corporate headquarters is in Johannesburg, South Africa.
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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TrainingIndustry.com Announces 2013 Top 20 Workforce Development Providers
Cary, NC – August 22, 2013 –As part of its mission to continually monitor the training marketplace for the best providers of training services and technologies, TrainingIndustry.com has released its annual Top 20 Workforce Development Providers List.
The 2013 Top 20 List recognizes the top workforce development providers in the training industry and is designed to help buy-side organizations search for the right training partner. Selection to this year's Top 20 List was based on the following criteria:
Industry visibility, innovation and impact
Capability to develop and deliver customized corporate training services
Depth and breadth of subject matter expertise
Organization size and growth potential
Quality of clients
Geographic reach
“The providers selected for this year’s Top 20 are a unique group of organizations focused on meeting the needs of corporations in developing the workforces. They need to compete in today’s competitive global market.” said Ken Taylor, Chief Operating Officer, TrainingIndustry.com.
“This year’s Top 20 represents a top tier of training providers,” said Doug Harward, Chief Executive Officer, TrainingIndustry.com. “These companies leverage their expertise and market awareness to deliver comprehensive training solutions for their clients.”
View the Top 20 Workforce Development Providers List Here.
TrainingIndustry.com spotlights the latest news, articles, case studies, and best practices within the training industry. Our Top 20 & Watch Lists are based on extensive research and designed to help companies find the right training partner.
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Center for Creative Leadership Uncovers What Each Generation Looks for in a Leader
GREENSBORO, NC – What are employees looking for in leaders? To better understand the generational dynamics, the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) surveyed 5,940 Baby Boomers, Generation Xers and Millennials in the U.S. on what characteristics make leaders most effective. CCL found that when it comes to leadership, the generations are more alike than different.
Respondents were asked to rate the effectiveness of six common leadership characteristics: participative, team-oriented, humane-oriented, charismatic, hierarchical and autonomous. All three generations rated effective leaders as participative, team-oriented, charismatic and humane-oriented. The generations ranked hierarchical and autonomous leaders as less effective.
“Many organizations have anticipated an upheaval of current business structures as more Millennials enter the market and Baby Boomers retire,” said CCL Senior Research Scientist Jennifer Deal. “Our findings dispel commonly held stereotypes including that each generation has different beliefs and expectations about good leadership.”
Counter-intuitive findings
CCL found that Millennials who are commonly thought of as anti-authority, are more likely than Generation Xers and Baby Boomers to be amenable to managers’ orders. Millennials are also slightly more likely than Generation Xers and Baby Boomers to say that acting in a hierarchical manner helps a leader’s effectiveness.
Older respondents are more likely than younger respondents to favor participative, team-oriented and humane-oriented leaders. While all generations agree charisma is important, younger people identify it as being significantly less helpful to effective leadership than older people do. This is contrary to the perception that Millennials favor these leadership qualities more than Gen Xers and Baby Boomers.
“At the core, Millennials, Generation Xers and Baby Boomers want leaders to demonstrate consideration of others,” Deal said. “Instead of tailoring leadership training around assumed generational differences, companies should create a leadership culture that will support employees across generations and demonstrate the value that they see in others.”
About the survey
The sample was taken from CCL’s World Leadership Survey, an online survey that provides information on trends in leadership and perspective on issues leaders deal with daily. Respondents included U.S. managers and other high-ranking professionals. The respondents’ ages ranged from 22 to 78 with a mean age of 46.
About the Center for Creative Leadership The Center for Creative Leadership (CCL®) is a top-ranked, global provider of executive education that accelerates strategy and business results by unlocking the leadership potential of individuals and organizations. Founded in 1970, CCL offers an array of research-based programs, products and services for individual leaders, teams and organizations. Ranked among the world's Top 10 providers of executive education by Bloomberg BusinessWeek and the Financial Times, CCL is headquartered in Greensboro, NC, with offices in Colorado Springs, CO; San Diego, CA; Brussels, Belgium; Moscow, Russia; Singapore; New Delhi - NCR, India; Shanghai, China; and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
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CrossKnowledge Acquires Digital SK; Plans to Speed Up Investments in Brazil
Paris, France – Aug. 30, 2013 - CrossKnowledge announced its purchase of Digital SK, the leading Brazilian e-learning provider. This acquisition further consolidates CrossKnowledge’s position as a world-class distance training provider.
Digital SK was founded in 2004 and quickly took up a dominant position on the Brazilian e-learning market with an extensive range of training content and innovative technological solutions designed for large public and private organizations as well as the education sector. In 2011, with growing demand on the horizon, the company became CrossKnowledge’s exclusive partner in Brazil.
With three offices in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Curitiba, the Brazilian e-learning specialist, which is also official partner of Moodle and has ISO 9001 certification, has 200 clients and more than half a million learners. Its turnover increased by more than 75% in 2012.
This external growth initiative brings a new dimension to CrossKnowledge, which now operates across the entire American continent and is able to provide optimum support for clients deploying international projects.
“In a country where access to quality training is a priority, the e-learning market is growing at a rate of 25% annually. 20% of advanced training is carried out remotely, and major Brazilian companies have shown great enthusiasm when our solutions have been deployed with Digital SK”, said Mickaël Ohana, CEO and co-founder of CrossKnowledge. “After a two-year win-win partnership, we at CrossKnowledge are delighted to welcome the experienced teams of Digital SK into our organization.”
“Joining CrossKnowledge is a fantastic opportunity for our teams to respond to the demands of Brazilian companies by providing world-class learning solutions”, said Paulo Weigert, co-founder of Digital SK.
About CrossKnowledge
Started in 2000, CrossKnowledge is a leader in cloud-based distance learning solutions. Our full SaaS solutions are based on exclusive learning technologies, amongst the most sought after content in the world and a range of accompanying services. CrossKnowledge’s solutions enable fast workforce empowerment and global strategic alignment, guaranteeing a unique learning experience for the individual and a real return on investment for the organization.
CrossKnowledge’s learning content and formats are developed in collaboration with an international faculty, comprising the best authors, professors and Management professionals from the most renowned Business Schools in the world. CrossKnowledge has created the CrossKnowledge Academy in order to formalize and share its expertise in instructional design and deployment with its clients via certification programs.
CrossKnowledge operates worldwide and serves companies including global enterprises, mid-sized companies and the education sector spanning more than three million users.
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TrainingIndustry.com Announces 2013 Workforce Development Watch List
Cary, NC – Aug. 30, 2013 – TrainingIndustry.com announced its annual Workforce Development Watch List as part of its mission to continually monitor the training marketplace for the best providers of training services and technologies.
The 2013 Watch List recognizes the top workforce development providers in the training industry and is designed to help buy-side organizations search for the right training partner. Selection to this year's Watch List was based on the following criteria:
Industry visibility, innovation and impact
Capability to develop and deliver customized corporate training services
Depth and breadth of subject matter expertise
Organization size and growth potential
Quality of clients
Geographic reach
“This year’s Watch List includes workforce development providers who are emerging in the training marketplace with innovative new trends on how clients can develop customized corporate training solutions for an improved workforce,” said Ken Taylor, Chief Operating Officer, TrainingIndustry.com.
“The 2013 Workforce Development Watch List represents a top tier of providers who are poised for steady growth in the training industry by focusing on skills training to enhance the development of your workforce,” said Doug Harward, Chief Executive Officer, TrainingIndustry.com.
View the Workforce Development Watch List.
TrainingIndustry.com spotlights the latest news, articles, case studies, and best practices within the training industry. Our Top 20 & Watch Lists are based on extensive research and designed to help companies find the right training partner. For additional information on TrainingIndustry.com Watch List Companies email info@trainingindustry.com or visit www.trainingindustry.com.
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The Training Associates Reports 62 Percent Second Quarter Sales Growth
Westborough, MA – Sept. 3, 2013 - The Training Associates (TTA), the largest global provider of training talent and solutions to Fortune 500 companies directly or through its partners, announced a 62% sequential sales growth in Q2 2013. The Company also announced that it was recognized by the Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA) as the nation’s fastest growing training staffing company with a compound annual revenue growth rate of 32.2% over the four year period.
The Training Associates CEO Vic Melfa commented, “As we forecasted, our revenue for Q2 was strong due to our continual penetration of new key accounts such as Volvo Trucks, Expedia and Juniper Networks, and the growth of existing business from quarter to quarter.”
The company has also announced the hiring of two key executives. Scott Margason, 11 years head of both Accenture’s Global Learning Delivery and then NA Industrialization, was appointed COO. David Larson, former Executive Director of Strategic Alliances at Learn.com joined TTA as EVP of Worldwide Sales.
“With our continued broad market penetration and the hiring of new senior executives, we are well positioned to partner with a minority growth equity investor or late-stage venture capital firm who is a good fit and understands TTA’s potential to quickly achieve much greater market share,” Melfa said.
About The Training Associates
Founded in 1994, The Training Associates (TTA) is the largest global provider of training talent and solutions. TTA’s stringent quality procedures, vast network of over 25,000 diversely skilled IT and professional skills training delivery and design consultants, and convenient training delivery administration services enable organizations to secure top‐notch training professionals, on demand. Importantly, they can accomplish this without the fixed overhead associated with a large training staff, or the delays, classification risks, and administrative burdens associated with recruiting training contractors directly. With unparalleled experience and expertise in all aspects of training delivery, TTA is best equipped to meet the unique requirements of each training initiative – regardless of size, scope, or location.
Directly or through partners, more than 1,000 organizations – including most of the Fortune 500, all government departments and military branches, major consultant and training companies, and major colleges and universities – rely on TTA for a variety of training delivery services including consulting, project management, train‐the‐trainer, courseware, curriculum development, and large‐scale training rollout management. TTA’s numerous awards reflect their commitment to help organizations use training to increase productivity, reduce costs, and drive revenues.
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Harvard Business Publishing Survey Reveals Striking Lack of Confidence in Leadership Capability of Global Organizations
Boston, Sept. 10, 2013 – Global executives are suffering from a crisis of confidence. According to a survey by Harvard Business Publishing, their leaders lack the skills to achieve strategic goals, and the need to develop stronger leadership capability extends to middle managers, who are being asked to do more than ever before.
Harvard Business Publishing’s global survey of executives and senior talent development professionals in prominent organizations reveals a striking deficit in leadership talent. Only 32 percent of the 800+ respondents believe that their organizations have the right leadership talent and skills to achieve their organizations’ strategic goals. Just 31 percent are confident their leaders have the right leadership skills to cope with the current business environment.
Leadership Development Goals and HurdlesLeadership development is increasingly viewed as a strategic lever for organizations. Forty-three percent of the talent development professionals surveyed say that the most significant goal for leadership development is to drive business transformation – ahead of building more general management capability at all levels (24 percent) and accelerating the leadership pipeline (21 percent).
Forty percent of respondents see getting participants to commit time away from their job to participate as the most difficult challenge to initiating a new leadership development initiative. Time away from work, not budget constraints is the biggest factor stalling the success of such programs. Just 24 percent cited budget constraints as their biggest hurdle.
Strong Focus to Develop Middle ManagersPrior research has shown that middle management is increasingly the driving force behind many corporate initiatives, and yet, this group is historically underserved by leadership development programs. There is now a strong focus (80 percent) on middle managers needing to develop change management capabilities. Respondents also see leadership mindset (77 percent), communication skills (76 percent), talent management (76 percent), and broad general management capability (64 percent) as development priorities for middle managers.
“The survey results mirror what we see with our clients. Executives face a huge challenge. They need their leaders to help drive transformation of their business, but these very leaders need to be transformed as well. The question is how, especially when you think of the scale that’s needed,” Ray Carvey, executive vice president of corporate learning and international, at Harvard Business Publishing, said. “With the new model of virtual leadership development, organizations can now reach many more leaders, including middle managers or those in distant locations who may not have had development opportunities like this before.”
While the survey found that face time with instructors and mentors is still important, increasing comfort with a wide variety of technologies is paving the way for greater adoption of virtual programs. For example, 65 percent are familiar to extremely familiar with web conferencing and online meeting software. 27 percent are equally familiar with MOOCs (Massive, Open, Online Courses).
Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning has first-hand knowledge of this shift in how corporate leadership development is delivered. The company has seen 70 percent growth for its Leadership Direct program, a blended virtual approach that helps build leadership capability across much larger and geographically distributed populations. Leadership Direct program clients are able to customize learning modules that focus on essential areas such as strategy, innovation, customer orientation, business acumen, and other critically important topics. In the past year alone, more than 2,000 leaders from 70 countries on 6 continents have participated in the programs.
About Harvard Business Publishing Corporate LearningHarvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning partners with clients to create world-class leadership development solutions for managers at all levels. We leverage the management insight, thought leadership, and expertise of Harvard Business School faculty and authors from Harvard Business Review to create tailored leadership development solutions. With more than 20 years of practical experience, our innovative, technology-enabled solutions drive meaningful and lasting business results. Corporate Learning is a market group within Harvard Business Publishing. For more information, visit www.harvardbusiness.org.
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