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2009 ISPI Europe/EMEA Conference

Call for Proposals

An Organization IS its people

Surviving and, in Fact, Thriving in Challenging Times

7th ISPI Europe/EMEA Conference

November 5-7, 2009

A Unique Conference -           Based on an interesting SIMULATION

You are invited

The International Society for Performance Improvement Europe (ISPI-Europe) invites you to submit a proposal for a unique conference organized around an exciting simulation and focused on the very timely theme - “An Organization IS its people:  Surviving and, In Fact, Thriving in Challenging Times.” The conference is scheduled from November 5-7, 2009 in Galway, Ireland.  The due date for submissions is June 1, 2009.

Facing Challenging Times with Confidence

There is no doubt that we are facing challenging times that have had a dramatic effect on organizations of all sizes and types globally and will continue to do so for some time to come.  Helping our client organizations (whether we are internal or external performance professionals or line managers) to not just survive, but to thrive, is an important objective.  It means all investment in money and effort made by organizations, must count.  No organization can afford solutions in search of a problem, programs that are only “nice to have” or approaches that are not linked to, or measured by, pay back in the form of customer satisfaction, loyalty, revenue or other valuable goals.

Most conferences provide value by assembling speakers who share their wisdom and insights against an interesting unifying theme.  We at ISPI Europe/EMEA feel that we have a way to make our conference deliver significantly more value to both presenters and participants.  Our conferences have always aimed to be smaller in size but much greater in level of participation and interactivity, than typical conferences.  The 2009 conference will be our most innovative to date, beginning with this call for proposals.  The 2009 Galway conference will be organized around a simulation that will run throughout the conference with all presentations selected based upon their ability to support participant success with the simulation, including the value of the content, design of the session and credibility of the presenters.

Therefore, we have attached the simulation description to this call for proposals to guide your ability to design and propose a session that will provide participants with ideas, models and approaches that they will be able to apply immediately to our simulation.  Note that the simulation is not a fabricated case.  It is based on a real client engagement.  In this way, and through our design, which includes professionals acting as the client team, the simulation experience is able to come very, very close to what you would experience in the real world, but with the advantage of a safe and protected environment to experiment!

Join us in Galway, Ireland this November 5-7, 2009 to share your ideas, theories, observations, insights, case studies, testimonials, models and approaches to supporting performance improvement efforts that really work, are readily applicable and that truly address real world challenges and opportunities.

Invitation to come and join us

Those of you who joined us in Heidelberg, Germany, know that we successfully pilot tested our unique simulation-focused conference format.  We started the conference with four (4) professionals playing the roles of key executives from the Executive Board of a real company that was seeking assistance in improving its results.  The company and the situation presented were real with specifics and names changed to ensure the anonymity of the company and its executives. 

The title of the simulation was, “How do you explain HPT to a client?”  As we expected, the approaches, models, success stories and insights shared as part of last year’s many diverse presentations, as well as, during informal chat sessions, all served as resources for participant teams as they developed proposed project approaches to present to the Executive Board at the end of the conference.  Encouraged by the very positive feedback from the Heidelberg conference, we plan to use our new simulation to both solicit presentation proposals and, then, in Galway as a way to support the active involvement of conference participants in discussing, sharing and applying performance development and improvement ideas, approaches and tools in a unique and practical way.

So, whether you are interested in sharing your experiences in a formal way by being a presenter or if you would rather come to learn, share, and contribute on a personal level, we encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity.  This forum will be a way to:

• Reinforce the exchange within our European network about how to optimize performance and help our clients survive and thrive.

• Meet new business colleagues and professional partners in the fields of human performance improvement, human resources management and development, organizational development, training and learning, public policy, and business administration.

• Prepare for the challenges that lie ahead of all of us to create healthy, prosperous organizations and communities.

More information

For more information about the International Society for Performance Improvement, please refer to the description at the end of this document or check out the website www.ispi.org.  For more information about this upcoming ISPI Europe conference (such as conference venue and fees), please refer to the ISPI Europe website http://ispieu.blogspot.com/

The Application Process

If you are selected to present at the conference, you agree to the following:

• Register and pay the appropriate registration fee
• Prepare an article or “white paper.”  White papers submitted will be considered as candidates for a special edition of ISPI’s PI Journal focused on Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA) to be published in 2010.
• Deliver your session on any of the conference days scheduled

You also agree that your session materials will be made available on the ISPI website after the conference.

Step One: Choose a Session Topic

The focal point for the conference is to apply concepts, models and tools around the theme of “Organizations ARE Their People, surviving and, in fact, thriving, in challenging times” to our simulation client case.  We, of course, must keep in mind the key principles of improving performance:

• Focusing on outcomes and results
• Taking a systemic approach
• Adding value, focusing on the business and an organization’s purpose
• Establishing partnerships and working collaboratively

We are looking especially for sessions that will present successful examples of and/or models, approaches and tools that can be applied by participants to our simulation client case.   That is, we will give the greatest consideration to sessions that will give participants the opportunity to discuss, share tools and job aids and/or review case studies focused on performance areas such as the following:

• Gaining and maintaining/growing the confidence of client team decision makers
• Obtaining the commitment and support of interview subjects
• Supporting the formation of linkages and partnerships within and among parts of the client organization
• Working effectively within a project team
• Identifying improvement opportunities and communicating them such that they are clear, specific, understandable by the client and defensible
• Making recommendations that are logical, valuable to the client and actionable
• Ensuring the transfer of “ownership” of findings and recommendations to key members of the client organization
• Leaving behind more than a set of findings and recommendations

Submitters will be asked to choose a category for their session topic from the following list of relevant performance areas:

• Determine “What Is”
• Identify Opportunity
• “Test” Findings
• Suggest Actions
• Project and Client Management – Client Relationship Management, Teaming, Team Leadership, Partnering

Step Two: Prepare Your Session Proposal

Your proposal should describe what you intend to discuss, how it links to and prepares participants for success with the simulation case, considering the conference theme. Further, your proposal should clearly present how you intend to facilitate the session, and your experience with the topic. Proposals should include a draft sample of a job aid/performance tool that you will share with session attendees and that will be made available on the conference website.

Participants at ISPI Europe conferences are very bright and typically very anxious to get involved and play an active role in learning and sharing.  They are also a richly diverse group in terms of national origin, education and skills background, as well as, the industry or subject matter that has been the focus of their experience. The multinational character of ISPI-Europe makes it critical that all presenters are prepared to interact with participants who are non-native English speakers.  Therefore, please give special consideration to how you will accommodate participants who do not speak English as their native language. Examples of how this may be done include, by providing clear, complete handouts, visuals or other supporting material with meaningful graphics. All session proposals must include a description of how the presenter(s) intend to accommodate a diverse audience consisting of many participants who do not speak English as their native language.

Your proposal will be evaluated by a team of reviewers against the criteria below.

IMPORTANT: Structure your proposal using the headings provided below.  This will make it easier for reviewers to find required information and, hence, will increase the likelihood that your proposal will receive maximum consideration.

A. Title

The title for your session should be brief but descriptive and attract the participants’ interest.  In addition to the title, please indicate the category that is the best fit for your session, i.e., WI - Determine “What Is”, IO - Identify Opportunity, TF - “Test” Findings, SA - Suggest Actions or PCM - Project and Client Management.

B. Session Description + Objectives / Benefits

Describe your session in 120 words or less. Use clear, conversational language. Include clear objectives and how/why participants will benefit from your session (including the ability of participants to immediately apply what they learn to our simulation client case).

In addition to your session description, indicate the level of experience participants should have with the subject matter of your session by selecting one of the following categories:

Session Prerequisite Knowledge

    Beginner         Participant is able to understand and make use of the core concepts
                          of the subject matter.

    Intermediate    Participant is able to apply core concepts and practices of the subject
                          matter to a problem or situation.

    Expert             Participant is able to fluently create and evaluate solutions to problems
                           in the area of the subject matter.

Indicate session type as described below and the level of interactivity and engagement participants can expect from your session by selecting one of the following categories:

Session Type

    Briefing              60-minute intense briefing covering theoretical, research style aspects
                             of the subject matter. Activities are not required.

    Workshop           90-minute laboratory-style workshop allowing the participants to apply
                             briefly introduced concepts to a given problem or situation in a team
                             environment. Highly interactive with at least 30 minutes activity time.

    Pre-Conference   3 hour or 6 hour extended workshop allowing the participants to apply
    Workshop           comprehensively introduced concepts to given problems or solutions in a
                             small team environment. Highly interactive with at least 60 minutes or
                             120 minutes of activity time respectively.  Pre-conference workshops
                              will take place on November 5, 2009. 

The session description, the objectives/benefits, as well the information regarding the session prerequisite knowledge and session type will be published in the conference program to market your presentation.

Evaluation criteria are:

• Describes the content clearly
• Relates to the conference theme and is directly applicable to the simulation client case
• Includes performance-based objectives
• Describes the value of the workshop to the attendee
• Indicates the prerequisite knowledge for the session
• Indicates the session type and level of interactivity
• Is limited to 120 words

C. Link Session Design to Human Performance Technology and the Simulation

Describe in a paragraph or two how your session relates to, supports, or enhances the field of Human Performance Technology in and how it helps HPT practitioners to successfully support the simulation client and their ability to achieve valuable goals.  Evaluation criteria include:

• Describes how the workshop will support ISPI’s mission, goals and values and/or explains the link to performance improvement; more specifically, it shows how the session content will help participants to create value for the simulation client case. (Refer to www.ispi.org to learn more about ISPI.)
• Addresses a specific performance need or issue
• Uses case studies and examples of successful, EMEA region-focused performance improvement projects
• Supports participants working on the client simulation to:

1. Gain and maintain/grow the confidence of client team decision makers
2. Obtain the commitment and support of interview subjects
3. Support the formation of linkages and partnerships within and among parts of the client organization
4. Work effectively within a project team
5. Identify improvement opportunities and communicate them such that they are clear, specific, understandable by the client and defensible
6. Make recommendations that are logical, valuable to the client and actionable
7. Ensure the transfer of “ownership” of findings and recommendations to key members of the client organization
8. 
   
9. Leave behind more than a set of findings and recommendations

 
D. Session Design Plan
 
Provide a high-level design plan of your session.  This section is important; it will receive the most attention by the team of reviewers.  Evaluation criteria are:

• Session design appropriately reflects the session type (briefing, workshop, or pre-conference workshop)
• Demonstrates sound instructional design principles
• Matches the objectives/benefits and session description
• Matches the expected level of prerequisite knowledge of session attendees
• Includes a topic outline + time frames for each topic
• Includes instruction/presentation method for each topic (e.g., lecture, discussion, activity)
• Is achievable in the time requested
• Requires participants to engage with the content at the level stated in the objectives
• Provides enough detail for the reviewer to visualize the session delivery
• Describes how participants who are non-native English speakers will be accommodated

Please note that there are a limited number of pre-conference slots available for extended workshops (3hrs or 6hrs length).  If you feel that your topic and/or expertise warrant such an extensive exchange with the conference participants, please provide an extended workshop design plan for both a 3 hour and a 6 hour version.  Based on all submissions, the team of reviewers will discuss with you the preferred option for this conference.

E. Job Aid / Performance Tool (not applicable to briefing sessions)

Job-relevant information, references and/or tools are very important to ISPI audiences.  Provide a draft sample of the performance tool which you will introduce during your presentation or refine with the attendees during your workshop (i.e., job aid, process model, idea synopsis, and reference guide).  Evaluation criteria are:

• Is a well-designed performance tool
• Provides a reference for future use

F. Facilitator Personal Information / Presenter Experience

Please provide your personal data (Name, Position Title, Organization, Address, Telephone, and Email).

Describe your expertise regarding your session topic in 75 words or less per facilitator.  Please do not attach resumes or list-style biographies!

Evaluation criteria are:

• Demonstrates sound expertise in session content by citing own relevant experience, research, or writing
• Demonstrates experience presenting to ISPI or a similar audience
• Is limited to 75 words

Step Three: Send in your Proposal

Save your proposal as a MS Word document.  Additional material such as job aids etc. can be in other document formats, such as PPT or PDF. Send your combined proposal materials to arnoud@webperformance.info with “Session proposal for ISPI Europe Conference 2008” in the subject line.

Your proposal must be received no later than June 1, 2009.

The ISPI Europe conference program committee will confirm the receipt of your proposal via email. You will be notified via email by the end of July, whether your proposal is accepted, conditionally accepted, or rejected.

If your proposal is accepted, ISPI Europe will:

• Ask you to register for the conference and to reserve your hotel
• Request your audio-visual requirements
• Collect your session materials for publication on the conference website or via CD
• Ask you to commit to previewing your session, either following the opening ceremony for the conference or after the first keynote address. 

Questions

If you have any questions regarding the submission of a proposal or the conference in general, please review the ISPI Europe’s blog at  http://ispieu.blogspot.com/

Or contact ISPI Europe at:

• Email: arnoud@webperformance.info
• Phone: +31355431928

Background information on ISPI
and the Performance Improvement community

What Is HPT?

Human Performance Technology (HPT) can be described as a comprehensive set of tools and techniques for achieving organizationally desirable and “marketplace” effective results, through the management of people and processes.  HPT uses a wide range of approaches and tools that are drawn from many other disciplines including behavioural psychology, instructional systems design, organizational development, and human resources management.  As such, it stresses a rigorous analysis of present and desired performance, identifies the causes for the performance gap and/or the nature and extent of the improvement opportunity, offers a wide range of tools and approaches to improve performance, guides the change management process, and evaluates the results.

What Is ISPI?

Founded in 1962, the International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI) is the leading international association dedicated to improving individual and organizational productivity and total performance results in the workplace.  ISPI represents more than 10,000 international and chapter members throughout the United States, Canada, and 40 other countries.

ISPI's mission is to improve the performance of individuals and organizations through the application of Human Performance Technology (HPT).  Organizing annual conferences & expos and other educational events such as the Performance Improvement Institutes, publishing books and periodicals, and supporting research are just some of the ways ISPI works toward achieving this mission.

In 2001, a group of performance improvement practitioners from various countries founded ISPI EMEA with the vision of supporting the concept of ISPI in our geographical areas, sharing and increasing knowledge of ISPI practitioners and sustaining the application of HPT across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.  Ours is a widely diverse cultural landscape and translating HPT concepts and applications is a key factor in the global expansion of ISPI.

Borough Case Overview
© CMP Associates, 2008.  All rights reserved.

Introduction

This simulation is designed to give participants an opportunity to complete some initial data gathering and analysis at the start-up of a comprehensive performance improvement project for a new client, Pleasantview Borough, a municipality in New Jersey, USA.  The overall goal of this project is to help the Borough to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of Borough operations, including, but not limited to an ability to satisfy the service requirements of property owners and residents, without a need for additional tax revenue.  The consulting teams present, are all being given the opportunity to complete initial data gathering and analysis in order to prepare preliminary findings and recommendations for improvement action and next steps.   However, only one team will earn the confidence of the ultimate client, the Borough Council, and be asked to continue on with the project.

Their analysis will allow each consulting team to prepare a Project Progress Report to the Borough Council.  With this Progress Report, teams will summarize what they have learned so far in the form of findings and recommendations for improvement, where possible.  They will also outline critical next steps for continuing on with further data gathering and analysis necessary to achieve overall project goals.   Note that, for practical reasons, actual data gathering will be limited to an opportunity to interview three of the department heads from the paid staff of Pleasantview Borough.  The balance of the interview data will be provided to all teams equally in the form of interview notes, gathered and summarized for the teams in advance, instead of allowing them to interview the other department heads.  

Client/Situation Background

Pleasantview Borough is an affluent community located about an hour from New York City.  The Borough doesn’t have many “ratables” or large businesses, in addition to residential property owners, to pay taxes.  Therefore, the majority of the Borough’s tax revenue comes from residential property owners and a limited number of small to medium-sized businesses.  Most property owners and other residents are well educated and many work in New York City.

The Borough is governed by a Council of elected officials.  The Council consists of six (6) council members and a Mayor.  (Note that the Mayor only votes to break a tie.)  Terms of office are for three (3) years, but terms are staggered, so that there is never a time when all Council members change at the same time.  Though this does provide for some continuity, it’s also true that the Council is different every year, because there are new members every year.  The Council sets the strategic direction for the Borough, which means that it is responsible for setting the overall goals and objectives for the Borough’s paid staff.

Note that, though the Borough Council is elected to be the strategic governing body for Pleasantview Borough, the Council is still subject to the programs, policies and regulations enacted by the State of NJ.  Furthermore, the largest portion of local taxes billed and collected by the Borough, actually go to the County and State.

There are a total of 45 fulltime paid staff working for the Borough. Roughly half of the Borough Staff, or twenty (20) people, work for the Police Department and, as such, are not directly managed by the Borough Administrator (BA), who is the highest-ranking staff member.  For the balance of the staff, who report to the Borough Administrator, the majority are long tenured and more than half have been working for the Borough between 18 and 25 years.  The Borough Administrator is responsible for day-to-day operations, reports directly to the Borough Council and attends all Borough Council meetings.  Regular monthly Council meetings are publicized and open to the public.

Borough Staff offices are located in Borough Hall, which is a circa 1800 building. It was operated as a gristmill, sawmill, cider mill and distillery in the mid 1800s.

Issue/Project Opportunity

The Borough’s paid staff is responsible for providing all of the services required by residents, property owners and businesses.  Examples of services include:  maintaining the roads and the sewer system, trash pick-up, leisure and recreation facilities and programs, and ensuring that the properties within the Borough are maintained to a standard desired by property owners, as defined by local ordinances. 

The Borough’s budget is developed by the Borough Administrator in cooperation with members of the Finance Committee of the Borough Council, for final approval by the full Council, based on the services required by residents and planned projects.  Budget proposals from the various functions serve as input into the Borough’s overall operating budget.  However, the County and the State of NJ actually make the final determination on the allowable tax rate (revenues) for all municipalities and there is an annual 4% cap on tax increases, in any case.  As a result, there is an expected revenue shortfall, when considering operating costs in the context of tax revenue alone.  There is a need to:

1. contain costs while simultaneously improving service results and “customer” satisfaction,
2. identify resource-sharing opportunities that would benefit both the Borough and other neighboring municipalities as well as
3. offset costs, where permissible, with specific fees for services.

The Borough staff has outgrown the historic mill building in which Borough offices are located.  Borough staff is unionized.  Borough Council meetings are characterized by a constant series of complaints from residents.   There is a need to do more with less, but, at the same time, to address the overwork situation for several key staff members.  Further, for certain strategically important positions, such as Planning, 1) there is no succession plan and 2) there is concern that the job incumbent may soon burn out if nothing changes.  There is no HR professional on the staff and, therefore, current position accountabilities and performance measurement requirements have been developed and documented independently by position incumbents.  Borough staff departments are required to submit status reports monthly, which are compiled into a single document for Borough Council consideration.

The Borough Council, as the strategic management team (akin to the Board of Directors of a corporation), has engaged external consultants, who are performance improvement professionals, to help identify improvement needs and to recommend related solutions and implementation strategies.

Borough Operations

Functions/departments that comprise Borough operations: (organization chart attached)

Borough Administrator and Finance – develops, prepares justification and proposes the Borough’s operating budget to the Council, documents the finalized budget as approved/established and manages day-to-day operations. The objective of day-to-day management is to remain in compliance with budget requirements and/or to identify actions that must be taken in order to remain within the budget and maintain services even in the face of unplanned spending requirements, uncontrollable price increases or other.

Borough Clerk – issues licenses, records and maintains records of vital statistics, prepares and distributes Borough Council meeting agendas and other documents, records the minutes at Borough Council meetings and other related responsibilities

Tax Assessor – establishes the market value of Borough real estate to which a tax rate will be applied as determined by the County.  Pleasantview Borough made the strategic decision to update/calculate assessments every year.

Tax Collector – using the assessed value information and the tax rate established by the County, along with amount required by the County and State, the Tax Collector sends out tax bills, collects, accounts for and deposits tax revenue.

Construction – issues construction permits for construction projects and coordinates the inspection process for these projects to ensure the quality (compliance with building codes/standards) of completed projects

Zoning Planning – ensures that all construction and development projects are in compliance with zoning ordinances as established and in force within the Borough

Zoning Enforcement – ensures that all Borough properties are in compliance with all Borough zoning ordinances

Public Works – is responsible for maintaining all Borough streets and roads and the sewer system, including snow removal, leaf collection, tree trimming and maintenance of Borough compost facility

Recreation – (as a self-funding operation) prepares and coordinates the delivery of athletic and other recreational programs, maintains parks and ball fields and operates the Borough pool to benefit Borough residents and also other non-residents (for an additional fee)

Consulting Challenge

The consultant’s should prepare credible, comprehensive and practical findings, recommendations and next steps based on the data available at this early point in the analysis.  An important challenge for each consulting team is to present their preliminary findings, recommendations and next steps in such a way as to earn the client’s commitment and active support for moving forward with the project. 

As indicated above in the Introduction, interview notes will be provided to all teams, representing data gathering conducted in a cross section of Borough functions (departments).  Teams will also have the opportunity to interview 3 department heads for departments not covered by the notes.  Interview subjects will be available during the last 30 minutes of the kick-off session.  Since interviews will be simultaneous, consulting teams will need to “split up” in order to cover all three (3) interviews. There will be opportunities for teams to work together throughout the conference.

Consultants will need to keep in mind –

• their obligations to the client,
• what they actually know,
• what they don’t know, and
• their relationships, going forward, with the client as well as with the Borough staff.

--

Carol M. Panza, CPT
CMP Associates
Business Site - http://www.orgmap.com
Yorkie Girls’ Site - http://www.orgmap.com/kids1.html

ISPI Europe/EMEA 2009 conference

facebook Mari Novak has: 10 friends 0 photos 0 notes 2 wall posts 0 groups Check out my photos on Facebook Hi Ispieu, I set up a Facebook profile where I can post my pictures, videos and events and I want to add you as a friend so you can see it. First, you need to join Facebook! Once you join, you can also create your own profile. Thanks, Mari To sign up for Facebook, follow the link below: http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=1660390322&k=32DXPX6RTWVM5GBIXE4YQR&r This e-mail may contain promotional materials. If you do not wish to receive future commercial mailings from Facebook, please opt out. Facebook's offices are located at 156 University Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94301.

7th Annual ISPI Europe Conference - Galway, Ireland

  You are invited to Galway, Ireland! 

The International Society for Performance Improvement Europe (ISPI-Europe) invites you to submit a proposal for its upcoming conference focused on the following important theme.
 

An Organization IS its people. 

Structure and process? . . . Organization culture? . . . Ignore either at your client's risk!!

When:  October  30 - November 1,  2008.
  
Proposals to present are due by June 1, 2008.

If we are to help clients to achieve a real and enduring competitive advantage, we must focus on BOTH the organization’s structures and processes AND its people and organization culture.  Download the invitation to submit proposals here:  http://www.ispi.org/Euro2008/CallforProposals2008.doc

 A Conference is its Presenters AND its Participants.

 
A successful conference must have BOTH great presenters AND great participants!  Once again, we plan to use a simulation to involve everyone in an interesting, active way, with a new case and with enhancements suggested in Heidelberg in 2007. 

So, whether you are interested in sharing your experiences in a formal way by being a presenter or if you would rather come to learn, share, and contribute on a personal level, . . . we encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity. 

Organizations ARE Their People

As performance professionals, we can identify an organization’s need(s) for improvements and recommend or design brilliant solutions or solution sets.  However, as performance professionals, we also know that this is just part of what our clients need. We need to engage with the people inside the client organization, in particular, those who will participate in managing and implementing recommended solutions.

An organization’s people must “own” both the definition of opportunities for improvement and the resulting action or actions that are planned to address problem areas and/or capitalize on opportunities.  Therefore, if we are to help clients to achieve a real and enduring competitive advantage, we must focus on BOTH the organization’s structures and processes AND its people and organization culture.

Consider, for example, the experiences of some early business process re engineering efforts.  Brilliant, elegant and comprehensive improvement strategies and solutions were designed and implemented.  Yet, results were not always forthcoming.

What has your own experience told you about implementing important and dramatic improvement efforts?  How do you ensure that you address both structural and process components and also people and cultural aspects of any effort to improve an organization’s results?  Do you have stunning successes or, as important, cautionary tales that you are willing to share that we can all learn from?

Join us in Galway, Ireland this October 30 – November 1, 2008 to share your ideas, theories, observations, insights, case studies, testimonials, models and approaches to supporting performance improvement efforts that really work and that truly address both processes and people.

Invitation to come and join us

Once again, we will run a case study simulation throughout the conference.  Last year in Heidelberg, Germany, we successfully pilot tested a unique new format for our conference.  We started the conference with four (4) professionals playing the roles of key executives from the Executive Board of a real company that was seeking assistance in improving its results.  The company and the situation presented were real with specifics and names changed to ensure the anonymity of the company and its executives. 

The title of the simulation was, “How do you explain HPT to a client?”  As we expected, the approaches, models, success stories and insights shared as part of last year’s many diverse presentations, as well as, during informal chat sessions, all served as resources for participant teams as they developed proposed project approaches to present to the Executive Board at the end of the conference.  Encouraged by the very positive feedback from the Heidelberg conference, we plan to use a simulation in Galway as a way to get participants actively involved in discussing the ideas being shared at the conference in a unique and practical way. We will introduce a new case for the simulation and have implemented many of the enhancement suggestions we received in Heidelberg.

So, whether you are interested in sharing your experiences in a formal way by being a presenter or if you would rather come to learn, share, and contribute on a personal level, we encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity.  This forum will be a way to:

• Reinforce the exchange within our European network about how to optimize performance and help our clients create a competitive advantage.

• Meet new business colleagues and professional partners in the fields of human performance improvement, human resources management and development, organizational development, training and learning, public policy, and business administration.

• Prepare for the challenges that lie ahead of all of us to create healthy, prosperous organizations and communities.

More information

For more information about the International Society for Performance Improvement, please refer to the description at the end of this document or check out the website www.ispi.org.

7th ISPI Europe Conference -- Call for Proposals

 

An Organization IS its people

    The competitive advantage of balancing structure and process with organization culture.  Ignore either at your client's risk.

October 23-25, 2008

Galway, Ireland

You are invited

The International Society for Performance Improvement Europe (ISPI-Europe) invites you to submit a proposal for its upcoming conference focused on the following important theme - "An Organization IS its people: The competitive advantage of balancing structure and process with organization culture.  Ignore either at your client's risk." The conference is scheduled from October 23-25, 2008 in Galway, Ireland.  The due date for submissions is June 1, 2008.

 

Download the invitation to submit proposals here : http://www.ispi.org/Euro2008/CallforProposals2008.doc 

 

Organizations ARE Their People

As performance professionals, we can identify an organization's need(s) for improvements and recommend or design brilliant solutions or solution sets.  However, if the people who are the organization and, in particular, those who must participate in as well as manage and support the changes that will be implemented, are not an integral part of any and all solutions, they will very likely fail to deliver the results anticipated.

 

An organization's people must "own" both the definition of opportunities for improvement and the resulting action or actions that are planned to address problem areas and/or capitalize on opportunities.  Therefore, if we are to help clients to achieve a real and enduring competitive advantage, we must focus on BOTH the organization's structures and processes AND its people and organization culture.

 

Consider, for example, the experiences of some early business process reengineering efforts.  Brilliant, elegant and comprehensive improvement strategies and solutions were designed and implemented.  Yet, results were not always forthcoming.  Why?  Hammer and Champy who introduced the name, Business Process Reengineering or BPR, indicate a number of reasons that these large, comprehensive and expensive interventions fail to deliver expected results.  Of the 18 reasons for failure articulated by Hammer and Champy in their book, Reengineering the Corporation: A Manifesto for Business Revolution (1993, Chapter 14) – the 7 items (below) extracted from their list, all deal with aspects of addressing BOTH processes/ structure AND people/culture.

 

 

q       Ignoring everything except process redesign [e.g. reorganization, reward system, labor relationships, redefinition of responsibility and authority]

 

q       Neglecting people's values and beliefs [need to reward behavior that exhibits new values and behavior]

 

q       Allowing existing corporate cultures and management attitudes to prevent Reengineering from getting started. [e.g. consensus, short-termism, bias against conflict]

 

q       Trying to make Reengineering happen from the bottom up

 

q       Concentrating exclusively on design [forgetting implementation]

 

q       Trying to make Reengineering happen without making anyone unhappy.

 

q       Pulling back when people resist making Reengineering changes

 

What has your own experience told you about implementing important and dramatic improvement efforts?  How do you ensure that you address both structural and process components and also people and cultural aspects of any effort to improve an organization's results?  Do you have stunning successes or, as important, cautionary tales that you are willing to share that we can all learn from?

 

Join us in Galway, Ireland this October 23 – 25, 2008 to share your ideas, theories, observations, insights, case studies, testimonials, formal and informal experimentations with techniques, models and approaches to supporting performance improvement efforts that really work and that truly address both processes and people.

 

Invitation to come and join us

 

Last year in Heidelberg, Germany, we successfully piloted tested a unique new format for our conference.  We started the conference with four (4) professionals playing the roles of key executives of a real company that was seeking assistance in improving its results.  The company and the situation presented were real with specifics and names changed to ensure the anonymity of the company and its executives.  Participants had conference presentations, presenters, other participants and their team mates to use as resources for developing a project approach which they presented to the Executive Board at the end of the conference.  We plan to use this approach again in Galway, with a new case and having implemented the great enhancement suggestions received in Heidelberg.

 

So, whether you are interested in sharing your experiences in a formal way by being a presenter or if you would rather come to learn, share, and contribute on a personal level, we encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity.  This forum will be a way to:

• Reinforce the exchange within our European network about how to optimize performance and help our clients create a competitive advantage.
• Meet new business colleagues and professional partners in the fields of human performance improvement, human resources management and development, organizational development, training and learning, public policy, and business administration.
• Prepare for the challenges that lie ahead of all of us to create healthy, prosperous organizations and communities.

 

More information

For more information about the International Society for Performance Improvement, check out the website www.ispi.org.  For more information about this upcoming ISPI Europe conference (such as conference venue and fees), please refer to the ISPI Europe website http://www.ispi.org/Euro2008/default.htm .

ISPI Europe Heidelberg Conference (2007) Participant Feedback

The sixth annual ISPI Europe conference was held in Heidelberg during November 1-3, 2007. The conference began with the introduction of the simulation, “How do you explain HPT to a client?” which ran throughout the two days. This addition to the conference format was extremely well received. Participants had positive reactions to the case itself as the basis for the simulation and that included those playing roles on the Executive Board for Eye Care Inc. as well as those working on project teams. There were also two wonderful and inspiring invited keynote speakers, Arnoud Vermei and Dr. Judith Hale. As always, there were concurrent sessions. But, this year a networking area was also made available whenever concurrent sessions were running. The networking space allowed us to have additional informal “chat sessions” on topics of interest to the people who attended the conference. Throughout the conference there was high energy and a great deal of expressed interest in becoming more active and involved with ISPI Europe.

On the last day of the Heidelberg conference after the teams presented their proposals and received feedback from the “Executive Board” of our simulation company, Eye Care, Inc., we solicited feedback covering the entire conference from all participants who were willing to share their insights. We asked the following questions.

What was really great?
What should be changed or improved?
What are some suggestions for the Future?

Given the intimate size of the conference and the high level of participants, the conference feedback session seemed to act as yet another opportunity to forge participants into a team, working together on a continuous improvement effort for ISPI Europe conferences. What a positive experience and a result in itself! In fact, several participants were so positive about the direction of ISPI Europe and its potential to support professionals that they readily volunteered to work with or on the Board to help us to achieve “even more.” In summary, conference feedback was constructive and we believe that ISPI Europe is on the road to improvement, both building on past successes and incorporating and adapting innovative new ideas.

Good/Continue

o Size – The conference was found to be a great size. There was an opportunity not only to meet people, but also actually to get to know them. The intimate size of the conference was highlighted as a significant part of its appeal when combined with the very high quality of the presenters, participants and the content. Participants suggested that growing the size of the conference too much would cause us to lose more than we could gain.

o People – There was great diversity in knowledge and background among participants and presenters alike. The small size of sessions and the overall design of the conference allowed for very active participation of attendees. Everyone seemed committed to not just sitting and listening, but actively contributing and sharing. It was a great opportunity to learn from experienced professionals and to ask questions and interact with them -- not just sit and hear a good, but prepackaged presentation.

o Keynotes – The keynotes were great and presented in a way that triggered more discussions, which carried throughout the conference.

o Session Length – The session length was comfortable and allowed enough time to learn and share.

o Evening Event – The evening event was great. It allowed us to go out as a group and to interact on a more informal basis and to spend time all together where we could talk to others we hadn’t had a chance to speak with yet.

o Flexibility – The organizers were anxious to ensure that everyone got the most out of the conference and remained flexible to make that happen.

o Food – Good food contributed to the overall experience and the atmosphere of the conference.

o Real Applications – Participants enjoyed the simulation which was based on a real company and situations. They also enjoyed the sessions that talked about actual applications.


Improvement Requriements

o Timing – There should have been specific time allocated in the agenda for teams to work on the simulation case study.

o Teams – The simulation was a great experience that allowed people to get to know each other a bit better by actually working and collaborating on something together. To make it better, ensure that teams have a mix of backgrounds and that people that work together already as partners and/or colleagues, go on different teams.

o Sessions – Include criteria and a process to ensure that concurrent session speaker presentations have sufficient structure.

o Language – The common language and the language of ISPI is English. However, when English is not your native language, it is important that speakers, on topics such as we cover at ISPI conferences, are sensitive to and specifically accommodate non-native speaker participants. (There is already a plan in place to update the proposal submission guidelines and the criteria to ask submitters to indicate how they will accommodate non-native English speakers.)

o Location – Because the hotel changed its name the day before the conference officially started (without notifying the organizers directly) there was confusion and a little difficulty in finding the hotel.

Suggestions for the Future

o Partnering – The simulation was a great opportunity to work with others as well as to learn a lot. It was suggested that there be even more planned opportunities to network and partner.

o Delegate List – It would be very helpful to have a delegate list in the packet received at registration, including scope of experience and what each is seeking. Justifying the value of attending the conference is more about the quality and diversity of attendees than the number of attendees. That is, a group of attendees representing diverse industries and roles provides important additional richness to the conference experience.

o Content - Make presentations available on the web site after the conference. (Among those present, there were offers to share video of their sessions and to support the development of resources for doing this kind of sharing. There are also plans to try to assemble proceedings to circulate to attendees from articles submitted by speakers, with their permission.)

o Presentations – Presentation proposal review process that includes an actual preview of sessions, i.e., more than a short description and an outline.

o Pre-Conference – Prior to the conference post the complete agenda (schedule) to help people to sell/justify the conference to their employer and to encourage colleagues to attend. Also, clarify the start time and activities for the opening/beginning of the conference.

o Session Selection – Running concurrent sessions only once, forces participants to select one session to attend and lose others. It was suggested that certain sessions run more than once and/or that some or all sessions be video recorded to allow participants to maximize their experience and learning.

o Opening Event – It was suggested that the opening include an “ice breaker” to allow people to get to know each other a little right at the beginning.


In conclusion, we are happy to summarize and present the feedback obtained from the participants in the recent 2007 ISPI Europe conference. As always, participants played an enormous role in the success of the conference, which has always been the reason for keeping our conferences small in size. That is, participants don’t just sit back and get talked at by presenters that hold themselves apart. Participants are just that. They are professionals that participate actively in sessions and contribute value based on their questions and comments within conference sessions as well as more informally at breaks, meals and other networking opportunities. We were particularly happy to welcome to Heidelberg, some very experienced, high quality participants, who came to us from outside of the ISPI community, bringing their unique perspectives, while also confirming the value and broad-based application of HPT and sharing opportunities such as our ISPI Europe conference. Presenters were very accessible and generous with their time and insights this year as at previous ISPI Europe conferences. Finally, it should be noted that even the improvement opportunities are actually positive suggestions rather than complaints. We thank all presenters and participants for their roles in making the Heidelberg Conference a great success as a learning and growing opportunity for all who participated, irrespective of their role, and for arming us with important suggestions to fuel our continuous improvement efforts.

Job Opportunity for HPT Facilitators

Dear colleagues,

Marcey Uday-Riley a wonderful colleague and popular ISPI-Europe presenter is pursuing a large scale global business opportunity with an existing client (5 years).

Below is the information about the kinds of candidates she is seeking:

"The items listed below are required for us to be considered competitive. Candidates don’t have to have heavy sales training skills but must be very dynamic facilitator (vs instructor) and understand human behavior quite well… DISC experience or certification is a BIG PLUS?"

Please send your bio or resume (CV?) if you are interested to Marcey Uday-Riley meur@mindspring.com


General Experience and Qualifications
2.01
Please detail your company’s experience in the design, development, and delivery of “Sales Skills, Sales Systems, Sales and Sales Management Processes, and Methodology” programs globally.

2.02
Please detail your company’s expertise in the following topics


a. Sales Effectiveness and Productivity Skills


b. Sales and Sales Management Process


c. Solution Selling


d. Advanced Negotiation and Persuasion


e. Large Account Management


f. Channel Management

2.03
What other customers have you provided a similar service for each topic and may we contact them?


a. Sales Effectiveness and Productivity Skills


b. Sales and Sales Management Process


c. Solution Selling


d. Advanced Negotiation and Persuasion


e. Large Account Management


f. Channel Management

2.04
May we see a windowpane design concept for similar programs? (if yes, please provide)


a. Sales Effectiveness and Productivity Skills


b. Sales and Sales Management Process


c. Solution Selling


d. Advanced Negotiation and Persuasion


e. Large Account Management


f. Channel Management

2.05
Bio(s) of the following personnel who would work with XXXXXXXXXX:


a. Account Manager


b. Lead Program Designer(s)


c. Subject Matter Expert(s)


d. Pilot faculty


2.08
Please provide examples of work processes your company uses.

a. Needs assessment

b. Instructional design

c. Program Development

d. Program evaluation

e. Faculty sourcing and quality audits


2.11
Please provide examples of how you leveraged elearning or technology for pre-course and post-course activities.

Global Delivery and Local Faculty
3.01
Please detail your experience with designing courses from a global perspective.

3.02
Please describe how your organization would be able to develop content that will be consistent from region to region, yet localized with minor adjustments to assure cultural congruence.

3.03
Evidence that your organization can provide local faculty in our international regions. Please only include faculty that your organization is currently (or has recently) employed or contracted.

3.04
Faculty members must be able to speak English as well as the native language in each region. Please describe your facilitator’s ability to speak and interpret in the following local languages.


a. Simplified Chinese


b. German


c. French


d. Italian


e. Spanish

3.05
Please provide an example in which your organization has provided on-site administration and support (including room set-up) in each of the required regions.



Best Wishes,
Camille Ferond.
Italy.

6th ISPI-Europe Conference - Keynote Speakers

6th ISPI Europe Conference
November 1st to 3rd 2007
Heidelberg (Mannheim-Ladenberg), Germany

The topic of the 2007 ISPI Europe conference is:

Dealing with Contrasts in Europe: Old versus New, Large versus
Small, Centralised control versus Dispersed Leadership

We are very pleased to announce two compelling keynote speakers:

Arnoud Vermei – Arnoud is a long time member of ISPI and ISPI Europe.
He and his colleague, Michiel Bloem, were Masters Series speakers at the
2007 ISPI conference in San Francisco. This is just the latest of many
presentations of their very impressive accomplishments for clients in a
broad range of industries. Arnoud is a consultant who truly makes a
significant difference. Evidence of his skill and expertise is the loyalty
of his clients, who are primarily operating at the chief executive and/or
board level.

An accomplished and innovative presenter, Arnoud pilot tested a
simulation entitled, “How do you explain HPT to a client?” in the
International Room at the 2006 ISPI Conference in Dallas. In 2007,
together with Carol Panza, Michiel Bloem, and Juan Pablo Ortiz, the
simulations was enhanced and delivered as part of the regular program
in a two-part format. The session was such a success that it has been
selected for an encore in 2008.

Judith Hale – Judy has been an important contributor to ISPI and the
field of performance improvement for more than 20 years. She is the
author of several books which have become fundamental parts of the
library of many performance professionals.

Judy has served on the Board of Directors for ISPI and is a Past
President. She has presented countless times at international
conferences, including the ISPI Masters Series. Judy was the original
architect of the Certified Performance Technologist process for ISPI and
is currently part of the ISPI professional staff, particularly focused on
supporting the implementation of this important professional
designation.

Judy has been a consultant for many years with a long list of successful
projects for a wide range of very satisfied clients. Judy’s clients are her
biggest supporters, testament, indeed, to her accomplishments with and
for them.

Judy’s Keynote presentation will deal with the relevance and importance
of the CPT designation specifically for professionals living and working in
Europe.

As always, the 2007 ISPI Europe Conference will encourage and support the
active involvement of all participants throughout the conference. As always,
we strive to provide an event that is large enough to attract excellent speakers
and a diversity of participants, yet small enough to allow this distinguished
group of professionals to actively learn from and share with each other,
whether they are in the role of speaker or participant.

We are planning two very special and innovative sessions in addition to the
keynotes and regular concurrent sessions.

􀀁 Two-part simulation – “How do you explain HPT to a client?” The
simulation will involve teams that will form during Part 1. The teams
will be given a case that describes a real client situation and some time
for each team to agree on up to 3 questions for a “bidder’s conference”
with the company’s Executive Board. A very important part of the
success of this simulation is the Executive Board. There will be 4
professional colleagues of the simulation designers who will play the
roles of CEO, COO, CFO and EVP-HR. Once the bidder’s conference is
completed and team members are briefed on final proposal
requirements and the presentation process, session 1 will end and the
real work of the teams will begin. They will have the resources of the
rest of the conference to support their proposal development activities.
That is, sessions, speakers, other participants and team members will all
be open to teams as they attend the conference and prepare to make a
proposal the Executive Board of the client company.

􀀁 Case study development – This session will be facilitated by Dr. Anthony
Marker, Camille Ferond, and Carol Panza. It will begin with a discussion
of the various case study types or formats based on uses and related
objectives. This will be followed by a presentation by Dr. Marker the
Case Book he is about to publish including why it has been developed in
the manner he will describe together with actual results achieved in
using this approach with graduate students at Boise State University.
The session will conclude with the participant group suggesting some
criteria for the various case study types identified by use, facilitated by
Tony, Camille and Carol.

We anticipate having over 20 regular concurrent sessions during the conference
and will offer a range of 1/2 day and full day pre-conference workshops.
There will also be a special evening event that will allow everyone to enjoy a
little of the culture and scenery of Heidelberg as well as to dine at a local
restaurant.

This promises to be a fun, exciting conference with an unprecedented potential
to learn and share for all.