| Looking for a Competitive Edge? Try A Learning Management System (LMS)
By Tamara Allen, Genesys
As the new millennium marches on, more and more emphasis is being placed on identifying new and better systems that improve the productivity, the retention rate and overall performance of our most precious asset, our employees. The implementation of a comprehensive Learning Management System not only provides a firm foundation for achieving these objectives, but also provides a secondary, but just as important benefit to the company - a competitive edge. It's a fact that better trained employees give you a competitive edge in the marketplace.
What is a Learning Management System? In simplest words, an LMS manages and tracks all parts of the learning process. This typically includes the administration processes performed when signing up and taking a course, for example, student registration, course scheduling, pre- and post-testing and reporting. Management functions performed by the system typically include allowing instructors to manage course availability and delivery, manage resources such as instructors, rooms and equipment, and track student progress.
PeopleComeFirst,
Genesys' "new born on the web" Learning Management System, takes LMS
functionality to the next level. In the learning space, we recognize
that content is king. Therefore, it is important that any LMS manages
content effectively and efficiently. To maximize effectiveness, all
forms of content, including videos, files, traditional classroom based
courses and documents, should be manageable and deliverable as the
instructor chooses. This content can be delivered from any location
to any location managed by the system, including CBT, virtual classrooms,
synchronous and asynchronous learning and "just in time." All courses
can be taken over the web, while courses that need to remain instructor
taught in the classroom can continue to be taught the traditional
way. The LMS simply gives you a better way to administer and track
these. Course authoring is also an important component of the LMS.
Companies that produce complex and numerous products or product updates
in particular would rely heavily on this functionality. Finally, skill
and competency management, essential for assessing the student's performance
and the learning programs effectiveness, is an integral part of the
PeopleComeFirst LMS. The system identifies those competencies that
are required of the student in order for the student to achieve either an improvement in job performance,
a promotion or simply reach a personal goal. The system performs a
gap analysis on the student's competencies and skills and identifies
which courses or combination of learning modules will meet that need.
There are two areas where LMS technology can impact your organization. The first is external. Sales training for sales representatives and customer service training are externally focused on either selling to the customer or servicing the customer. For these groups, product training, selling skills and customer relations skills are at the heart of learning. These areas directly impact revenue and can either make or break the company. The second area is internally focused and consists of training all other employees in the organization. The learning that needs to be managed here depends on the employee's position and job function in the company, and spans from company orientation to leadership.
The numbers speak for themselves. Research by International Data Corporation (IDC) indicates that by 2003, Fortune 500 companies will lose $31.5 billion due to inefficiencies resulting from substandard performance and the inability to locate knowledge resources. Other research, conducted in 2000 by the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD), studied the average annual training expenditures of greater than 500 US public companies. The results showed that companies who spent the most on training (the top half of the group) had a total stockholder return (TSR) 86% higher than firms that spent less on training (those in the bottom half of the group) and 46% higher than the market average. The study also revealed that companies in the lower expenditure half had an average TSR of 19.8%, which was 22% lower than the S&P 500 annual return of 25.5%.
So, will an LMS give your company a competitive edge? Your competitors are probably implementing an LMS right now.
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PeopleComeFirst is a fully web enabled Learning Management System, created using web technology and object oriented models. It is customizable and can be easily integrated with software and other enterprise systems. For more information on PeopleComeFirst, contact Steve Munini, Principal Systems Architect, tel. 978-685-5400, x 3002, e-mail smunini@genesysHCM.com, or Tamara Allen, Product Manager, tel. 978-685-5400, x 3050, e-mail tallen@genesysHCM.com. Or visit our web site, www.genesysHCM.com.
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 The Cost of Employee Turnover
Your payroll clerk just gave notice. If you're lucky, you fill the spot just before her last day. Hurriedly, she scribbles down the payroll procedures and tries to "train" the new replacement on how to prepare your next payroll. Sound familiar? |
In today's booming economy, employee turnover is a fact of life. But turnover costs your company a great deal more than you think. Consider the cost impact of these items:
- Payroll could be in danger of slipping past deadline
- There is an increase in manual (exception) checks
- Benefit hours are not posted correctly
- Attendance trends are not consistently monitored
The American Management Association states that the average cost to replace an employee is 30% of their annual salary - and it could be even higher!
Consider how much time and money your company spends on replacing employees - the advertising costs, interview time, time spent checking references, background checks and drug testing fees, substitute (temp worker) costs, sign up fees, headhunter/consultant fees, new hire training costs, lost productivity due to ramp ups and higher starting wages to attract new hires.
The cost of employee turnover can be staggering. And in today's booming economy, with a low unemployment rate - you might not find replacements quickly (or easily).
How can your company improve employee retention and lower turnover?
Higher wages are not the answer. That puts you in a bidding war with other companies. Consider the following things to improve your work environment:
Invest in additional training (and your employees)
Professional training in Word Processing, Excel, your current Time & Attendance application, management seminars, etc. tells employees you value their work and want to help them grow professionally.
Invest in technology (to improve productivity)
Automating manual tasks, such as adding up time cards, posting benefit hours or writing employee schedules, saves your managers time and lets them work on more important parts of the business.
Learn how automated workforce management systems can reduce employee turnover (and save your company money too).
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Reprinted with permission from author, Bill Copeland, Manager of Sales Support, SimplexGrinnell - Workforce Solutions.
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Web Technology Catches on with New Accounts and Upgraded Systems
Genesys is pleased to welcome two new clients and to announce that many existing clients have recently either upgraded their systems by migrating to web-technology or have purchased additional add-ons. See the following list to learn who's new and who upgraded.
 Flagship
Resort:
When you think of Atlantic City, you think of the boardwalk,
and situated at the north end of the boardwalk you'll find the elegantly
appointed Flagship All Suites Resort. Whether you're in Atlantic
City for business or pleasure, the Flagship Resort's outstanding
staff of approximately 650 will ensure that your overall accommodations,
dining and gaming experience is one you'll long treasure. To enable
them to focus on providing the finest in hospitality, the Flagship
Resort selected Genesys as their outsourcer of choice for their
Payroll and HR needs, which will be further serviced through Genesys'
WEBWorks offering. Genesys is pleased to have been selected the
Payroll/HR vendor for this premier resort facility.
For more information
on the Flagship Resort, visit their web site at http://www.flagshipresort.com/index1.html.
- Plains All-American Pipeline, L.P.:
This Texas organization is based in Houston. They are engaged in interstate and intrastate crude oil transportation, terminalling and storage, as well as crude oil gathering and marketing activities. PAA is one of the largest transporters, terminal operators, gatherers and marketers of crude oil in the United States and currently transports, terminals, gathers and markets an aggregate of approximately 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day. Plains All-American Pipeline, L.P. selected Genesys' FULLSource Outsourcing and WEBServe for its 1100 employees. Genesys takes pride in being selected as the outsourcing and employee self-service provider for Plains All-American Pipeline, the nations foremost provider of crude oil.
For more information on PAA, visit their web site at http://www.plainsallamerican.com/.
- Lands' End: One of the largest apparel-only catalog retailers, Lands' End served 6.7 million buyers in the past year with fiscal year '00 sales of $1.462 billion. Lands' End is known for providing products of exceptional quality at prices representing honest value, enhanced by a commitment to excellence in customer service. Lands' End has been utilizing Genesys solutions for managing the human resource and payroll needs of its 7,200 employees since 1993. Realizing the benefits of providing a web-based learning management system for its employees, Lands' End has agreed to be the beta site for PeopleComeFirst, Genesys' component-based LMS offering.
For more information on Lands' End, visit their web site at http://www.landsend.com/.
- Hillsborough County: The Hillsborough County/Genesys relationship goes back a number of years. Recently the Hillsborough County government, located in Tampa, Florida, migrated from a mainframe system to Genesys' latest suite of offerings: WEBWorks, WEBServe self-service, and TDI (Time Data Interchange) on Windows NT. These upgrades to Hillsborough County's system have enabled the county to enjoy further customization and to process in a nearly paperless environment.
- Trustmark National Bank: Recently Trustmark decided to utilize the web-based technology of Genesys' WEBWorks and WEBServe self-service. This Jackson, Mississippi-based bank enables its employees to update and maintain their own demographics info via the self-service functions of WEBServe. What's next for Trustmark? Open enrollment via WEBServe!
For more information on Trustmark, visit their web site at http://www.trustmark.com/index2.html.
- Blue Cross/Blue Shield of South Carolina: BC/BS of Columbia, South Carolina, is another existing Genesys client who made the leap to web-based technology when they recently selected both WEBWorks and WEBServe self-service. BC/BS was proud to unveil an enhanced version of WEBServe to its employees, one that was customized to include their corporate logo. BC/BS's 2000+/- employees are now free to use WEBServe for open enrollment.
For more information on BC/BS of South Carolina, visit their web site at http://www.bcbssc.com/bcbs_index.htm.
- Delta Dental Plan of California: Headquartered in San Francisco, Delta Dental is yet another long-standing Genesys client who opted to move forward with high-efficiency, cost-effective web-based technology. In that vein, Delta Dental just recently migrated from a non-realtime, mainframe system to Windows NT with Genesys' latest product offerings of WEBWorks and WEBServe self-service.
For more information on Delta Dental Plan of California, visit their web site at http://www.deltadentalca.org/.
- Bay Area Rapid Transit: Another California client of Genesys is Bay Area Rapid Transit (known to many as "BART"). Seeking an efficient way to enable its employees to take ownership of their basic personal information, BART invested in Genesys' employee/manager self-service product, WEBServe. BART was impressed with both the extensive functionality readily available in WEBServe and the ease with which WEBServe can be tailored to reflect their corporate identify. Now BART employees can process their own demographic information with ease.
For more information on BART, visit their web site at http://www.bart.gov/index.asp.
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Customer Services Quarterly Tips
Tip
One: Preventing Invalid or Incorrect Check Dates
At some point, it happens to everyone -- you run an entire payroll, you ensure that the totals are correct, you print the paychecks -- and only then do you notice that the Check Date is incorrect. Perhaps it's off by a day or two. Perhaps it's invalid, a date that doesn't exist, such as September 31, 2001. Either way, you don't want to be holding a stack of printed checks with bad dates. The good news is... you don't have to! Ever again. There's a simple solution to this situation, but to prevent this from happening, you must be pro-active. Simply follow these steps:
- Process payroll as normal, through the Preview phase. During the Preview phase, the Totals Recap Report is produced.
- Look at the first page of the Totals Recap Report, first line, upper-left corner. You'll see CO. KEY and then DATE. The information that is printed below DATE is what will print as the Check Date.
- If the DATE is correct, continue processing as normal.
If the DATE is incorrect, fix it before continuing, as follows:
- Access the Edit and Update Scheduling screen
- Locate the heading Payable Date (CPPD)
- Next, under this heading, locate the invalid/incorrect date and overtype with the proper information
- Finally, run through the Preview phase again to verify the newly entered date
Tip
Two: Preventing Invalid Earnings/Deductions Schedules
Using the same preventative theory as above, you can also easily prevent erroneous earnings/deductions schedules. This is extremely important in that one invalid schedule can cause chaos in your payroll cycle. For example, an invalid schedule can pay, or not pay, an employee at a designated time, or it can cause problems with the 401(k) by taking, or not taking, a deduction as planned. Again, be pro-active and follow these steps:
- Process payroll as normal, through the Preview phase. During the Preview phase, the Totals Recap Report is produced.
- Look at the first page of the Totals Recap Report, third line, just right of center. You'll see DED SCHD and ERN SCHD. The numbers printed below these headings identify the schedules that will be applied during the payroll cycle.
- If the DED SCHD and ERN SCHD are correct, continue processing as normal.
If these headings are incorrect, fix them before continuing, as follows:
- Access the Edit and Update Scheduling screen
- Locate the heading Schedules Ern. Dedn.
- Under these headings are four numbers - the number in the
first position corresponds to the schedule being processed
- Overtype the first position with the correct schedule number
- Finally, run through the Preview phase again to verify the newly entered schedules
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Short Topics
 Aligning with the Best and the Brightest
In keeping with Genesys' quest to provide the latest in HR technology, along with complimentary applications designed specifically to enhance the full HRMS experience, Genesys continues to seek out and foster alliances with the best and brightest in the industry. With that goal in mind, Genesys recently finalized partnerships with four highly respected organizations. We are pleased to welcome the following new partners to the Genesys team:
- BrassRing Systems: Provides a comprehensive suite of integrated hiring solutions that help companies develop and maintain productive relationships with both internal and external candidates. For more information, see the BrassRing/Genesys press announcement.
- eLabor: Provides enterprise solutions for labor resource planning, encompassing labor and project management, as well as resource scheduling and planning. For more information, see the eLabor/Genesys press announcement.
- NetBase: Provides an enterprise workflow management tool that handles time acquisition, tracking, approval, validation, and analysis. For more information, see the NetBase/Genesys press announcement.
- TimeVision Inc: Provides a resource-management tool for automatically viewing employee data in the form of an organizational chart, employee profile, or traditional list-all via a corporate intranet. For more information, see the TimeVision/Genesys press announcement.
What are you doing September 16-19?
If you answered "Not sure," then you haven't made plans for the Genesys Annual HRMS Conference! With the conference just over two weeks away, there's still time to register, but you'll have to hurry because time is running out! At Genesys, we're still busy adding speakers and presentations -- as a matter of fact, in just the past few weeks we were delighted to add several additional partners and a Microsoft speaker to the agenda, and just this week the i's were dotted and the t's were crossed and we're pleased to announce that the American Payroll Association will be present at this year's conference as well -- that's a first! For all the latest details on this year's conference, please visit the Genesys Conference Page, or if you prefer, contact Lucille Breen directly at 978-685-5400, extension 3165 to register.
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Current Release
As of August 15, 2001, the latest Genesys release is number 2001-10. This legislative release includes:
- Local Tax Service (Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania)
- Tax Filing Interface (Medicare)
- US Quarterly Reporting (Ohio Quarterly Form, Quarterly Diskette Sort)
- US Year-End Reporting (North Carolina, 1042S Magnetic-Media - Q Record)
- Canadian Taxation (Canadian Equalization)
Accessing Release Files and Documentation
Within the Customer Connection site is a list of all releases, as well as a list of the corresponding release documentation.
To view release-related information, follow these steps:
- Access the Customer Connection site
- Select the appropriate icon (Software Services, Outsourcing Services, GenExpress Services)
- Provide a User Name and Password
To access the latest release, or prior releases, select release files.
To view the corresponding documentation, select release documentation.
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Press Corner
- The June issue of Benefits & Compensation Solutions
profiled organizations that recently formed or expanded corporate
alliances. Among the alliances profiled was that between Genesys and
BrassRing Systems. The article reiterated the Genesys stance to actively
purse partnerships with organizations whose services compliment the suite
of Genesys offerings. In the case of the Genesys/BrassRing alliance,
Genesys feels that BrassRing's "comprehensive suite of integrated
hiring solutions can help customers build and manage productive relationships
with job candidates from both outside and within their organizations."
- In June, BreakTime's running feature 'Business In Brief' included
an announcement of the Genesys/eLabor partnership. The announcement
quoted Larry Munini, Genesys President, as saying "We're particularly
pleased to partner with forward-thinking organizations like eLabor
because together we can bring the latest in functionality and technology
to our clients."
- The Newsletter of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Payroll Association mentioned Genesys as one of the vendors whose support helped make the National Payroll Week social event at its statewide conference a "huge success."
- On July 30, 2001, Genesys issued a press release via the National Business Wire titled Genesys of Methuen, Mass., Celebrates 20th Anniversary. This announcement, and the program behind it, emphasized two points that are near-and-dear to Genesys: one, the pride that we take in our operations and employees; two, the satisfaction we feel when assisting those less fortunate. Our 20th anniversary provided a unique opportunity to recognize our employees and to give back to our community. The unique program we designed to help us reach that goal makes for a heart-warming story; be sure to catch all the details in the next issue of e-Insight.
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Training Schedule
To receive a complete 2001 Training Schedule, call the Training Coordinator at (978) 685-5400 x3027, send an e-mail to classreg@genesysHCM.com, or send a FAX to (520) 833-1169. Be sure to visit the Genesys Customer Connection site to view the Online Training Catalogue, which includes course titles and descriptions. (The Customer Connection site is a secure, customer-only area; a User ID and Password are required.)
Below is a list of upcoming courses. Unless otherwise noted, all courses are held at the Genesys Corporate Training Center, Methuen, Massachusetts.
| Course |
Date |
| Writing Online Reports |
September 25-26 |
| Advanced GenTools |
October 2-3 |
| Writing Deferred Reports |
October 4-5 |
| Advanced Payroll System |
October 10-11 |
| Year-End Training |
To Be Scheduled |
| Basic GenTools |
December 4-6 |
| Introduction to Genesys |
December 10 |
| Basic Payroll System |
December 11-13 |
| U.S. Tax Processing |
December 14 |
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Upcoming Events
Genesys is pleased to be participating at the following conferences and trade events. We welcome you to visit us at any of them.
| Date |
Event |
Location |
| Sept. 5-7 |
Softworld Human Resources Information Systems |
New York, NY |
| Sept. 9-11 |
Mitchell Humphrey User Group Conference |
Las Vegas, NV |
| Sept. 10-12 |
HR Technology's 4th Annual Conference and Exposition |
Baltimore, MD |
| Sept. 16-19 |
The Genesys 21st Annual HRMS Conference |
San Antonio, TX |
| Sept. 25-26 |
Talent & Technology Summit |
Boston, MA |
| Sept. 27-29 |
12th Annual Texas Payroll Conference |
Austin, TX |
| Sept. 30-Oct. 3 |
OnLine Learning 2001 Conference and Exposition |
Los Angeles, CA |
| Oct. 7-10 |
Benefits Management's 14th Annual Forum & Expo |
Atlanta, GA |
| Oct. 17-18 |
HR Southwest |
Fort Worth, TX |
| Oct. 29-30 |
NCHRA Annual Conference & Trade Show |
San Jose, CA |
| Oct. 29-Nov. 1 |
Windows on Healthcare VII |
San Diego, CA |
| May 14-18, 2002 |
APA's 20th Annual Congress |
San Antonio, TX |
To view additional information about all upcoming events, visit the Genesys Events web page. The event listing provides you with links to the various sponsoring organizations. You are encouraged to visit these sites to learn more.
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