Recognizing Excellence -- Awards Recipients 
Congratulations go out to the Awards of Excellence recipients. All recipients will be on display at the 2000 International Performance Improvement Conference & Expo, April 11-14, in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. Awards were given out in the following categories.: 

Outstanding Chapter Communication Product
This award recognizes chapters in which their communication vehicles support their objectives and strategic plans.

Virtual Chapter
This award is given to chapters that use new and emerging technologies to bridge geographic boundaries and constraints.

Chapter of Excellence
This award is given to chapters that meet rigorous standards of excellence

Chapter Hall of Fame
To attain this honor, a chapter must have been honored as a Chapter of Excellence, Distinguished Chapter, or any combination of the two for three consecutive years.

Instructional Communication
This award recognizes an outstanding communication that enables individuals or organizations to achieve excellence in human performance technology.

Performance Aid
This award recognizes results achieved through the design and implementation of an intervention used on the job to assist the performer in accomplishing a task.

Instructional Product or Intervention
This award recognizes results derived from instructional products and interventions developed through systematic approaches to human performance problems, needs, or opportunities.

The Chapter award program celebrates the achievement of local ISPI chapters and emphasizes accomplishments on a criterion-referenced basis rather than a competition basis.

Outstanding Chapter Communication Product
This award recognizes chapters in which their communication vehicles support their objectives and strategic plans.

The 1999 board for ISPI -- Michigan Chapter set goals, strategies, and objectives to continue our ongoing goal of improving communications for our members. Our submission for the Outstanding Chapter Communication Product demonstrates our board's commitment to those efforts.

The communications products, included in our submission, met our goals of conveying Chapter information in a timely professional manner to both members and to the general public; increasing awareness of Chapter meetings, services, and benefits of membership; educating our members on topics related to performance improvement; and increasing membership of the Chapter.

The communications focus group identified 130 of our 135 members have e-mail. The communication plan was to increase the use of e-mail and revise the Web site. Members without e-mail continue to receive US mail on our updated letterhead. KCISPI.org includes the strategic plan, membership directory, programs calendar, the new Internet Job Posting service and extended articles from the new look of our revised quarterly newsletter. Savings in reduced postage, printing and duplication increase our program budget. Our e-mails and Web site extends relationships built at conference with international "honorary chapter" members throughout the year.

Virtual Chapter
This award is given to chapters that use new and emerging technologies to bridge geographic boundaries and constraints.

KCISPI is committed to worldwide connections built on the foundation of performance improvement. At the 1999 ISPI International Conference we met Jane Dapkus and Krista Junge. Our conversation led to the start-up of a virtual chapter. We offered ideas for establishing a membership base with he goal becoming chartered the second year. The St. Louis team recruited members join the KC Chapter for one year to learn about IPSI and to begin their journey in establishing a St. Louis Chapter. KCISPI.org, e-mails and traveling meetings have been the elements of our success.

Chapter of Excellence
This award is given to chapters that meet rigorous standards of excellence

ISPI Michigan Chapter, Nancy Lemkie, President

During the past year, the ISPI Michigan executive board worked diligently to represent the Human Performance Technology field in a professional manner. We accomplished this through the offering of special programs, workshops, our newsletter the Technologist, our web site, and our established board as well as our committee chairs worked together conscientiously to meet the needs of out chapter membership and meet the criteria and expectations of ISPI International.

The KC ISPI Chapter has expanded its ability to reach members through the Internet; monthly discussion groups strategically located by Zip Code in the metro area and helped the St. Louis area begin forming a new Chapter. The KC ISPI Chapter has established an international honorary membership to include members we have met at ISPI conferences. These members benefit from our e-mail communications and on our Web site. Our monthly programs included Og Lindsley, John Swinney and local talent. The Strategic Thinking workshop with Roger and Jan Kaufman had 26 participants. The average balance of the daily investment account has remained sufficient to operate the chapter for 4 months. In 1999 membership increased by a 12%. Of our total membership 31% are also International members.

Chapter Hall of Fame
To attain this honor, a chapter must have been honored as a Chapter of Excellence, Distinguished Chapter, or any combination of the two for three consecutive years.

Montreal Chapter

Great Valley Chapter

Columbia Northwest Chapter

Instructional Communication
This award recognizes an outstanding communication that enables individuals or organizations to achieve excellence in human performance technology.

I wrote Building Expertise to bridge the gap between academic research on cognitive instructional methods that build human expertise and the community of instructional professionals responsible for competency in business and government organizations. Many "tips and tricks" books and publications promote the art of training design and delivery. Building Expertise promotes the science of training design and delivery leading to systematic and reproducible prescriptions by practitioners. Each chapter includes a combination of research and applications of the research illustrated with examples linked to human cognitive learning processes.

A book for the general public on how citizens can precipitate educational reform. First major publication to use Performance Technology as the model for bringing about radical revision of K-12 schooling, and the first to demonstrate what an accomplished-based curriculum might look like.
Addresses issues such as: Why past reforms have failed. Why a root cause of the problem is subject-based content. How to bring about high levels of learning in almost all students. How to motivate students.
Eden is being employed by the Education Reform Commission headed by the Governor of Georgia as a prime input for its work.

The Great Valley ISPI’s Communication Product is a compilation of a year’s worth of hard work dedicated to keeping the Chapter informed. GVnews, the Chapter’s monthly newsletter is a vehicle for providing information about HPT topics, updating members on Chapter news, promoting Chapter activities, and maintaining an ongoing link between Chapter officers and the membership at large. Each year GVISPI publishes a Membership Directory. The Directory contains Chapter information, such as its history, governance, programs, and information about the principles of HPT, as well as an overview of ISPI. The directory also includes a complete listing of Chapter members. Other communication includes a custom brochure for the Chapter’s yearly workshop. GVISPI works hard at facilitating consistent communication to its chapter members.

Performance Aid
This award recognizes results achieved through the design and implementation of an intervention used on the job to assist the performer in accomplishing a task.

Vytra Health Plans, based on Long Island, New York, is a regional managed health care organization. Vytra Health Plans' Hospital Advisor is a web-based expert system that allows employees to process hospital claims for a specific hospital. The performance aid breaks down the tasks into specific rules, allowing a non-expert to perform the task at the level of an expert. The following performance improvement indicators were successfully measured as a result of implementing the performance aid:

• Claims payment accuracy increased to 100% and rework decreased
• Number of employees who can process claims increased to 100% of available staff
• Training time was reduced by 75%
• Standard operating procedures were created

Natural Resources Canada, MVM Communications & Odyssey Consulting
FBI Toolkit

The Federal Buildings Initiative (FBI) is a program developed to help federal government departments and agencies improve the energy efficiency of their facilities. Since an average of only two projects a year had
Been realized, Natural Resources Canada came to MVM for help in developing a training course on how to actualize projects.
Rather than a training course, MVM designed a presentation with a set of clear job aids that led potential participants through the process from start to finish.
At the end of the first complete year of the new program, 7 projects were into the retrofit stage and 5 more were into the contracting phase. The seven projects have about $18 million of planned investment for an
Annual return of about $2.4 million in estimated energy savings.

Marc Mishkind, Nathalie Deschatres, Stephany Prodromides, Ged Bauer, & Jeff Williams
eMind.com Online Production Guide

The eMind.com Online Production Guide supports the performance of internal and external course production team members, from the subject-matter expert authors to the quality-assurance team. The guide does this by:

• Providing a central repository for new information
• Providing updates of key processes and procedures
• Supporting memory by maintaining current information
• Offering a quick and easy way to find specific items of information

Materials include online documents, downloadable templates, and links to reference information. No training is required to use this web-based performance aid, assuming the user can operate within a browser interface.

NGS System Administrator Desktop Reference
Marriott International & The Center for Effective Performance, Inc.

The NGS System Administrator Desktop Reference is an easy-to-use guide to the tasks of the NGS system administrator. The system administrator is responsible for many of the tasks that ensure the effective and efficient use of the Next Generation System (NGS) installed in Marriott’s domestic hotels. The Desktop Reference contains condensed instructions along with hints and helps for performing each task. It is designed to be used as a stand-alone performance support tool or accompany a full day training course. Since the Desktop Reference was introduced, both system errors and support desk calls have been reduced. The Desktop Reference was developed by a team from Marriott International partnered with The Center for Effective Performance, Inc.

Instructional Product or Intervention
This award recognizes results derived from instructional products and interventions developed through systematic approaches to human performance problems, needs, or opportunities.

The Center for Effective Performance, Inc. & Hilton Hotels Corporation
Revenue Management University

Hotel revenue management is the discipline of determining optimum rate structures and room inventory in order to maximize revenue. It is one of the most difficult and critical aspects of hotel management. Hilton has expanded its revenue management power by partnering with the Center for Effective Performance to create Hilton’s Revenue Management University (RMU). This learner-driven, criterion-referenced course combines performance aids, realistic hands-on practice, one-on-one feedback, and group discussions to develop skilled, effective & confident Directors of Revenue Management. Participating hotels enthusiastically report results ranging from increased revenue management efficiency to increases in occupancy, revenue and profit. Since RMU, Hilton has grown in market share and penetration in most major markets.

Conoco University's entry is an interactive web-based training site that presents "Business Literacy" skills. The three-year project began with a survey of key managers who identified the lack of employee business acumen as a major concern. Learning outcomes at "knowledge" and "application" levels are identified and presented in seven modules. A "Dilemma Zone" presented job-related simulations and "The Biz Quiz" provides a beat-the-clock game show. Pre- and post-test scores show significant knowledge improvement, and 98% of those surveyed said they would take WBT again. About 96% of the managers surveyed reported noticeable improvements in employee performance after taking the course.

Imperial Oil provides a comprehensive development program for all new Esso Branded Retailers to ensure they acquire the knowledge to perform according to corporate standards. The program includes an immediate "Survival/Start-up Guide" which orients the new retailer to the business, a performance-based 10 day training course in which they develop skills in everything from regulatory compliance to merchandising to customer service. Also included is additional on-site training specific to their product mix. The program is augmented by performance "checkpoints" and coaching by the Territory Managers based on the same model of performance.

The Sun Microsystems training program, Corporate Account Management: Building World Class, prepares new account managers (CAMs) for success and helps experienced CAMs increase their effectiveness. CAMs serve as the link between Sun and specific strategic customers. They are not traditional sales people but relationship managers who must communicate a strategy that complements customer requirements and is supportable by the internal Sun team. This is a job of planning, influence, and communication. The introduction of this training program has helped the CAMs achieve revenue growth 5 to 19 percent above the organizational goal and resulted in an ROI of between 3.3 to 1 and 16,000 to 1.

This curriculum, a partnership between IDG and Lucent, was a strategic change to how GLS approaches training. A needs analysis was conducted to support the approach as well as identifying the skills and knowledge to be learned. This was followed by a business case which documented the ROI Lucent would receive as a result in the redesign of the curriculum. The curriculum, designed for both associates who configure, install maintain and troubleshoot LEGENDâ Communications systems and for customers, integrates alternative training methods with more traditional approaches. Multimedia pre-work, on-line reference material, an electronic performance support tool, and an applications based workshop comprise the core of the curriculum. An on-line testing system insures that all workshop attendees have mastered the pre-work prior to registration.

Pacific Bell Toll Free Services is a web-based module offered through the SBC Communication's Intranet. Upon completion of the Pacific Bell Toll-Free Service training, service representatives are able to:
* Explain the benefits, application, features, and service areas of toll-free services.
* Explain the role of different toll-free service carriers.
* Differentiate between Pacific Bell toll-free products and recommend an optimal plan tailored to customers' individual needs.
* Differentiate between types of orders, and recognize and use special software for issuing an order. The project represents a good combination of creative instructional design and visually appealing interface. The product was developed with DHTML and JavaScript and simulates the look and feel of traditional CBT training.

1999/2000 Awards Committee

This year’s Award program was chaired by Michelle Halprin. The Evaluation Committee included the following individuals:

Outstanding Chapters of Merit
Sub-Committee Chair: Scott Anderson
Evaluators: Julie Arthur, Nadine Gray, Reza Sisakhti

Outstanding Instructional Communication
Sub-Committee Chair: Marilynne Malkin
Evaluators: Susanne Daningburg, Karen Fish, Jeff Loube, Laura Winer

Outstanding Performance Aid
Sub-Committee Chair: Chris McClung
Evaluators: Mark Didriksen, Rick Malishack, Dave Durham

Outstanding Instructional Product or Intervention
Sub-Committee Chair: Lorraine Singer
Evaluators: Stanley Schmidt, Phillipe Aubert, Carmen Taran, Dan Sola, Jeff Kaminski, Chris Roderick, Dave Durham, Becky Meires, Caroline Taran

Outstanding Human Performance Intervention
Sub-Committee Chair: Faith Stein
Evaluators: Cathleen Hutchinson, Valli Hoski, Ronni Hendel-Giller

Outstanding New Systematic Application
Sub-Committee Chair: Sharon Dwyer
Evaluators: Jeanne Strayer, Karen Tallman

Outstanding Research & Student Research
Sub-Committee Chair: Dina Wiley
Evaluators: Timothy Hatcher, Howell Wright, Paul Brauchle, Robert Schwindt

2000/2001 Awards of Excellence Program
Award Submission Guidelines will be available in Early Summer 2000.
Submission packets available: July, 2000
Deadline for Submissions: October, 2000

If you are interested in serving as an evaluator, please contact Ellen Bodalski, ISPI Director of Meetings at: 858-459-2300; ellen@ispi.org