Approaching 2006 with Enthusiasm
President’s Column – January ’06

During the holidays many of us turn to our colleagues and look for ways to say thank you.

And we are reminded by our New Year resolutions that, in fact, things can be better in 2006!

For these reasons, it seems only fitting to start out the year by taking action in people wise ways…providing development opportunities and making important information on wellness available. 

Our first article describes a route to easily accessible state funding for training and retraining your workforce. Providing new skills and opportunities to grow and develop in the job is one of the greatest gifts you can give someone; one that also pays dividends through reduced turnover and better performance. 

The new Workplace Solutions provided by the American Cancer Society are described in the second article. Designed to bring your colleagues the latest information on wellness, these informational web-based products and services are more essential that ever. Best of all, the American Cancer Society is seeking corporate partners who want to make this information readily available and at no cost to the organization. This gift of wellness brings many rewards, for we all wish good health for each and every employee and employee family.

Please accept my very best wishes for a healthy and successful 2006.

Best regards,
Eric Herzog (eric@questcorp.com)

Consortium Brings State Funded Training to Dozens of Firms

One significant benefit The Training Consortium offers its California clients is easy access to a myriad of training programs paid for by the state through a grant to TTC. Since 1991, the California Employment Training Panel (ETP) has allocated more than $5 million under this grant. The TTC, along with Quest Consulting, has used this "free" training to help thousands of employees in small and mid-sized businesses.

An example is Money Mailer of Garden Grove, California, who used the program to train their lead and supervisory personnel in their direct mail supply business. The course, set up in 12 four-hour sessions, trained the 250 employees in small cross-functional teams. The main focus was to streamline processes, implement better teamwork and improve collaboration among departments, according to Jeanne Stanley, Senior Director of Human Resources.

In the sessions, employees work on real business problems, which they then present, with their recommendations, to senior management at the end of the course. "Some of these people have never had the opportunity to get in front of our top executives," says Stanley. "This has opened a door for them. They are feeling more confident about expressing their ideas."

The soundness of this business decision proved out when it produced a team of dedicated front-line workers who became really creative problem-solvers. And, because the company started a formal process to review and implement new ideas, employees are more eager to participate and learn more about the whole business. In addition, empowering their employees produced a bonus beyond the stated goals... employee turnover fell significantly.

Accessing State Funds to Train Your Employees

Once your company has met some basic state requirements, you have a world of choices and opportunities to improve performance, teamwork, Management Training, customer service, continuous improvement, problem solving, quality improvement. Basically, you can take advantage of nearly any type training you want! To find a comprehensive list from which to chose ... just click here.

In our July issue of The Quest Leadership Edge we wrote about the process necessary to qualify for state funding. We also provided information on how to utilize Quest Consulting & Training Corporation to facilitate the process on your behalf.

Now, we are happy to let you in on The Training Consortium's program to make it all even easier. The State Funded Training Consortium was formed to get you the training and the funding in a very streamlined manner.

It's simple. The Consortium handles all the paperwork, collects the State funds, and pays the trainers. You simply send your employees!

Working with the team from Quest, TTC helps you...

• Assess your needs, prepare a training plan, and obtain approvals.
• Select from numerous programs in management, continuous improvement, computer software, sales/service, production, teamwork, basic math, English and more.
• Plan either 48-hour or 72-hour curricula (or both). These are usually set up in 4-hour sessions.
• Customize the programs any way you like... the goal is for them to meet or exceed your business needs.
• Schedule the training at convenient times ... usually over a period of 3-4 months.
• Implement the training, on-site, in either English or Spanish. Bilingual trainers can make your training relevant to your entire workforce, increasing its impact and results.
• Analyze the impact and reformulate additional training plans that take advantage of programs available at little or no charge to your company.

Some major benefits to YOU!

You have, through TTC, which includes Quest and other specialized trainers, a complete resource. While it sounds too good to be true, this service is available now and can be a real factor in your competitive success over the next weeks, months and years.

Yes, weeks. This program can be implemented sooner than you might think possible simply because it is in place and running at full speed today.

Here are the benefits you can expect...

• Very little paperwork. TTC does the administration and documentation for you.
• A user-friendly training system. Scheduling is usually in convenient 4-hour sessions, once a week. However, you can customize it to fit your business needs and limitations.
• Well-defined roles. Yours is telling us what you want, then evaluating the results. You're free to focus on making sure people get the right training and apply it correctly.
• Relevant curricula. Instructors take the time to learn about your company beforehand. You get training based on real situations, adapted to your unique needs and systems.
• Customization options which incorporate your objectives and systems into some extremely sound and proven training techniques.

Getting started is simple. All you do is...

• Complete an application. This takes only 10-15 minutes. Then you just fax it to TTC.
• Receive notification within one week.
• Sign an Agreement with TTC covering what you give and what you get from the program.

That's it. The TTC takes care of the rest. You can then focus your attention on making sure your company's leadership fully supports the program, your employees come prepared, and they attend each session.

While this is a description of a California program, it is a model of others available in states across the US You have a lot to gain by investigating " free training funds" for your organization. To check on what is offered in your area, just ask us or call 1-800-481-2914.

Promoting wellness in the workplace at no cost to the employer

According to a recent Towers Perrin Health Care Cost survey, it is estimated that employers are facing an 8 percent increase in their 2006 health care costs with gross health care expenditure averaging $8,424 per employee.  Since the American population is aging, health care spending is estimated to rise 25 percent by 2030, with chronic diseases, such as heart disease, cancer, stroke, and Type 2 diabetes, accounting for 75 percent of health care costs.

This is why the American Cancer Society has created http://acsworkplacesolutions.com.  These cost-free wellness products are designed to help an employer’s workforce implement these simple, yet life-saving lifestyle choices resulting in the reduction of the incidence of cancer and other chronic diseases.  65% of all cancers can be prevented by lifestyle choices such as healthy eating, physical activity and being tobacco free.  The key to Workplace Solutions is the ability to tailor the Solutions to a company’s needs as the programs and services are designed to integrate into existing wellness programs and focus on complementing work already in progress.  Because the products are web-based, they can be housed on a company intranet or be accessed from the employee’s home or from other locations. Some of the key programs include:

• FightCancer.org - FightCancer.org is a comprehensive health and wellness Web site that serves as a one-stop source for employees to learn how to improve their health and overall well-being.
• BecauseWeCare" Newsletter - "BecauseWeCare" Newsletter is a monthly newsletter providing health and wellness information to worksites anywhere in the world. It includes informative articles, recipes for healthy cooking, personal stories and physical fitness tips for home and at work.
• Active for Life - Active for Life is a physical activity program that can help your employees stay healthy, be more productive, and improve their individual job performance.

One company described their involvement with Active for Life as follows:

“Active for Life was one of the most successful programs I've run to get employees involved in their own health and wellness.  This program created a buzz amongst the employees and 90% of those who signed up stayed with the program until it's finish 10 weeks later. At the end, 30% of those who had signed up requested a continuance for another 10 weeks.  I would recommend Active 4 Life to any company interested in a program that promotes and rewards health & wellness in the work place as well as in their personal lives.”

R. Goodman
Yum! Brands
Employee Programs & Events Coordinator

Implementation of these health and wellness programs takes very little time, and is at no cost to your company. To find out how your company can offer these programs, contact Bette Bergsman, Corporate Relations Director, at the American Cancer Society at 213.427.7387 or bette.bergsman@cancer.org.

Now Available at www.CMEinc.org
Effective, Affordable Training Products Just a Click Away

Your organization can utilize the same cutting-edge training products used by successful companies like IBM, American Express, Westinghouse, Sun Microsystems, Dun & Bradstreet, and Coca-Cola.

What they all have in common is a commitment to the thoroughly researched and validated assessment instruments offered by The Center for Management Effectiveness, Inc. The Center is a resource for organizations that want to conduct their own programs, but may not have the materials developed to do so effectively.

Authored by Dr. Herb Kindler, these instruments have been used by more than 600 organizations to develop core competencies in several key areas. They incorporate all the high impact, performance-based methods, which have made Dr. Kindler's training materials popular worldwide since 1981.

You'll find everything you need to conduct your own training in:

• Managing Conflict & Disagreement
• Risk Taking
• Stress Management
• Decision-Making Strategies

Now available with a variety of tools ... facilitator guides, workbooks, instruments, videos, assessments ... these proven training products can be found at The Center for Management Effectiveness' new user-friendly website: www.cmeinc.org.

Request Your FREE Copy of this Informative Booklet

Building Bench Strength succinctly explains the need for succession planning and leader-led development. Eric Herzog discusses the need for proper planning, then goes on to explain how a succession plan can help managers meet long-term strategic goals.

In a half hour, you'll have a better understanding of succession planning and how to develop your leaders. The 32-page booklet also includes case histories to light the way. Click here to learn how you can obtain a copy at no charge and with no obligation.

More Informational Reading

Previous issues of Leadership Edge are available for free on-line.