A Master’s Series presentation by Roger Korman, MA, MSS, PhD

“Our greatest asset is our people.” No other words strike cynicism in my heart as much as these. I always wonder to whom “corporate” is talking to when uttering this tripe. If it’s to its stockholders, they are really focused on operating results, not on operating sentiments. If it’s to clients, they are focused on quality, timeliness, and cost, not how the staff feels about it. And if it’s to the organization itself, most probably, then it is through the everyday routine that employees do or do not know how the company feels about them. If you have to say it, then you have to say it. Why?

Perhaps it is the New Yorker in me, or the 25 years of walking the halls of corporate America, but a phrase like this just lights me up.

How about this quote from a recently announced “merger”: “Will there be any layoffs as a result of this announcement?  This merger is about growth and enhancing our capabilities. For the vast majority of employees, little change is anticipated in the merged company, and speculation about layoffs is premature.”

Can you swallow that? No, not if you were exposed to the original press announcement from the two companies to the finance community: “The combined company expects cost synergies of between 100 million and 130 million euros by 2008.” Does anyone need a translation? Not after Dilbert has become the lingua franca of the cubi-people.

Here is the definitive dropping of the veil of pretense: “The Company also said it will take a charge of $180 million to create its anticipated post-merger synergies, with the majority of spending in 2006 and 2007.”

In case you need a road map through corporate finance, here is how it works. The “charge” of $180 million to create post-merger synergies will be allocated to two main buckets—the write-off of defunct assets on the balance sheet and current obligations such as bad software or discontinued office leases, and, the biggie, severance. If you assume a 50-50 breakdown of assets to people, which is pretty reasonable, then this company is planning about $90 million in people packages. If the average “hand-shake” is $100,000, by simple mathematics, that equates to a reduction in force of 900 people. More likely, the average package is less than that, so the company will need to shed more than 1,000 people.

I have always had the chilling feeling that the pabulum spooned out by the great gods of the corporation resembles the soothing words issued by the perpetrators of some of the worst crimes against humanity of our time to their victims. “We really don’t want to spook the crowds into panic or flight, so let’s tell them what they want to hear so they show up tomorrow.”

Unfair? I don’t think so. Hang out in the cafeteria, overhear bathroom conversations (they are much more frank than what you hear around the water cooler), or, even better, go out for a coffee or a beer after work with the rank and file. The employees know. They just choose to humor corporate, just as corporate chooses to humor them. The employees just don’t want corporate to panic or flee or do something rash. Oh, yes, these are your clients—the minions of corporate management.

Social entrepreneurship does exist and honestly attempts to build profits by building people first and not last, and many corporations honestly invest heavily in the skills and competencies of their staff, but they work according to a plan, to a mentality, to a system. And without knowing how it works, you are often left searching for the entrance to Kafka’s Castle.

Unsaid, and often not understood, that mentality emanates from the corner office. We want to believe that the modern organization is the realization of the rational thought process that the first sociologist described, but Max Weber would be the first to roll over in his grave to see how subject it is to the vagaries of individual personality. Management systems and corporate accountability are trumped by style and preference. They are manipulated into an endless array of spaghetti constructs to justify, or to not justify, how human capital is organized and used.

You have to be some kind of soldier to sell Organizational Development and human capital development services into the modern corporation. But, since that is what I now do for a living, I now have to turn insight into profit. I’ve traded in one “C” hat for another—from corporate client to corporate supplier. I would be more than pleased to share my thoughts from the “front,” or to use that wonderful Britishism, from the “coal face,” from the point of contact, with you. In my presentation at the upcoming ISPI Fall Conferences, I’ll give you one person’s perspective on the nature of the corporate beast today, where some of the points of connection are, how to create them, and most important, how to sustain them over time. It should be interesting, and it just might be helpful.

Roger Korman, MA, MSS, PhD, integrates three major disciplines: social science, clinical social work, and business management. Trained in quantitative research methods, he has done research projects in health and human behavior in a number of subject areas including education and health care delivery. Roger has applied his master’s level clinical training in settings as diverse as institutionalized emotionally disturbed children, professional coaching, and corporate management. He has recently completed 25 years in international business for IMS Health, the world leader in information services to the pharmaceutical industry. He has served in executive roles in the United States, United Kingdom, Latin America, and Canada. Roger’s business unit been recognized among the Top 100 Companies in Canada by Maclean’s magazine three times and recognized by the Globe and Mail Report on Business twice as one of the top 50 companies in Canada.

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by Carol Haig, CPT and Roger Addison, CPT, EdD

If you have been spotting trends that may be of interest to the PerformanceXpress readership, please contact Carol Haig, CPT, at carolhaig@earthlink.net or http://home.mindspring.com/~carolhaig or Roger Addison, CPT, EdD at roger@ispi.org.

by William Dudeck, CPT, Stacy L. Rafter, and Jean Strosinski, CPT

In last month’s article on the New Mexico ISPI Certified Performance Technologist (CPT) Mentoring Program, you had the opportunity to learn about its design and development. This month’s article focuses on the implementation and the early phases of the program.

Further Questions
After weeks of development, the program was beginning to come alive, in our minds and on paper. But as we got deeper into its development, questions arose such as: Should there be a deadline for the completion of the program, how are mentors matched to the protégés, what constitutes “completion” of the program, and how would the program be publicized? Conference calls were scheduled, the questions were addressed, and decisions were made. Jean’s expertise in coaching kept us on track with why we were creating the program, the steps needed to get there, and additional support considerations to achieve success from the start.

At this point, you may be asking yourself what are the benefits of a CPT Mentoring Program, and why would I implement a similar program in my ISPI chapter? NM ISPI sees the program as a way to further the professional development of our members (whether they have their CPT or are just thinking about it), as well as supporting ISPI in its effort to increase the number of CPT designees and, thus, strengthen the Society. In a way, we are creating and sustaining a future for the chapter. In addition, we will be offering the program to our local chapter of ASTD, an NM Professional Alliance member.

We introduced the program in January 2005 at our monthly membership meeting. We gave a brief overview of the program and answered questions. Later in the month we had the Kick-off Orientation. At this meeting we:

• Gained mentor and protégé commitment to the program.
• Provided mentor and protégé role guidance.
• Provided a framework for effective mentoring.
• Facilitated initial conversations between mentors and protégés.

Our primary goal at this meeting was to match mentors and protégés, which is the most critical part of the program. Since we are not an organization where the mentor and protégé are easily and readily accessible to each other, we decided we would let the participants choose for themselves who they would work with based on the short mentor biographies we provided to the interested protégés. Future Kick-off Orientations will be overseen by the same people to ensure consistency and will be held periodically as the need arises.

Several weeks prior to our January meeting, a letter of invitation was sent out on our listserv. The letter asked questions such as “Should I participate in the CPT Mentor Pilot Program?” and “Am I ready?” Contact information was provided so recipients knew where to get additional information and have their questions answered, and the link to the ISPI website was provided.

Early in our discussions we decided that anything we developed for the program would be made available to chapters, or individuals, interested in learning about, conducting, or participating in the program. This includes sample emails, letters, advertising, and other information associated with the implementation of the program. We want to make sure the use of the program is as easy and timely as possible.

Early Lessons Learned
Throughout the development of the program, Jean helped to refocus me (Stacy) on our initial development questions: “How can we support you (mentor or protégé)?” and “If I were going through this program, either as a mentor or a protégé, what would I want or need?” These questions always brought my thoughts and ideas back to our initial goal and purpose. William provided words of wisdom from the potential user’s perspective by offering his insight into how the program fits the purpose of the Chapter Partnership Committee (CPC) and ISPI.

Our and Your Next Steps
We implemented the program in January 2005 and have two pairs participating. Two sessions about the NM ISPI CPT Mentoring Program were presented in Vancouver, Canada, at the ISPI Annual International Performance Improvement Conference. We received positive feedback and interest from other chapters and individuals at the conference. Our program is now in the beginning stages of being piloted in other ISPI chapters. We developed a set of pilot program guidelines, which have been sent to those who have an interest in being part of a larger pilot.

Our goal is to support other ISPI chapters who wish to pilot the program. We are confident the program will require customization for other chapters based on difference in size, geographic location, and membership demographics.

If you are interested in learning more, please contact Stacy at lsrafter@earthlink.net or Jean at jean@constructivechoices.com. We are excited about the program and would love to share it with you!

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by Captain Matthew T. Peters, CPT, ISPI Director

What is the most frustrating aspect of a performance improvement project? For most of us, it’s when we’ve finished months of hard work and present a comprehensive, polished, and compelling analysis, but our sponsor won’t implement!

What can we do to recover? Probably not very much, because if our sponsors and stakeholders are reluctant to implement at this point, then we probably lost their active support and commitment months ago. They certainly won’t have the passion and fortitude to embark on a significant implementation effort, which requires a great deal of their personal time and capital.

What are the warning signs of this impending catastrophe? If you’ve got a healthy performance improvement project, then your client should want to:

• Meet with you frequently.
• Brainstorm possible interventions.
• Engage key stakeholders to discuss potential outcomes and prepare for change.
• Actively support an ongoing organization-wide communication effort.
• Participate with the implementation team.

So, how can we avoid the “analysis on the bookshelf” verdict? The key is to remember that no matter where your client resides in the organization, the vast majority of performance improvement solutions will fall outside his or her immediate domain. Clients are going to have to aggressively engage their business peers to “tackle the white space.” They will have to deal with complex issues that challenge the traditional ways of doing business; some that may even involve significant behavioral or organizational changes. The perfect scenario would have you restraining your client from prematurely implementing “low hanging fruit” before you finish the analysis.

The ideal performance improvement analysis should be strong enough to stand by itself, but most clients are already fully occupied with routine matters, are not experts in change management, and have difficulty in successfully implementing recommendations. You need to develop an implementation strategy early in the game and make it an integral part of the overall process. Many large-scale projects require a full-time implementation team to work with the different stakeholders, but the most important aspect is to simply ensure this phase is considered, endorsed, and resourced from the very beginning. Get answers to key questions such as these before you begin your analysis:

• How do you define success?
• What are your expectations about the timeframe and boundaries of the project?
• Who is going to implement?
• How do we track implementation?
• What are you going to do to “prep the battlefield”?
• How do we evaluate and report throughout the organization?

In summary, get your sponsor and stakeholders fully engaged and excited about the potential outcomes at the very beginning. Present a compelling vision of the future, and ask the hard questions up front. Test their commitment, and begin developing their trust and confidence to ensure you have a true partnership for the challenging journey ahead.

A workshop by Judith A. Hale, CPT, PhD

Donald Kirkpatrick’s (1993) Levels 1, 2, 3, and 4 and Jack Phillips’ (2003) Level 5 have become universal catchphrases when we talk about evaluating individual training programs. The expression “levels” gives us a lexicon for quickly communicating what is or should be measured. However limited some may feel the “levels” are, they allow us to quickly engage clients in discussions about what and how to measure the value derived from their investment in a specific learning solution. Unfortunately, we do not have a similar lexicon or catchphrase when it comes to quickly talking about how to measure the value of the function charged with improving individual and organizational performance.

In the past, programs on how to evaluate the learning and performance improvement function presumed it operated as a business; however, in reality, it is not an independent economic entity, but exists at the whim or grace of the organization. Therefore, the traditional rules governing marketplace decisions do not fully apply to a staff function, particularly one that is too frequently perceived as a begrudged necessity or a luxury. Instead, a different model is needed that helps learning and performance improvement managers measure and communicate the value of their function. This is what my pre-conference workshop “Meaningful Metrics” is about. The workshop, part of ISPI’s Fall Conferences scheduled this September in Las Vegas, will introduce models and tools that provide a lexicon for measuring and communicating the value of the learning and performance function based on the degree its people, processes, products, and services collectively contribute to the organization’s ability to achieve its goals.

Just as Kirkpatrick’s and Phillips’ levels provide different measures of results, ranging from reaction to economic benefit, meaningful metrics allows for different ways to measure the efficacy, alignment, and the synergy of the function’s people, processes, and products. During the workshop, participants will be introduced to a model of a value chain designed to identify disconnects between needs and solutions and to communicate how programs are aligned with the organization’s goals. Participants will practice using a series of tools and techniques to measure the different dimensions of alignment that they can adapt to their own situation. The tools include: 1) a people profile designed to measure the competence, capability, capacity, and contributions of the function’s human resources; 2) a gauge that can be used to measure the efficiency and cost effectiveness of the function’s processes including assessment, development, and deployment; and 3) a product portfolio designed to measure the utility and worth of programs and services. The model and tools are integral to measuring value and communicating contribution and worth.

References
Kirkpatrick, D. (1993). Evaluating training programs: The four levels. New York: AMACOM.

Phillips, J. (2003). Return on investment in training and performance improvement programs. Burlington, MA: Butterworth-Heinmann.

Judith Hale, CPT, PhD, is the author of Performance-Based Management, The Performance Consultant’s Fieldbook, Performance-Based Certification, and Performance-Based Evaluation. Her new book Outsourcing Training and HR is in print. She has been a consultant to management in the public and private sectors for over 25 years. Judy specializes in needs assessments, certification programs, evaluation protocols, and the implementation of major interventions. She is a past president of ISPI. Judy was awarded a BA from Ohio State University, an MA from Miami University, and a PhD from Purdue University. She will also give a Masters’ Series talk titled Implementation: The Weakest Link at ISPI’s Fall Conferences.

• The candidate’s name and contact information
• The position for which the candidate is being nominated
• Your name and contact information
• A 250-word statement on the candidate’s qualifications

ISPI-Europe is proud to announce its fourth consecutive Annual Conference on the topic of “East Meets West: Developing new perspectives to improve workplace performance in Europe,” which will take place on September 15-17, 2005, in Berlin, Germany. The conference will address the challenges and opportunities that emerge when different cultures and systems are put together inside a single organization, and the adjustment process they undergo as they strive to work toward a common goal. While this has been especially salient since the fall of the Berlin wall, the phenomenon is currently affecting the way people conduct business, both in the private and public sectors all over Europe and beyond—be they entrepreneurs; administrators; managers; or in human resource, organizational development, and training. Thus, the conference aims to provide a forum to compare various perspectives on the impact of the current relocation trend on workplace learning and performance through the lenses of Human Performance Technology (HPT) in Europe. Click here to see the online conference brochure for further information.

Three keynote addresses throughout the conference will highlight trends, starting with the opening address by the Director of Central Controlling at the Berlin Senate Department of Interior, Udo Rienaß, who will provide relevant background on what was once a divided Germany. Verena Dziobaka-Spitzhorn will then share in her keynote presentation her experience with the expansion of one of the largest retail organizations in the world, growing from Germany to Asia. Finally, Allison Rossett will use her profound experience and the information she will gather from conference attendees to guide the audience on what it takes to make the shift from training to performance in Europe.

Based on the positive feedback consistently received over the past three conferences, ISPI-Europe will keep its much appreciated, small, and highly international character (60-80 participants from 10-17 countries in the past years). Those of you who would like to attend are encouraged to register on the ISPI-Europe website. Space is limited and filling up fast!

Also, in keeping with popular request, the conference will continue to promote high levels of interaction. Four full-day pre-conference workshops will provide in-depth coverage of topics such as what is meant by performance improvement with Klaus Wittkuhn (in German); blended learning systems and convergence with Allison Rossett; how to design, implement, and sustain strategic change with Gene Drumm; and serious performance consulting with Geary Rummler. Likewise, all main conference events will consist of 60-minute presentations and 90-minute workshops hosted by a great mix of professionals in our field from all over the globe, allowing ample time for hands-on activities and discussion.

Moreover, interaction will take place across language and the ISPI Professional Communities (ProComms). Also, to strengthen the scientific foundation of the field and nurture its ongoing development, we organized the very first fully dedicated Research Track opened by James Pershing’s presentation on “Rigor: The Universal Standard for Research and Evaluation in Performance Technology.” The Research Track, which was developed in the same spirit of sharing and participation as the rest of the conference, will feature presenters who cross professional communities by bridging research and application, and will encourage discussion on different vantage points.

Finally, the ISPI-Europe Conference supports making the most of the experience through a final synthesis session. With a new twist, it will serve to wrap up the conference through one last guided sharing exercise that will generate important take-home messages. Throughout such networking opportunities as the Opening Reception and a networking dinner, this time on a river boat on the Spree and its canals in Berlin, we promise to help keep those messages alive until the next conference. Judging from previous participant reports, it is ISPI-Europe’s hope that the mix of intellectual and social events at this 2005 Conference will continue to serve attendees’ desire to exchange ideas, resources and knowledge, informal coaching, partnership, a growing number of business alliances, and, above all, friendships that cross international borders.

Our health is our most vital asset for personal, professional, and organizational performance. As August 2005 is National Immunization Awareness Month in the United States, we can use this time to reflect on the role of prevention technology in our efforts to improve workplaces. This month, we will seek some sites that provide “booster shots” to improve performance. Hang onto your teeth. Please keep in mind that any listing is for informational purposes only and does not indicate an endorsement either by the International Society for Performance Improvement or me.

These are the general categories I use for the sites featured:

1. E-Klatch: Links to professional associations, research, and resources that can help refine and expand our views of HPT through connections with other professionals and current trends.
2. HPT@work: Links to job listings, career development, volunteer opportunities, and other resources for applying your individual skills.
3. I-Candy: Links to sites that are thought provoking, enjoyable, and refreshing to help manage the stresses and identify new ideas for HPT.

E-Klatch
For the latest information and resources on immunization, visit The National Immunization Program of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The site contains updates on vaccine delays and availability, vaccinations required for travel, a PDF file of immunization contact information, and other resources for workplace education and clinical prevention efforts. Learn more about National Immunization Awareness Month activities as well. Whether a performance technologist is assisting a company with worker health or is planning their children’s school vaccinations, this site provides value for disease prevention and health.

HPT@work
Exercise for immunity? Research from the University of South Carolina indicates a connection between exercise and fewer colds (see Exercise More, Sneeze Less). Learn more about the links between taking care of yourself and improved performance at the nonprofit American Council on Exercise website. You can make your own plans to get fit, become a certified fitness professional, access career resources, and learn the latest in exercise research. Improve your capacity to improve the performance of others by increasing your fitness.

I-Candy
Times have changed and practices have improved (we hope) for disease prevention and health from the Middle Ages when, apparently, extracting teeth was a common method. This image, from one of the first English dictionaries by Jacobus the Englishman, is from the online gallery Pictures of Health from the British Library where you can view other images from this 2001 exhibit of artist portrayals of health and health care practitioners. Perhaps after a particularly challenging intervention to improve performance, PTs can have some empathy with The Wound Man, from “a first aid chart for barber surgeons treating wounded soldiers.”

Until next month, stay healthy and perform well.

When he is not Internet trawling for ISPI, Todd Packer can be found improving business, non-profit, government, and individual performance through research, training, and innovation coaching as principal consultant of Todd Packer and Associates, LLC, based in Shaker Heights, Ohio. For sample articles on performance innovation and additional information, please visit www.toddpacker.com. Todd may be reached at tp@toddpacker.com.

A Keynote presentation by Richard E. Clark, CPT, EdD

The past five years have been some of the most creative in the history of training. Solid research, most of it conducted in authentic work settings, has teased out exciting and surprising insights. We know considerably more now about methods that will reliably produce more creative and successful performance than we did even a few years ago.

Yet in my view, we are entering an era where the gulf is widening between what we are doing in training from day to day, on the one hand, and what solid research and best practice indicates actually works, on the other hand.

This disparity is one of the reasons why the ISPI leadership is supporting an initiative developed by Past President Guy Wallace. Guy urged us to focus our efforts and organize the association around the most important areas in human performance. Seven professional communities (ProComms) have developed within ISPI to help update our practice so that it reflects the current state of the art and science in performance improvement.

I am pleased to be giving the Keynote Presentation at ISPI’s Fall Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, on September 19-24. During my talk, I’ll describe some of the research-based insights about training and performance improvement that are both new and exciting. Come to the conference to hear all the answers and feel the full effect of the topics I’ll discuss, some of which are sampled here:

• What have we learned recently about the architecture of the mind and how can it be applied to improve the results of training?
• Five critical features found in nearly all of the most effective training systems and why they are important.
• What part does motivation play in performance improvement? Can we influence motivation with training?
• A new, quick, simple, and highly reliable test to determine whether someone needs training (to help determine whether knowledge, motivation, or both are needed to improve performance).

Bestowed at the ISPI Annual Conference every year, the Awards of Excellence program is designed to showcase the people, products, innovations, and organizations that represent excellence in the field of instructional and Human Performance Technology (HPT). In 2005, Training Ain’t Performance won us an award for Outstanding Instructional Communication, which recognizes superior communication tools that enable individuals or organizations to achieve excellence in HPT.

Training Ain’t Performance is the companion book to Telling Ain’t Training. The purpose of Telling Ain’t Training was to gather years of research on the best principles and practices of training in one place and translate these into a fun and easy-to-read book for both newly appointed training practitioners and experienced professionals. Even before the Telling Ain’t Training manuscript was complete, we knew that it had to be followed up with Training Ain’t Performance to tell the other half of the “story.”

From the first chapter of Training Ain’t Performance, readers are gently guided toward an understanding of performance improvement and how to use it for real organizational value. Readers are not only introduced to key performance concepts including why training is often not the only answer when desired performance is lacking, but also how to realistically transition from a training order-taker role to that of a performance consultant. The book fundamentally enrolls readers to become performance improvement practitioners.

In the workplace, despite the explicit emphasis on “bottom-line results,” there is still an enormous confusion between behaviors and activities, and valued accomplishments; between knowing and achieving; and between training and performance. Training Ain’t Performance is aimed at untangling some of the myths, fallacies, and confusions that organizations often propagate and that are counterproductive to true, valued performance.

The book has been designed to be practical. Readers use the principles to guide their performance improvement efforts, especially those related to performing a comprehensive front-end analysis, selecting appropriate interventions, developing strategies for implementation, and evaluating results. Unique contributions of the book are the clear guidelines and job aids for calculating the worth, return on investment, and payback period for learning and performance projects.

Training Ain’t Performance is a book that is based on research about learning and performance. However, it is fun and easy to read, making “performance” accessible to practitioners. It is a very approachable volume that pulls together research-based principles and translates them into practical applications. Beneath its conversational tone and amusing examples lies a solid HPT foundation.

Here are a few Training Ain’t Performance readers’ remarks:

This book challenges the traditional approaches to training and improving performance in the workplace. Through numerous practical exercises, examples, and valuable insights, it clearly explains how organizations can achieve the highest return from their training investments.
              — Sylvie Vanasse, IBM Business Consulting Services

Its pragmatic approach with opportunities for practice and feedback improves our performance.
              —Carol Goldsmith, CPT, Hewlett-Packard

Their discussion of performance is the clearest and most understandable that I've seen and helps trainers view themselves in the role of performance consultants.
              —Saul Carliner, Concordia University

Stolovitch and Keeps use a refreshing writing style to blend research and experience in ways that make practical application leap off the pages. I highly recommend Training Ain't Performance for trainers, HR professionals, frontline managers and executives. It is a  must read for anyone who wants to cut through the fog of learning and performance to make a real difference in his or her organization.
               —Marc Rosenberg, CPT, Marc Rosenberg and Associates

To read an extensive review by Petti Van Rekom, CPT, published in T+D, click here. To order a copy of the book, click here.

To further enhance the value of the award and to ensure greater exposure of the program throughout the Society's membership and the profession, the International Society for Performance Improvement has asked the 2005 Awards of Excellence recipients to contribute an article to PerformanceXpress highlighting their projects.

Prior to accepting this position, she was the Accounting Manager at the American Association of State Highway & Transportation Officials. She has a strong background in working with nonprofit organizations and is looking forward to using this knowledge in ways that will best assist ISPI.

Rebecca J. Wilson joined ISPI in March as the Publications Manager. In this role, she manages the monthly newsletter, PerformanceXpress (PX), Performance Improvement (PI) journal, and all ISPI publications such as materials for conferences, Institutes, and more.

Before joining ISPI, Rebecca worked over six years at The American Society for Cell Biology, publishing scholarly journals both online and in print. She brings her experience in a fast-paced electronic publishing environment to the ISPI publications department.

How can you participate? Attend! Present! Volunteer! It is not too early to mark these dates on your calendar:

• August 31, 2005: Deadline to submit session proposal and early speaker registration for conference
• April 6-8, 2006: Attend an HPT Institute prior to the conference
• April 7-8, 2006: Attend a pre-conference workshop
• April 8-11, 2006: Attend ISPI’s 44th Annual Conference.

Here are some suggestions to help you prepare a successful submission, especially if you are a novice speaking at ISPI:

• Review the 2006 Call for Proposals, which outlines the review criteria for session proposals. Then, download the Session Proposal Template.
• Review the Sample Session Proposal. This is an example of an accepted session proposal, updated to include all of the required information for 2006.
• Download and review the Sample Handout and Sample Performance Tool as these will provide guidance as you are preparing your session proposal.
• Consider a coach! Review the 2005 Conference Program, and see if you recognize anyone you might contact to provide feedback on your proposal.

If you have any questions or would like additional information, contact ISPI at 301.587.8570 or by email at conference@ispi.org.

Volunteer Opportunities: Calling All Students!
Are you interested in attending ISPI’s 44th Annual International Performance Improvement Conference but unable to afford the registration fee? If you are willing to attend pre-assigned sessions or workshops, are open to monitoring sessions you may not have selected on your own, and are able to distribute and collect evaluation forms and assist ISPI presenters, please send your name, complete mailing address, phone, fax, and e-mail address to conference@ispi.org.

ISPI will significantly reduce the conference registration fee for all conference volunteers. Volunteers will be responsible for their own travel, hotel, and other costs associated with attending the conference. Volunteers are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. ISPI will contact you regarding your assignment in the fall.

Are you working to improve workplace performance? Then ISPI membership is your key to professional development through education, certification, networking, and professional affinity programs.

If you are already a member, we thank you for your support. If you have been considering membership or are about to renew, there is no better time to join ISPI. To apply for membership or renew, visit www.ispi.org, or simply click here.

ISPI is looking for Human Performance Technology (HPT) articles (approximately 500 words and not previously published) for PerformanceXpress that bridge the gap from research to practice (please, no product or service promotion is permitted). Below are a few examples of the article formats that can be used:

• Short “I wish I had thought of that” Articles
• Practical Application Articles
• The Application of HPT
• Success Stories

In addition to the article, please include a short bio (2-3 lines) and a contact e-mail address. All submissions should be sent to april@ispi.org. Each article will be reviewed by one of ISPI’s on-staff HPT experts, and the author will be contacted if it is accepted for publication. If you have any further questions, please contact april@ispi.org.

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Feel free to forward ISPI’s PerformanceXpress newsletter to your colleagues or anyone you think may benefit from the information. If you are reading someone else’s PerformanceXpress, send your complete contact information to april@ispi.org, and you will be added to the PerformanceXpress emailing list.

PerformanceXpress is an ISPI member benefit designed to build community, stimulate discussion, and keep you informed of the Society’s activities and events. This newsletter is published monthly and will be emailed to you at the beginning of each month.

If you have any questions or comments, please contact April Davis, ISPI’s Senior Director of Publications, at april@ispi.org.

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Fax: 301.587.8573
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