Design And Planning Service Maximizes Companies' Investment in CCHKnowledgePoint's Goal-Driven Performance Management Solution for Enterprise

Performance Impact™ Customers Embrace "High Touch" Program that Sets Them Up for Successful Implementation and Long-Term Value

(PETALUMA, CALIF., April 23, 2003) — More than 60 percent of organizational change involving new technology fails because of poor planning and implementation, according to Performance Improvement, the journal of the International Society for Performance Improvement. To ensure that customers receive the greatest value and satisfaction for their technology investment, CCHKnowledgePoint is now offering its exclusive Design and Planning Service to support Performance Impact, a leading enterprise performance management system offering strategic goal alignment, multi-rater feedback, HRIS integration and industry-specific competency modules.

Already in use with many customers, the Design and Planning Service for Performance Impact is meeting with widespread appreciation because it dramatically improves the effectiveness of this world-class performance management system.

PowerWave Technologies of Santa Ana, California, a leading supplier of radio frequency technology for wireless communications, purchased the Design and Planning Service along with Performance Impact because they felt the additional service would help ensure a fast and smooth deployment to their 2,000 employees at five sites.

"The Design and Planning Service gave us the knowledge and ability to implement in a matter of weeks, providing substantial insight into organizing, structuring and weighting performance management criteria, and rolling out the program for maximum impact and ease of use," said Ron Servine, Senior Organizational Development and Training Director. "The service also provided us with the philosophy and technical understanding of the Performance Impact system upfront, which will be very beneficial over the long run."

Additional services increase client satisfaction and usage

"Enterprise success today demands that organizations become more focused on performance management and aligning individual employee performance with key corporate goals," said James Holincheck, Gartner research director, workforce and workplace. "At the same time that employers are looking for technology solutions to this challenge, they are tired of throwing money away on systems that are complicated to deploy and yield subpar results. Solution providers that offer services that demystify their system and enable managers to be successful using it are likely to generate highly satisfied customers."

"We are coming out of an era where technology was mistakenly viewed as a panacea for increased effectiveness across an enterprise. We know now that software companies need to do more than provide clients with a performance management system and wish them luck," said Ian Alexander, CCHKnowledgePoint president. "With the Design and Planning Service, we are helping customers identify what they are trying to accomplish and the processes they want to implement. And, what’s more, we are periodically auditing their progress and helping to specify course corrections."

How the Design and Planning Service works
Clients who choose the Design and Planning Service are matched to a CCHKnowledgePoint consultant with extensive experience in the hands-on design and implementation of performance management systems. The consultant spends time on-site with the customer conducting a needs assessment and helping to resolve the many questions that arise with any organization-wide initiative involving new technologies and work processes.

Based on the decisions made during the planning session, the consultant creates a customized "Master Action Plan" (MAP), which then serves as the implementation project plan. The MAP includes success criteria; a complete implementation timetable; documentation of decisions made regarding functionality, security, customization, data import and workflow; and a detailed training plan. Six months later, CCHKnowledgePoint performs a checkup to evaluate the success of the implementation and provide additional assistance as necessary.

"This service ensures that all of the right elements for a successful change effort are being identified and addressed at the start, and that customers are able to take full advantage of all the features of the Performance Impact system," said Anthony Zener, PhD, director of training and consulting services. "It’s like a diagnostic check — Design and Planning tends to surface needs that clients didn’t know they had at the time of the sale, but that could get in the way of a successful implementation."

About Performance Impact
Performance Impact is a proven, effective and comprehensive Web-based performance management system that provides the framework and tools for promoting positive communication between managers and employees, developing employee potential, managing goals, and documenting and appraising employee performance. Additional modules provide multi-rater feedback for reviews, industry-specific competency libraries and the ability to link to external HR systems. Along with the Design and Planning Service, training, customization and consultation are also available.

System requirements for Performance Impact intranet version: Windows 2000 Advanced Server, Windows 2000 Server, Microsoft Windows NT^® Server 4.0 or Microsoft Windows NT^® 4.0 Enterprise Edition, Microsoft Transaction Server, Internet Information Server, and Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or greater; for hosted version: Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or greater and a PC desktop. Hardware configuration is determined by customer usage requirements.

About CCHKnowledgePoint
CCHKnowledgePoint leverages CCH’s authoritative human resources content and KnowledgePoint’s innovative technology to provide integrated solutions that meet HR professionals and frontline managers’ essential needs. CCHKnowledgePoint is a division of CCH INCORPORATED, a Wolters Kluwer Company and provider of employment law and software. For more information about the Performance Impact system, please visit www.knowledgepoint.com or call 1-800-727-1133.

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