Date: August 28, 2000
To: HSA Associates
Suzan Barazani / David Lemiski / Lee RogersKathryn Barker / Rita Livesey / Andrea Shalinsky
Brenda Chance / Geri Lopker / Jean Simard
Donald Chipman / Dan McFaull / Cheryl Smith
Terence Craig / Suzanne McPhee / Chris Smith
Jim Christman / Christina Melnarik / Belinda Spear
Brenda Cruz / Conrad Metcalfe / Liz Spencer
Walter Curtis / Emrys Miller / Jeanne Strayer
Shawna Darling / Lise Moquin / Robert Stolovitch
Samantha Greenhill / Linda Morcom / Yvonne Stiver-Macleod
Erica Groschler / Kimberly Morrill / Brenda Sugrue
Carol Haig / Susan Noppe / Jim Tallman
Ray Halagara / Jennifer Papineau / Denis Tanguay
Rives Hassell-Corbiell / Mike Peters / Barrie Thorsteinson
Helen Johnson / Paula Powers / Diane Verville
Anthony Karrer / Virginia Queenan / Linda Waddell
Lynn Kearny / Thom Quine / Gina Walker
Linda Kemp / Val Quirk / Sheila Wilkins
Allison Kincheloe / Walter Ratcliff / Debra Wulff-Bickett
Miki Lane / Arlene Reed / JoAnne Wyer
Peter Lenn / Jaye Routledge / Wendy Zender
From: Erica J. Keeps & Harold D. Stolovitch
Re: News & Notes
HSA welcomes two new associates from the Vancouver region, Linda Morcom and Yvonne Stiver-Macleod. They have hit the ground running in a quick start-up on the HP Omega project directed by Gina Walker, Regional Director in Montreal. Linda brings a strong background in training development and instructor training, having designed and delivered numerous workshops in diverse subjects such as Train-the-Trainer, software applications, and business skills. Yvonne provides expertise as a documentation specialist, with considerable experience in technical communications, as well as in the development of instructional materials, including CBT and WBT.
HSA is also very pleased to bring on board Brenda Chance in Montreal to provide support to Gina Walker in managing client projects and regional work. Brenda has served in executive positions on a number of volunteer committees. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce from McGill University, with concentrations in Organizational Behavior/Human Resource Management, and Industrial Relations.
Congratulations to Arlene Reed, HSA's Financial Services Manager, on her recent marriage. Arlene and Andy Little "tied the knot" on July 15, 2000 at a beautiful outdoors ceremony followed by a fun indoor reception. We wish Arlene and Andy much happiness in their life together.
Please join us in extending best wishes to associates who celebrate July birthdays:
· Barrie Thorsteinson – July 20If your birthday was this July, and we missed you, it means it's time to share your special day with us. Please email your birth date to Samantha Greenhill at .
Erica Groschler vacationed with her husband, Carl, and baby boy, Zachary, in Maui, Hawaii. Once Erica adjusted to vacationing with a child (she realized she couldn't just go snorkeling, lie on the beach or go for a romantic dinner the way she and Carl used to), she had a wonderful "family" time! This was their first visit to Hawaii and they even saw a beautiful theatrical production, Ulalea, created by the producers of Cirque de Soleil. When they read the names of the musicians and producers, Carl (formerly a professional musician from Montreal) knew half the people! They visited the Maui Aquarium and saw some incredible colored fish and took a beautiful scenic drive to Makawao where the volcanos are located. For the rest of the summer, Erica, Carl and Zach will take nice weekend getaways to their favorite resort near home - Whistler.
What are you doing this summer? Share your summer vacation stories and photos with us for the internal memo. Please email them to Samantha Greenhill at .
We're in the midst of redesigning our Website. Shawna Darling and Brenda Sugrue, two HSA associates, did independent reviews of our current site and provided comprehensive reports. They are also advising us as we progress with the new one. The new site will be more user-friendly, easier to navigate and will better reflect HSA's "look". It will be up and running early this fall. If you have any suggestions, please email HSA's Webmaster, Jennifer Papineau, at .
The next edition of Performance, HSA's newsletter, will be published this September. The feature article, authored by Harold Stolovitch, will focus on the results of best practices studies HSA has conducted in learning and performance support and technology-based learning. If you have any suggestions on articles for future issues, please email Samantha Greenhill at . For past issues, please refer to our Website at www.hsa-ltd.com or contact Samantha Greenhill at .
HSA recently completed the development of its Project Management Toolkit (PMTK), a comprehensive manual, complete with job aids and samples to assist project managers through project scoping, proposal development, organizing and managing instructional design projects, and project follow-up. HSA project managers will pilot test these tools and provide feedback prior to full implementation this fall. Several HSA associates and colleagues contributed to the kit, including: Erica Groschler, Michael Peters, Gina Walker, Bob Earp, Dan McFaull, Don Chipman and Val Quirk. Michael Greer, an HSA colleague, friend and author of The Manager's Pocket Guide to Project Management as well as other professional publications in the field, was instrumental in creating HSA's project management process and practices.
Brenda Sugrue has undertaken a study aimed at developing an overall technology strategy for HSA. She has been analyzing external markets, market trends, publications and HSA's current capabilities/resources. Brenda has also been interviewing clients, experts and associates. The study will result in a strategy report to guide HSA in building its technology infrastructures, capabilities and direction in serving the increasing technology-related needs of its clients. Highlights of the study will be reported in a future internal memo.
Mike Peters continues to direct a number of projects at Cisco Systems, assisted by Don Chipman and Brenda Cruz who are managing several projects. Don is working with Lee Rogers, Conrad Metcalfe and Rives Hassell-Corbiell to maintain the Enterprise Baseline Curriculum for Account Managers and Systems Engineers while Christina Melnarik is maintaining Web-based courses in the Service Provider Baseline Curriculum. Don is also working with Terry Craig on the redesign of Cisco’s Network Registrar software training. Brenda Cruz is managing several Web-based projects at Cisco. Liz Spencer is developing Web-based training for Cisco’s Enterprise and Service Provider Global Services group. Shawna Darling and Walter Curtis are continuing efforts to improve and maintain the Service Provider Pre-VT Web-sites. Brenda Cruz and a team as yet unnamed will soon begin development of a new e-learning project for Cisco partners.
Mike Peters continues to direct projects at SBC and Levis Strauss. Sheila Wilkins is finishing up course materials and job aids for service representatives on a new order processing system for SBC. Kimberly Morrill has just put the finishing touches on an analysis and design phase for SBC’s Service Activation Center Initial Training curriculum. Peter Lenn and Kimberly Morrill are finalizing revisions to the highly successful demand forecasting for Levis Strauss & Co. Peter Lenn and Sheila Wilkins have begun initial scoping for the design and development of training for Levis' Product Management group.
Erica Groschler is directing several projects at CreoScitex in Vancouver. Working closely with CreoScitex’s internal Product Training Group, Chris Smith and Linda Waddell are developing instructional resources for a variety of product and target groups. Erica Groschler and Virginia Queenan are working with CreoScitex’s HR group to develop a classroom-based course on their 360 Performance Review process. Erica and Virginia will also be developing a customized Train-The-Trainer course for trainers who will deliver this course to CreoScitex’s 4500 employees worldwide.
Dan McFaull is managing a project for the Snohomish Public Utility District in Everrett, WA. He is supported by Jim Tallman, Thom Quine, Valerie Quirk and Kandy Barker in creating classroom-based training and performance support for the implementation of a customer information system.
Erica Groschler is managing a project for CP Railway (CPR) in Calgary. She is supported by Jaye Routledge who is working directly with CPR’s SME of Environmental Affairs to develop user-friendly technical documentation for Structures Department employees who work near water. The documentation will assist CPR employees to better protect the environment in compliance with regulations.
Terry Craig is developing an assessment tool for the lab manual he developed with Sun Microsystems SMEs. He will also be assisting SMEs to develop additional lab materials for LDAP servers. Erica Groschler is managing this project.
Gina Walker is directing a number of projects in Montreal and Toronto. Val Quirk and herself, supported by Victor Aronoff and his team at Video Activ Productions, are continuing to develop a CD-ROM-based course on the subject of Facility Management Troubleshooting and Preventative Maintenance for Imperial Oil. This CD-ROM will provide “refresher training” on facility management for experienced retailers. A pilot session is scheduled for mid-August in Montreal to test the CD ROM.
Jean Simard has begun a task analysis for Meloche Monnex to document key aspects of the job of the insurance analyst. He will be traveling to regional offices in Western and Eastern Canada to gather data. This represents part of an ongoing project to streamline training for new recruits.
Lise Moquin is continuing work on a project to build a comprehensive training evaluation system for Microcell Solutions. The goal is to provide Microcell with an extensive customized evaluation toolkit covering all types of training evaluation, including ROI. Kandy Barker is supporting Lise on the project in the development of the evaluation tools. Brenda Sugrue is acting as a consultant to this project.
Val Quirk is finalizing the development of a course for Abitibi Consolidated Inc. (ACI) on Paper Production to enable headquarters' employees to connect with the company’s products. In all, HSA is responsible for developing four of the five core courses of ACI’s new curriculum for head office personnel.
Val Quirk has begun a project at STS Systems to design and develop approximately two days of classroom training on Siebel Call Centre software.
Under the direction of Gina Walker, Dan McFaull and Dave Lemiski have led the development of user training and performance support for a new billing system at Hewlett Packard. Kimberly Morrill and Yvonne Stiver-Macleod are assisting Dave in the development of user training and documentation materials. At the same time, Linda Morcom has joined Dan to develop Train-the-Trainer support materials. Dan and Dave piloted the training in Stuttgart, Germany, where they delivered a Train-the-Trainer session for HP field resources during the week of July 17th.
Associate invoices are due the second Friday of each month. Your next invoice is due on August 11, 2000.
Very important reminders:
Please send one entire copy of your invoice and work logs (by e-mail) to your Regional Director who oversees your work/project.
If you are working on projects for more than one Regional Director, please email your invoice summary sheet only to Arlene Reed along with a list of all Regional Directors who are overseeing your current projects. Send appropriate project invoices and accompanying work logs to the Regional Directors who have approval on these projects.
Regional Directors will review your invoices and work logs with you to make any adjustments. They will submit final invoices for payment to Arlene Reed. Fax expense receipts to Arlene Reed only at (514) 488-4482. This will reduce duplication and speed up payment.
Use your "Preparing Your Invoice" job-aid next month and every month. Follow the template for work logs exactly, as these logs are submitted to clients and must be uniform and consistent. Use HSA billing codes to label work performed on your work logs.
If you have any questions regarding invoice preparation, please contact Arlene Reed at [email protected] for assistance.
Memo0007.doc XXX