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MARCH 2007

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Tell Us Your SumTotal Success Stories
 

User Survey

What is the one question you’d most like to ask a group of your peers?

Click to Respond

All responses are confidential

Take the survey and be entered into a drawing for a $50 Amazon
Gift Certificate

Q1 winners will be announced in the April issue of Total•Connect

 

View Results from the Jan/Feb Total Connection '07 Survey

PathLMS User Groups
  East Coast - April 12*
  Wisconsin - May 14*
  Pacific NW - May 17
  S. California - May 18
  Minnesota - May 21*
  Toronto, Canada - May/June
  N. California - NEW - Help set date!

In the News
 

7 March: The Best Approach to Training

 

2 March: With SumTotal “ResultsOnDemand,” VA’s Palo Alto Health Care System Studies Learning 

 

6 Feb: SumTotal Signs Agreement with Beijing-based Founder Order

Industry Roundtables
 

Pharmaceutical
16 May: 9am PT

Healthcare
16 May: 11am PT

Hi Tech & Telecom
17 May: 9am PT 

Financial Services
12 June: 9am PT

Retail & Manufacturing
12 June: 11am PT

Government
13 June: 11am PT

Transportation & Utilities
19 June: 11am PT

Events/Webinars
  Tradeshows
 

LMS 2007
12-13 April, Las Vegas

WorldatWork Total Rewards Conference & Expo 2007
6-9 May, Orlando, FL
Booth #204

ASTD 2007 International Conference & Expo
4-6 June, Atlanta, GA
Booth #1100

» Click here for an expo-only pass (a $25 value). Enter code 739 in the “Invitation Number” field.

SHRM 2007 Annual Conference & Expo
24-27 June, Las Vegas
Booth #2029
  Recorded Webinars

 

Essential Engagement Strategies for Succession Planning

 

Understanding Mandatory Compliance Training: The Fundamentals that Impact All Employees

 

Drive Strategy to Every Desktop: How to Integrate Balanced Scorecards with Employee Performance Management
  Live Demo
 

Learn how to take the hassle out of performance appraisals and drive business results with SumTotal’s TotalPerformance.

Reserve your seat at the at the live demo webcast!

Upcoming dates:

5 April – 11:00am PT,
2 pm ET

12 April – 6:00am PT,  9:00am ET, 1 pm GMT

12 April – 1:00pm PT,
4 pm ET

April 19 – 11 am PDT,
2 pm EDT
 

ASTD 2007 Best Awards2007 ASTD Best Awards

ASTD is looking for organizations that are BEST at Building talent, Enterprise-wide, Supported by the organization's leaders, fostering a Thorough learning culture.

Click here to learn more & submit online by 4/9! 

 

Training Mag's Top 125Training Top 125

Congratulations go out to these SumTotal customers, recipients of this year’s Training Top 125 list, recognized as leaders in learning & development:

  • Aetna, Inc.

  • Allstate Insurance Company

  • Applied Materials, Inc.

  • Buckman Laboratories International, Inc.

  • Children's Healthcare of Atlanta

  • Constellation Energy Group

  • Cox Communications Inc.

  • Equity Residential

  • Ernst & Young

  • Johnson Controls, Inc.

  • LexisNexis

  • McDonald's USA

  • Microsoft Corporation

  • QUALCOMM Incorporated

  • Satyam Computer Services Limited

  • Shaw Industries Group, Inc.

  • The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.

  • The Reynolds and Reynolds Company

  • UPS

  • Wachovia

  • Wells Fargo & Company

  • Wyeth Pharmaceuticals

White Papers
 

Calculating the ROI of a Learning Management System - How ResultsOnDemand changes your organization’s equation
 

The Value of Total Performance
 

The Emergence of Talent Management

Product Hotlinks

 

Upgrade Order

 

Product Suggestions

 

Technical Support

 

Pathlore Customer Zone

 

OnTrack Zone

 

Customer Productivity Center (CPC)

Contact Us
  PathTalk – We're Listening
  Worldwide Numbers
  Contact the Editor

Subscription Info
 

If you are not receiving the monthly e-News directly to your PC, click here to join our e-mail list.

To make sure future editions make it to your inbox
don’t forget to add news@sumtotalsystems.com to your address book.

Welcome to Total•Connect, your monthly SumTotal e-News delivering the latest product news, events, updates and customer connections.
 IN THIS ISSUE

What’s New on the CPC: Discussion Forum Topics & More

Upcoming Events: Roundtables, User Groups, Training Classes & More

Product News: Pathlore LMS 6.5 SP5 Hotfix Roll-Up & More

Top Three Objections To Automated Performance Appraisals

Survey Results Are In: Training Customers and Partners
 
  What’s New on the CPC: Discussion Forum Topics & More

Head to the SumTotal Customer Productivity Center (CPC) today for the latest product documentation, training class schedule, peer-to-peer networking, Calendar of Events and more!

» Home Base & Latest Postings for ALL SumTotal Customers!

Valuable information & networking opportunities await you on this secure site just for SumTotal customers. Featuring:

  • Daylight Savings Time Support

  • IE7 Support Statement

  • Customer Event Calendar Updates

  • Product Suggestion Links

  • 7.5 Reference Guides: e-Commerce, Report Manager, Notifications

  • Webinar Recordings & More

» Discussion Forums: New Topics for March!

Looking for best practices with Gap Analyzer? Getting started with Groups & Curriculums? Have a timesaving tip of your own to share? Head to the SumTotal Community Forums and start connecting.  Latest postings include:

Pathlore LMS Collaboration CenterPathlore LMS:

  • Using Question Bank for Course Evaluation

  • QuestionMark and the Pathlore LMS

  • Training Plan – Student Entering New Course Issues

  • Pathlore – Server Configuration

  • Pathlore LMS and SAP

General Forum:

  • Collaboration Center

  • Using Certification/Assignment of Training in 7.x

  • What’s the Name of Your LMS?

  • Upgrading to TotalLMS 7.2

  • DataSynch

  • 7.1 – Cancellation Reason

  • Assigned Training & Report Manager

  • Finding Assets

Healthcare:

  • Role-based Training

  • Continuing Education Credits

  • Inactive Users

  • Tracking Degrees & Certifications

Missing Your CPC Password & ID?

Click here to submit your request for a User Name and Password. Access to the site is available to all users with active SumTotal Support plans.
   

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  Upcoming Events: Roundtables, User Groups, Training Classes & More

» Industry Roundtables

Mark your calendar and join your peers at the next round of industry roundtables, hosted by SumTotal:

Upcoming Roundtable Date Time
Pharmaceutical 16 May 9 PT/12 ET
Healthcare 16 May 11 PT/2 ET
Hi Tech & Telecom 17 May 9 PT/12 ET
Financial Services 12 June 9 PT/12 ET
Retail & Manufacturing 12 June 11 PT/2 ET
Government 13 June 11 PT/2 ET
Transportation & Utilities 19 June 11 PT/2 ET
Don't miss the next roundtable. Reserve your seat today and drop us a line at saleccia@sumtotalsystems.com.

» Missed one? Catch the archived recordings and notes posted to the SumTotal CPC.

» Pathlore User Groups

Pathlore LMS users find one of their best resources for product sharing, best practices and information is other users. Don't miss these upcoming regional user group meetings:

  East Coast - April 12*
  Wisconsin - May 14*
  Pacific NW - May 17
  S. California - May 18
  Minnesota - May 21*
  Toronto, Canada - May/June
  N. California - NEW - Help set date!

» Visit the Pathlore Community for more detail.

» Upcoming Classes

Here’s a look at our upcoming class dates for Pathlore LMS 6.5:

COURSE TITLE LOCATION

Training Administrator Fundamentals

June 5 - 7, Bellevue, WA
System Management

May 29 - 31, Chicago

 

Click here for course descriptions and registration, or drop by the SumTotal Customer Productivity Center (CPC).

Questions? Contact us today at USResourcing@SumTotalSystems.com.

» Webinars — Recently Recorded

Understanding Mandatory Compliance Training:  The Fundamentals that Impact All Employees. 

While workplace compliance training is a hot topic for legal, ethics, and HR professionals, there is a great deal of confusion about mandatory training requirements. 

Listen to the recorded event

How to Integrate Balanced Scorecards with Employee Performance Management

The Balanced Scorecard is the tool of choice for managing strategy, and Employee Performance Management tops most organizations’ lists of urgent strategic initiatives. Learn how these complementary approaches can work together to help execute strategy by communicating strategy down to employees and driving accountability at every level of the organization.  

Listen to the recorded event

» Spring Trade Show Schedule

LMS 2007
April 12-13 - Las Vegas, NV

WorldatWork Total Rewards Conference & Expo 2007
May 6-9 - Orlando, FL
Booth #204

ASTD 2007 International Conference & Expo
June 4-6 - Atlanta, GA
Booth #1100

» Click here for a complimentary expo-only pass (a $25 value), courtesy of SumTotal. Enter code 739 in the “Invitation Number” field.

SHRM 2007 Annual Conference & Expo
June 24-27 - Las Vegas
Booth #2029

» TotalConnection '07: Topics in Review

Thank you for your feedback!  The agenda planning is underway for this year’s user conference based on the ideas for topics & tracks submitted by our users to last month’s online survey.

» Didn’t get a chance to send us yours?  It’s not too late – but do so today.

TotalConnection 2007
SumTotal User Conference
The Hilton Anatole
Dallas, Texas
September 17-20

•  Pre-Conference Workshops: Sept. 17-18

•  Conference: Sept. 19-20

 

Highlights include: 4-days of networking opportunities, 2-days of “hands-on” workshops, customer presentations, industry roundtables, and so much more.

Coming in April:  Pricing, Call for Presenters & more. Interested in showcasing your expertise in Dallas? Drop us a line at totalconnection@sumtotalsystems.com.
   

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  Product News: Pathlore LMS 6.5 SP5 Hotfix Roll-Up & More
» New LMS 6.5 SP5 Hotfix Roll-up

A NEW Hotfix Roll-up for Pathlore LMS 6.5 Service Pack 5 (SP5) is now available on the Pathlore Support Portal!  Get your update today and head to: http://support.pathlore.com.

This is the first roll-up fix for 6.5 SP5 and includes 49 hotfixes – a compilation of all updates issued since the release of SP5 last fall.  This “Roll-up” includes all fixes up to PRN377. Instructions are available with the download and can be found:

  • Under the DOWNLOADS link

  • Click the PRODUCT PATCHES link on the left.

  • Need assistance? Contact our support team today at: 800-932-6322.

Stay tuned to your e-News as our support team will continue to announce the latest hotfix updates and download instructions. Also in development is a new automated support notification email that will allow hotfix announcements to be sent direct to subscribers from our support team.  More news coming soon.

» New ResultsOnDemand™ Website & White Paper Available

In recent issues of the e-News we announced the new arrival of ResultsOnDemand (ROD) , an affordable best-in-class solution for organizations of all sizes. Powered by SumTotal’s TotalLMS 7.x, ROD provides the SumTotal learning management system in an easy-to-use, hosted online solution. This Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offering couples industry-leading technology and services to provide companies with a low cost, low risk and fast time-to-deployment learning solution.

What makes ResultsOnDemand so unique?

  • Best-in-class, multi-language functionality

  • Affordable software packages

  • Intuitive, easy to use interface

  • Rapid implementation - just a few weeks!

  • Peace of mind: SumTotal manages the technology, you manage learning

Contact us today to learn more about ResultsOnDemand or visit the new ROD website.

New White Paper: Calculating the ROI of a Learning Management System - How ResultsOnDemand changes your organization’s equation

Download this complimentary white paper and learn how to:

  • Assess how an LMS can positively affect your business by focusing on improving one process

  • Calculate the value of implementing a new LMS or upgrading an existing LMS

  • Calculate the real cost of LMS ownership

 
   

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  Top Three Objections To Automated Performance Appraisals

» Do these performance management objections sound familiar?

1.  Automation lowers the quality of the manager/employee dialogue.

Employee performance management automation will never replace face-to-face communication. In fact, our customers have reported that automation has improved the frequency and quality of performance dialogue. That’s because an EPM system records goals, progress, and issues on an ongoing basis — so performance discussions can be fact-based and not influenced just by recent events or second-hand observations. In addition, the ability to monitor status at every step ensures no one goes without their face-to-face performance discussion. 

2.  What’s wrong with our current manual system?