Archive for December, 2009

Versitas Delivers Training for GE Healthcare

December 30th, 2009 - by Newsroom

Versitas announced it has delivered software training services to GE Healthcare in their Elgin, Illinois facility. 

GE Healthcare provides medical imaging and information technologies, medical diagnostics, patient monitoring systems, performance improvement, drug discovery, and biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies.   

GE Healthcare’s broad range of products and services enables healthcare providers to better diagnose and treat cancer, heart disease, neurological diseases, and other conditions.

GE Healthcare is a $17 billion unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) and is headquartered in the United Kingdom.  GE Healthcare employs more than 46,000 people worldwide.

For more information about GE Healthcare, visit their website at GE Healthcare.

About Versitas
Versitas ( www.versitas.com ) is a leading nationwide software training company delivering onsite and web based training to forward thinking companies in 17 major US markets and around the world. 

For additional information, contact debbie.petersen@versitas.com

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Office 2010 Review (Part I)

December 30th, 2009 - by Angela

imagesI’ve been researching Office 2010 lately.  Based on my first impression, I’m pretty excited about adopting it when it is released in the first half of 2010.  As a trainer for Versitas, I can see so many fun ways to integrate the new elements into a great “new features” class.

I must admit that I am an early adopter.  I started using the full desktop version of Office 2007 as soon as it was in beta version.  It did take a little time to get used to the updated interface without my memorized menus, but I really like how user friendly it is!  I had not had the time to play with any pre-release version of Office 2010 yet so this was my first go-round with it.

I have to start off with the WebApps version change. Office 2010 Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote applications will now be available to use (with limited functionality) in a web browser (Explorer, Firefox, and Safari).  Here comes cloud computing!  Users will only need to use SharePoint 2010 or a Windows Live Account.  For those people who use a netbook, this would work really well because it wouldn’t require a great deal of hard drive space. The WebApps are available to anyone who purchases Office 2010 or free to those who don’t mind having an advertising pane on their screen.

Another new feature, called BackStage, replaces the File menu.  It allows you to integrate tasks across multiple documents like printing and sharing. If BackStage works like it is supposed to, I’m going to love this facet of Office 2010.  As someone who integrates documents across the Office applications, I’m very much in favor of making it easier to share or print by putting everything in one place and under one tab.

Office 2010 will be installed much faster with what Microsoft calls Click-to-Run.  It will be an on-demand installation so that only the features that are needed will be initially installed. Whenever you need a feature that has not been enabled yet, you just click to quickly download that element.  The element activation will take less time because they have streamlined the install process.  Most of all, you don’t take up space on your machine with extras that you are not using.

New computers will come packaged with Office 2010 Starter version.  It will not have full functionality and won’t include all of the applications.  There will also be a fixed advertising pane within it.

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Versitas Delivers Training for CIGNA

December 21st, 2009 - by Newsroom

Versitas announced that it has delivered custom onsite software training services to CIGNA at their Washington D.C. offices.

CIGNA, a global health service company, is dedicated to helping people improve their health, well-being and security.  For more than 125 years, CIGNA has been helping people lead healthier, more secure lives.  

CIGNA Corporation’s operating subsidiaries provide an integrated suite of medical, dental, behavioral health, pharmacy and vision care benefits, as well as group life, accident and disability insurance, to more than 46 million people throughout the United States and around the world.

The company was founded in 1792 and is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

To learn more about the company, visit them at www.cigna.com.

About Versitas
Versitas ( www.versitas.com ) is a leading nationwide software training company delivering onsite and web based training to forward thinking companies in 17 major US markets and around the world. 

For additional information, contact debbie.petersen@versitas.com

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Leadership and Change

December 21st, 2009 - by Angela

untitledAn article I was reading the other day really hit home and reminded me of many important concepts.  The article was about the 10 traits of superior leaders.  I believe that every person can be a leader in their own organization in whatever position they currently hold.  It may be leading in small ways or just working for change in a very focused area.  Leadership traits are still required to work on change at any level, in your own life or as the head of a corporation.

Sometimes people feel frustrated because they don’t know how to help their organization, corporation, or even themselves improve.  I’ve been there.  Especially over the last couple of months, I’ve heard some people say they wish the company they worked for would be more responsive or that change is not happening to help workers learn and grow in their positions/jobs.

When asked for advice, I usually encourage people to become the change agent that they would like to see in their organization.  If they develop leadership traits, they can lead at whatever level they are at in their organization.

One friend complained to me a couple of months ago that her corporation did not provide any training.  She was frustrated and venting to me since she knew I would sympathize about how important training was because I am a trainer.  I think she was surprised when I told her she should funnel her frustrations into constructive activities to improve her own leadership traits and encourage her company to provide the training that she needed.  It might not happen right away, but there were several things she could do over time to encourage the change she wanted to see in the corporation she worked for.

First of all, I asked her to look at her company’s mission and/or vision statements.  I told her to write out her specific goals for training.  Next, she should line out the benefits for her, her team, and her company as a result of that training.  I suggested that she quantify as much as possible the savings the training would provide.  I explained how doing all of those tasks would help her develop her leadership traits, including interpersonal and communication skills, showing ambition and vision, and building competency and experience in analysis and problem solving.

Her reaction was much better than I expected.  I was afraid that she would think it was too much to do and not want to follow up on any of it.  In the last couple of months, she has made some good progress towards her goal of getting the training she needs.  She has also told me how much better she feels because she empowered herself to do something and not just sit back and wait for change.

The article that I read was a wonderful reminder of how important it is that we are all change agents at our current level in our corporation or organization.  If we see a change that needs to happen, we should be part of the solution to help instead of complaining and wishing for change!

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Versitas Delivers Training for Brocade Communications Systems

December 16th, 2009 - by Newsroom

Versitas announced that is has delivered customized software training services to Brocade Communications Systems at their world headquarters in Silicon Valley.  

Brocade is an industry leader in data center networking solutions and services that enable organizations to manage their most vital information assets. It’s no wonder that Global 500 companies rely on Brocade technology to keep their businesses running around the clock.

The company has pioneered many technologies that enable highly reliable and secure data center connectivity. Today much of the world’s data flows through Brocade equipment and data center networks built on Brocade technology.

Brocade is located in San Jose, CA., and currently employs more than 4,000 employees.

About Versitas
Versitas ( www.versitas.com ) is a leading nationwide software training company delivering onsite and web based training to forward thinking companies in 17 major US markets and around the world. 

For additional information, contact debbie.petersen@versitas.com

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Great Tools!

December 15th, 2009 - by Angela

toolsThis past week, I did a customized 1-on-1 deskside training class on specific topics in Microsoft Excel, Visio, and Project.  It had been a while since I’d done training on Visio and Project. As we went over the individual’s questions, I was reminded of what great tools Project and Visio are.  (Note: Versitas doesn’t sell any of these products, so these are just my personal thoughts on the software.)

If your company uses either of those applications, I’m sure you know what I’m talking about.  If you don’t, I’ll fill you in.  Visio is a drawing software that lets you turn your designs, diagrams and maps, etc., into visual documents easily. You can create flowcharts, organizational charts, maps, and much more.  There are stencils available with all kinds of shapes to use for your designs.

The student I was working with was mainly concerned with floor plans.  She had scanned in her floor plans and wanted to plot items on those plans. She had an Excel spreadsheet listing all of the items and their dimensions/specs.  I showed her how to import the Excel spreadsheet items in a list in Visio that she could use to drag those specs onto the items/shapes she had plotted in Visio.

It was all so easy!  She thought she was going to have to go shape by shape and type in all of the information.  It was one of those “happy trainer moments” to see the look of relief on her face when she realized the time she was going to save.  Also, she was now going to be able to WOW her clients with the quality of her presentations.

We also worked with some Introductory topics in Project.  Project is a project management software that assists in developing task timelines, planning and managing budgets, assigning and tracking resources, and assessing progress.  Some people think Project is too complex.  With a little training, it doesn’t feel overwhelming at all.  In fact, it really can help a project manager in so many aspects.

Most of my student’s projects initially followed a similar pattern and format setup.  I told her that she would need to spend some time setting up a generic template.  After creating the first one, she could use that template for her other projects.  She would have some date adjusting and other tweaking to do but those would require little time if the template was set up correctly.

We really had a fun training session.  She was excited to see how these tools could work for her.  I was happy to see what a great help the software would be for her with just our half day of training.  It made me realize once again that the software we use can be so useful to our jobs!

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Versitas Delivers Training to the Social Security Administration

December 7th, 2009 - by Newsroom

Versitas announced that it recently delivered customized onsite software training services to multiple offices of the Social Security Administration.   Training was delivered to their offices in Seattle, WA, Spokane, WA and Portland, OR.

Among other items, the SSA is responsible for the issuing of Social Security Numbers to the public. The first Social Security Numbers were issued by the Social Security Administration in November 1936 as part of the New Deal Social Security program. Within the first three months, 25 million numbers were issued.

The Social Security Administration delivers its services through a nationwide network of over 1,400 offices that include regional offices, field offices, card centers, teleservice centers, processing centers, and hearing offices. They also have a presence in U.S. embassies around the globe. To learn more about the organization, visit them at www.ssa.gov

About Versitas
Versitas ( www.versitas.com ) is a leading nationwide software training company delivering onsite and web based training to forward thinking companies in 17 major US markets and around the world. 

For additional information, contact debbie.petersen@versitas.com

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Lending a Hand

December 7th, 2009 - by Angela

volunteering11As I was recently reflecting on Thanksgiving and the holiday season, I made a list of all of my blessings. (Amazingly, I don’t think of training all day every day!)  Making my list took longer than I expected.  There were so many blessings!  I actually do this daily on a smaller scale, too.  I think of three things that I am grateful for each day.  About five years ago, a friend and I started emailing these three things to each other every day.  What a difference it makes in my daily outlook!  

When I look at all the blessings I have, I see that I have so much while those less fortunate may not have as much.  At that point, my thoughts often turn to ways that I can give back or help others in the community. I see every day how much our communities benefit from volunteerism.  My Versitas colleagues feel the same way.  We all know how many services and organizations could not run without their volunteers. 

During this holiday season, I know that many people look for ways to give back within their community.  They sponsor a child or family on the Angel Tree, give to the Salvation Army, or volunteer in a soup kitchen. I think it is important to do this all year round, though.  I’ve included a list of volunteer opportunities with links to the sites for those organizations.  You can start volunteering this holiday season and hopefully continue throughout 2010. 

1. Volunteer Match - Don’t know where to start? These folks can hook you up with a need in your community.  

2. America’s Volunteer Database - The U.S. volunteer database for opportunities around the country.  Another place to get started. 

 3. Feeding America - (Formerly known as America’s Second Harvest) Volunteer or donate at your local food bank. 

4. Red Cross - Many volunteer opportunities ranging from giving blood to helping after a disaster. 

5. Idealist - Another great database of volunteer opportunities. 

There are many other organizations within our local communities that desperately need volunteers.  Some groups even need virtual volunteers, which would allow you to help even with a busy schedule.  I hope you’ll check into one of these opportunities or just reach out and help a neighbor in need.  Think about lending a hand today, it’s a truly rewarding experience!

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