Archive for July, 2010

Versitas Delivers Training to Cephalon

July 29th, 2010 - by Newsroom

Founded in 1987 as a biotech start-up, Cephalon has grown into one of the world’s top ten biopharmaceutical companies, with an impressive roster of first-in-class products, a deep and diverse pipeline, and total revenues of $2.19 billion in 2009. Versitas delivered customized training services to their headquarters in Frazer PA.

Their portfolio of innovative treatments for central nervous system disorders, pain, and cancer include eight proprietary products in the United States, along with more than 100 products internationally.

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

Recent Training Survey

July 29th, 2010 - by Angela

recent-training-surveyRecently, I ran across a survey by the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD).  They looked at training departments’ adjustments to a slower economy. ASTD found that 49.7% of the corporations reduced travel of learners for training and 16.2% moved training to their site instead of off-site. 

The survey results seemed to be across the board instead of just what a certain few industries were doing.  It looks like more and more corporations are needing to find ways to customize their training, scale back costs, and narrow the focus of travel to their local sites.   

I’m not happy to hear about an economy in recession, but I am glad to see that corporations are able to focus their training more effectively.  They are now seeing that it is important to not just train for training sake.   

That is the exact focus of our training at Versitas.  Speaking as a trainer, that is my favorite way to do training.  I think it is wonderful to be able to work with learners in their home location or work site. Learners are more comfortable, enjoy training with their colleagues in a non-threatening setting, and can focus on just the training concepts tailored for that corporation.  

If multiple locations need to do training at the same time, I’ve been able to video conference in other sites so that no one needs to travel.  I remembered speaking with our contact at one of the corporations that we set up that video conference training session. She was very grateful for the money savings and the ability to have multiple locations in on the same class. It was good to have the colleagues at different sites see that they were all encountering the same issues with their software and files setup.  We were able to solve the problem for both sites and bring about some team bonding between the two groups at the same time.

If you are in the same boat as many corporations during the slower economy, but still realize how important training is for your team, give me a call.  There are many ways to reduce travel expenses but still get everyone up to speed!

Versitas Delivers Training for CRUSH Creative

July 7th, 2010 - by Newsroom

Versitas announced it has provided custom software training services to CRUSH Creative at their Burbank, CA headquarters. 

CRUSH Creative is a premium provider of large format visuals such as visual merchandising displays, banners and billboards.  Their services include printing, finishing, installation and logistics.

Their clients range from local businesses to nationwide retailers with 1,500+ stores and events such as the TriBeCa Film Festival and the Super Bowl.

CRUSH Creative was founded in 1946 and has offices throughout the U.S.  

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

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

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

Travel Safely with Your Tech Gear

July 7th, 2010 - by Angela

stolen-laptopI cannot tell you how many friends, colleagues, and clients have told me that they have lost data/files that they had not backed up. A few of them have had laptops or flash drives stolen while others have had hard drives fail. Two of my friends have had their laptops stolen in the airport or on the airplane. It is so easy to look away for just a moment. That moment is long enough for the right opportunist to swipe your valuable item or items.

After hearing about these experiences, I’ve become more cautious about traveling with my laptop and flash drives. I think that sometimes we fail to remember how much personal information is stored on our flash drives, especially. We usually think about how much is on our laptops that we could not do without, but our flash drives are often overlooked. I have not been very consistent with my flash drive backups. I think most people do not even back up their drives.

In light of the summer travel season, I thought it might be good to do a reminder list of travel do’s and don’ts. If possible, it is best to leave any items at home. If it is not possible to travel without these items, we should all follow a few cautious rules:

1. Before you depart, make sure you have made a backup of all important files. Also, remove any files that are not absolutely necessary for you to take with you. Make your laptop or other item easily identifiable by placing a large sticker or other marking on it.

2. Clear out the cache, history and any other items that could store your information. Make sure you have a strong password on your accounts, too.

3. Be extra vigilant at the transit or airport check-in and security stations. Retrieve your laptop as quickly as possible after you pass through a security check.

4. Store your laptop or other item close to you. If you are on an airplane, it is best not to put the item in the overhead bin.

5. If you need to leave your item in your hotel room, lock it in the in-room safe, if possible. Do not leave your item unattended if you are driving a rental car.

I hope you all have a safe summer travel season! Don’t be a target! Taking a few precautions ahead of time and during your travel can save you big headaches!