International Society for Performance Improvement: 2004 Professional Practices Survey Report
by James A. Pershing, CPT, PhD, Kok Pun Foong, and Khe Foon Hew

The 2004 International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI) Professional Practices Survey was a first-time attempt to gather information from ISPI members concerning their professional profiles, compensation data, and work satisfaction information. This first report (part 1 of 2) provides descriptive data about work profiles and compensation. Next month, we will report the work satisfaction findings.

It is hoped that this information provides helpful insights to professional practices in the field of performance improvement for ISPI members, organizations in the field, and the general public.

An online questionnaire was launched from July 15 to August 14, 2004. The total number of ISPI member respondents was 1,081.

Employment Information
The respondents were asked seven questions related to their employment status. They were asked to indicate the industry that best represents their organization’s business, their individual job title, the number of employees in their organization, the educational level required for their job, the number of years in their present position as well as their field, their current job status, and the amount of time they were expected to work by their employers.

Industry
For industrial classifications, 25.4% of the ISPI member respondents reported working in the area of Professional, Scientific, and Technical services (including consultant). The Finance and Insurance industry accounted for 16.4% of the respondents followed by Educational Services with 13.1%. The categorical option of “Other” accounted for 6.5% of the responses. The industry data are displayed in Table 1.

Table 1. Job by Industry

Industry	Number of respondents	Percentage of total (%)
Accommodation and Food Services	11	1%
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services	0	0.0%
Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, and Hunting	2	0.2%
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation	3	0.3%
Construction	5	0.5%
Educational Services	142	13.1%
Finance and Insurance	177	16.4%
Health Care and Social Assistance	76	7.0%
Information	18	1.7%
Management of Companies and Enterprises	12	1.1%
Manufacturing	104	9.6%
Mining	3	0.3%
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (including consultant)	274	25.4%
Public Administrative (including military)	94	8.7%
Real Estate and Rental and Leasing	3	0.3%
Retail Trade	18	1.7%
Transportation and Warehousing	13	1.2%
Utilities	46	4.3%
Wholesale Trade	9	0.8%
Other	70	6.5%

(Note: 1 subject did not respond to this question)

Job Title
The online questionnaire had a list of 12 job titles that are generally considered relevant to the field of performance improvement. Respondents were asked to indicate the job title that they currently held at the time of the survey. The most frequently reported job title was Manager/Director/Administrator with 32.1%. Next was Consultant with 17.6%. Instructional Designer was next with 14.4%, followed by Performance Specialist with 10.3%. The job title data are detailed in Table 2.

Table 2. Job Title

Job Title	Number of respondents	Percentage of total (%)
President/CEO	42	3.9%
Manager/Director/Administrator	346	32.1%
Consultant	190	17.6%
Performance Specialist	111	10.3%
Instructional Designer	155	14.4%
Curriculum Design Developer	37	3.4%
Evaluator	9	0.8%
Analyst	22	2.0%
Researcher	6	0.6%
Teacher/Instructor	53	5.0%
Graduate Student	1	0.1%
Other	105	9.8%

(Note: 4 subjects did not answer this question)

Length of Employment
A majority of the respondents reported being employed in their present position for a period of five years or less (see Table 3). Slightly more than a quarter of the respondents indicated that they had been in their current field for 6 to 11 years (see Table 4).

Table 3. Number of Years Employed in Present Position

Years	Number of respondents	Percentage of total (%)
5 years or less	736	68.5%
6 to 11 years	213	19.8%
12 to 17 years	64	6.0%
18 to 25 years	47	4.4%
26 years or more	14	1.3%

(Note: 7 subjects did not answer this question)

Table 4. Number of Years Employed in Current Field

Years	Number of respondents	Percentage of total (%)
5 years or less	169	15.7%
6 to 11 years	286	26.6%
12 to 17 years	237	22.0%
18 to 25 years	245	22.7%
26 years or more	140	13.0%

(Note: 4 subjects did not answer this question)

Income and Benefits
Most of the ISPI member respondents (30.3 %) reported a gross annual income of between 70,000 and 89,999 US dollars in 2003 (see Figure 1). The second-most respondents (26.6%) marked the category of 50,000 to 69,999 US dollars, with the third most frequently marked category (15.5%) being 90,000 to 109,999 US dollars. In total, 770 ISPI member respondents (72.4 %) report gross annual income in 2003 between 50,000 and 109,999 US dollars.

Figure 1. Gross Annual Income of ISPI Members in 2003

(Note: The questionnaires asked for “annual income” information. Because of fluctuations of income due to the timing of respondents completing the questionnaire, the respondents were asked to indicate their gross income for 2003. 18 subjects did not answer this question)

In terms of benefits received, a majority of ISPI members indicated that they received paid vacation (79.9%) and a medical plan (78.7%). Dental and retirement plans were also high on the benefits list. Figure 2 shows the different benefits that members received in addition to their salaries and compensations.

Figure 2: Benefits Received by ISPI Members

(Note: Figures in percentages based on 1,075 respondents; 6 subjects did not answer this question)

Conclusion
We hope that these data are useful in providing insights to the professional practices of our ISPI members. We would like to thank all of the ISPI members who responded to the online survey.

(Note: This Professional Practices Survey was made possible through donations given by Clare Elizabeth Carey, CPT, EdD, and Jeanne Farrington, CPT, EdD, and the support of ISPI’s Board of Directors.)

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Trendspotters: Insider’s View
by Carol Haig, CPT and Roger Addison, CPT, EdD

Welcome to the New Year! As we begin 2005, TrendSpotters is interested in spotlighting trends within organizations as experienced by members of the International Society for Performance Improvement who staff enterprises around the world.

Have you spotted trends in your organization that you deem noteworthy, and you would like to share? We are actively soliciting your input for future columns and would be pleased to hear of your interest in contributing your firsthand experiences.

TrendSpotters offers these questions to help you specify your experience:

Please let us know of your interest in becoming a TrendSpotter by responding to us at carolhaig@earthlink.net or roger@ispi.org. We look forward to hearing from you.

Role Sets as a Determinant of Learning Transfer
by William Dudeck, CPT
Have you ever gone to a workshop, seminar, or training course and walked away completely energized by what you learned? You felt ready to return to work and implement changes that would positively impact your organization. The concepts you learned provided answers to some of your organization’s difficult issues, and finally you saw a way to help improve your piece of the company.

When you returned to work you were still excited about your new knowledge and ready to implement some changes. For the first day or so, you made some progress, but soon after your enthusiasm waned and by the end of the week, you reverted back to the “old” ways. What happened? Maybe the content wasn’t THAT great after all?

Wait! Before you blame the content, or yourself, let’s talk about role set theory. Role set theory focuses on the system of interconnected relationships each of us has, both at work and outside of work, and is a powerful determinant of learning transfer. To effectively predict the success of learning transfer, one must consider the power of the role set and use it to its own advantage. A role set, in its purest form, is made up of a focal person and a role sender, often with multiple senders to one focal person. “Roles” are interchangeable; it is possible to play both the focal person and sender at different times and in different circumstances, which can change from moment to moment.

For example, a manager’s “role” involves not only being a “manager” to direct reports, but a “colleague” to other managers, a “mentor” to another employee, a “contact” to a vendor, or a “company representative” to a customer. They would also have a role set outside of work: consider the varied relationships with parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, in-laws, children, and friends.

Considering that each person has a unique role set, and that this role set is interconnected to any number of other role sets, a single role set structure becomes very complex. What’s more, role sets resist change at almost any cost. So when you, as the focal person in a role set, decide to change by bringing that new concept back to the office from a workshop, the role senders work to put you back in your original focal role. Think of the role set as a net: a tug on any one part of the net will cause stress to other parts. Too much tugging causes the net to tear; too little tugging brings the net back to its original shape. Are you beginning to see a pattern?

Training professionals need to look at role sets when analyzing a training or performance intervention to meet a knowledge or performance gap. These professionals should also look at other systemic issues at play and determine how best to deliver the intervention for maximum impact and learning transfer. For example, if safety is the issue, it is desirable to deliver the information or message to all of the target audience as close to the same time as possible. In this way, the possibility of a safety incident occurring because someone did not receive the message is mitigated.

In a similar way, role set theory applies to management development and training. Management development and training almost always deals with a change of some sort and to effectively facilitate the change, it’s important to deliver the information to all managers as close to the same time as possible. Two scenarios could unfold: 1) the training is delivered to groups of strangers who are then released back into their respective organizations to implement the change (sound familiar?), or 2) training is targeted at a certain level of manager within the organization and delivered not only to those managers but to other lower-level managers at the same time. By having all managers in the same room at the same time, training professionals can better ensure that they receive the same message and effectively engage the role sets.

Incorporating role set theory by encouraging at least three levels of management to attend the session at the same time results in the entire management team hearing and understanding the content together. As a result, discussions have a higher degree of relevance to all participants because everyone works in the same organization and has the same point of reference. They leave the room with understandings that are more closely matched. It also provides a support structure for managers when they return to their real-life work environment.

Importantly, the design process of the learning intervention should incorporate real work issues, projects, and challenges. When participants are asked to bring their work with them to the session, they can work through that work as a team and a role set. The result is the concepts and processes learned are transferred back to the job and the solutions devised stick because participants worked through them as a role set. This, coupled with brief follow-up sessions and executive coaching, makes a powerful change management combination.

Related Readings
Daniels, W.R. & Mathers, J.G. (1997). Change-ABLE organization: Key management practices for speed and flexibility. Mill Valley, CA: ACT Publishing.

Merton, R.K. (1957). The role-set: Problems in sociological theory. British Journal of Sociology, 8, 106-120.

Milgram, S. (1963). Behavioral study of obedience. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 67, 371-378.

Milgram, S. (1983). Obedience to authority: An experimental view. New York: Harper/Collins.

Pfeffer, J. & Salancik, G.R. (1975). Determinants of supervisory behavior: A role set analysis. Human Relations, 28, 139-153.

Zimbardo, P.G. (1969). The human choice: Individuation, reason, and order versus deindividuation, impulse, and chaos. Nebraska Symposium on Motivation, 17, 237-307.

Zimbardo, P.G. (1974). On “obedience to authority.” American Psychologist, 29(7), 566-567.

What is Performance-Based ISD in Just Four Words?
by Sivasailam “Thiagi” Thiagarajan, CPT, PhD

During the last three months, we have been generating definitions of performance-based ISD. We began with a 16-word definition and reduced to 8 words. Last month, we challenged our readers to shrink the definition down to the four essential words.

We received 38 different entries for the contest. Our international panel of judges had a big headache selecting the best entry.

The Winners
The judges report a two-way tie for first place. (As always, the judges’ decision is final.) The winning entries are:

Next Round: On Your Own
Listed below are many of the four-word contest entries. Review and compare them with the eight-word entries and the original 16-word entries. As a follow-up assignment, write your own definition of performance-based ISD using as many (or as few) words as you want. This is not a contest, and you don’t have to send your definition to us. Read your statement, show it to others, and give yourself a special award for really understanding (and appreciating) performance-based instructional systems design.

Four-Word Definitions

From the Board:
What Have You Done for Your Chapter Lately?
by Andrea Moore, CPT, ISPI Director

Chances are you are from one of three camps regarding local chapters and ISPI. Either you “grew up in ISPI” as a chapter member, have just recently started attending chapter meetings, or have had no involvement in your chapter. No matter which camp you’re a member of, there are four main reasons for renewing an interest in your local chapter. And these initiatives are coming—in early 2005.

Initiative #1: Communications
January will be the first issue of the Chapter Partnership Committee (CPC) online newsletter. The newsletter will follow the model that PerformanceXpress uses. That is, an email will be sent containing a link to the newsletter, which will be posted on the CPC website. Look for articles about current happenings in various chapters around the world!

And speaking of the CPC website, it contains many information sources for chapters. Just go to www.ispi.org and click on Chapters to get to the CPC link. This highly valuable page has resources like marketing plans, finance tools, and just about everything you need to run your local chapter.

Initiative #2: Information Repository
For the last few years, the CPC has published a Chapter Health survey, asking chapter leaders about the chapter’s size, meeting attendance, frequency of special events, and other interesting aspects of how chapters are run. Because chapter leaders and members would benefit from knowing this type of information when they are changing chapter operations or making decisions about new initiatives, the CPC has decided to formalize the information.

The CPC will create a database of chapter resources, accessible anytime from the CPC website. Chapter leaders and members can use this resource to answer their questions and to see the types of programs implemented by other chapters around the world. To begin this effort, an expanded version of the Chapter Health survey will be sent out to chapter leaders by the end of January.

Initiative #3: CPT Mentoring Program
Some CPC members of ISPI New Mexico are finalizing a CPT mentoring program. This program, which will be piloted at ISPI NM in January, will pair would-be CPTs with current CPTs in a formal mentor/protégé relationship. Once the pilot is finished and feedback and results are gathered, the intent is to offer this program throughout ISPI. The CPC members involved in this innovative endeavor will present the program at ISPI’s 43^rd Annual International Performance Improvement Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, April 10-15, 2005. If you are interested in becoming involved in this program, contact William Dudeck the CPC Chariman at wddudec@sandia.gov.

Initiative #4: Chapter Awards
As a result of a decision by ISPI’s Board of Directors, the CPC was given the option to take over the Society’s Chapter Awards program. The vote to accept this task was unanimous. While not finalized until the 2005 awards, the CPC has created a task force to design the new awards process.

The CPC is very interested in talking to chapters who currently have an awards program in place. Finding out how chapters give awards will be valuable information for the redesign task force. Again, if your chapter has an awards program, contact William Dudeck at wddudec@sandia.gov.

No matter if you’re highly involved, if you’ve been meaning to become re-engaged, or if you haven’t had any involvement for awhile, now is definitely the time to do something for your chapter. And, what better way than through the CPC? Even though local chapters do not receive direct funding from International, they do have access to staff support, ISPI marketing materials, speaker support, product discounts, and financial support of the CPC. However, local chapters do not have a paid staff, nor do they have permanent meeting facilities. This means any way you can help your chapter would be much appreciated—by donating your time, talent, and treasures. We’re counting on your expertise and commitment to keep your chapters thriving!

CPT@Work
by Brian Desautels, CPT

Welcome to the kick-off of CPT@Work, an article series designed to increase the visibility of the impact that CPTs are making in the workplace. These stories are meant to provide a showcase for CPT successes. So, share them with your clients.

Performance Issue
The problem was one of not realizing potential. A Midwest credit union was dormant in a growing market. While its reputation was excellent with existing members (customers), the organization was not producing new products, not addressing new markets, and not attracting new customers. Employees were comfortable doing work the way it had always been done; however, competing financial institutions were attracting customers faster. The CEO perceived that the resistance to change would be the obstacle to overcome before real change could be achieved.

Performance Analysis
The 40-year-old organization had 26,000 members and $89 million in assets. The credit union had a great reputation among its members, primarily employees of several local school districts.

Looking at the whole business, the CEO determined that the following five components needed to be analyzed for its ability to contribute, rather than be an obstacle, to the credit union’s growth strategy:

Organizational Structure: The credit union was in a unique position because it was small enough to make changes relatively quickly, yet large enough to have the financial resources to make the changes. The executive team consisted of seven people whose roles tended to overlap and were somewhat unclear.
Facility Design: 13,000 square-foot building which was cramped, isolating groups and preventing customers from reaching their party quickly.
Culture: Many long-term employees were resistant to change strategies that could impact the existing culture or the fundamental business plan. The culture was administrative and reactive vs. the needed proactive cross-selling culture. When the CEO joined, he replaced a person who had been there for 27 years; the culture displayed a very safe, consistent, “we’ve always done it this way” approach to business.
Core Processes: Core processes were not adequately using technology to automate and streamline processes. For example, loan approval was a 300-step process that took one-and-a-half days to complete and approve loans. Members had to visit a different employee for each type of transaction.
Knowledge, Skills, and Attributes: The organization had no HR policies and procedures in place; nothing which provided consistent guidance on job requirements, recruitment, pay, training, termination, retirement, and so on.

The CEO discovered that employees felt good about their jobs in general but had issues with pay, incentives, and work environment. The CEO also discovered that the organization recognized its need to respond to changes in the market. Employees were ready to move ahead.

Performance Solution
A three-year business plan was created, which focused on the following change strategies:

Restructuring the Organization: The credit union’s executive team needed to be streamlined into five different specialties with very clear parameters on where one role and responsibility ended and another started. A team charter was created that delineated how to make decisions and address issues between departments or divisions.
Redesigning the Facility: A larger building that encourages cross-collaboration between employees, better communication, and smoother accessibility by members was designed.
Developing a Sales-oriented Culture: Employees were cross-trained to deliver multiple banking services, to present features and benefits of all credit union products, and to identify opportunities to present products and services to customers in a non-threatening way.
Redesigning Core Processes: Automation of internal-facing and external-facing core processes was undertaken. Repetitive steps were eliminated, and data collection was now conducted online.
Training and Developing Employees: The CEO wanted career-pathing for employees. A Knowledge Matrix and a Resource Matrix for employees to self-manage their careers was developed. The Knowledge Matrix identified the required skills for each organization job; the Resource Matrix identified how to acquire those skills. From the matrices, a curriculum was designed to close the gaps between skill requirements and knowledge levels.

Organizational Results

Restructuring the Organization: The new, condensed management team is more specialized, and communication has been greatly enhanced. The 360 feedback is measured to continuously improve the management team to guide the organization into a stronger market position. Policies and procedures are followed 100% of the time or an exception is escalated to the Board of Directors to review the real need for the policy.
Redesigning the Facility: A new facility, designed to be a financial mall, was constructed. The new headquarters is 38,000 square feet and serves municipalities, educational associations, teachers, retirees, and other organizations.
Developing a Sales-oriented Culture: A sales-oriented culture that promoted service, value, and convenience for all members was created. A “one-stop shopping” customer approach merged the Member Service and Loan Departments and developed employees who could handle member needs on any credit union product.
Redesigning Core Processes: As a result of the improved processes, more than a half million dollars of savings was realized within one year. Loan approval, for example, was reduced from 300 steps in 1.5 days to 30 steps in 20 minutes.
Training and Developing Employees for the New Culture: The credit union is now fully staffed with competent, sales-oriented employees and turnover is almost nonexistent. The HR Manager now conducts regular salary surveys to ensure competitiveness with other financial institutions and organizations in the demographic area.

Bottom-line Results
In less time than planned, the credit union showed a 19.2% increase in membership (to 31,000) and a 77.8% increase in assets (to $160 million). In addition, two new products launched within a nine-month period generated sales of more than $10 million.

The changes have been so significant and well received that the CEO regularly receives calls for advice from other credit union executives. Ongoing organizational assessments prove that cultural success was achieved.

About the CPT: Sally Lollie, certified in 2003, is a partner with Michigan-based IRI Solutions, Consultants to Management. She may be reached at LOLLISA@irisolutions.com.

To submit a CPT success story, contact Brian Desautels at briandes@verizon.net.

Brian Desautels, CPT, is a past ISPI Board Director and Society Treasurer, 2000 ISPI Conference Chair, and co-founder of the Seattle chapter of ISPI. He is a former Sr. HR Manager for Microsoft Corporation and is currently the Managing Partner of JB₂D Performance, a Seattle-based consulting firm which applies performance technology strategies to human resource management.

It’s the Experience That Counts

Chip Bell, the keynote presenter at ISPI’s 43^rd Annual International Performance Improvement Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, says that good promotion may get people into a store, but it is the service experience that keeps them coming back. Long-term customer loyalty comes from a positive relationship between the customer and the company.

Chip came to this conclusion after years of working with companies that really cared about their customers. These were companies that were already recognized for service excellence, but wanted to go further. They were willing to try out new ideas to increase customer loyalty and retention. What emerged from that work was something Chip calls “Magnetic Service”—service that not only attracts customers, but also holds on to them. The key to Magnetic Service is establishing a partnership with customers, based on mutual respect.

But partnering with customers doesn’t work well unless there is a spirit of partnership within the company as well. People need to see their fellow workers in other departments not as internal customers but as service partners working collaboratively for the benefit of their company and their external customers.

In his new book, Magnetic Service, Chip talks about the need for partnering relationships between departments as a foundation for outstanding customer retention. He cites a number of examples of customer complaints about bad service leading to “blame festivals” with various departments blaming others for not doing their job well.

Often, such internal squabbles reflect power or functional loyalty issues. But who has got the power is not a relevant concept in partnerships. Power is always shared. Great service experiences occur when the people in the company focus on ensuring customer value by collaborating instead of competing.

Chip stresses the need for openness in partnering. He cites an example of a CEO asking both sales and operations, “How much time elapses between when your gut tells you there’s tension in the relationship and when your partner hears you talk about that tension?” When both divisions agreed to work toward a zero time lapse, hidden assumptions were quickly clarified and innuendos were replaced by frank and open exchanges.

Chip closes with the observation that partnerships are not based on teamwork but are alliances between independent teams, working in collaboration to better understand and meet customer needs.

To here more of Chip’s insights into partnering, register today. See you in Vancouver!

I-Spy: Websites of Interest
by Todd Packer

For many people, this is a time of year to seek guidance and find renewal. Perhaps this is a reason that January has been designated National Mentoring Month. As HPT professionals, we grow through the ongoing connection, support, and inspiration from our colleagues within, and beyond, ISPI. This month, we seek some sites to help with mentoring. Our theme is To Each To Teach. Just in time to honor your doors, thresholds, and bridges.

Quick recap: Every month, three sites, one theme. While far from comprehensive, hopefully these sites will spark readers to look further and expand views about HPT. Please keep in mind that any listing is for informational purposes only and does not indicate an endorsement either by the International Society for Performance Improvement or me.

These are the general categories I use for the sites featured:

E-Klatch: Links to professional associations, research, and resources that can help refine and expand our views of HPT through connections with other professionals and current trends
HPT@work: Links to job listings, career development, volunteer opportunities, and other resources for applying your individual skills
I-Candy: Links to sites that are thought provoking, enjoyable, and refreshing to help manage the stresses and identify new ideas for HPT

E-Klatch
Who Mentors Whom? To learn about a variety of resources on mentoring and peer guidance, lead yourself over to the comprehensive website of Peer Resources. A Canada-based non-profit, Peer Resources provides training, resources, and consultation “to persons who wish to establish or strengthen peer helping, peer support, peer mediation, peer referral, peer education, peer coaching, and mentor programs in schools, universities, communities, and corporations.” You can access a list of recommended books and videos on mentoring, learn about the National Peer Trainer Certification, and identify other like-minded associations. The section on Mentoring provides links to book reviews, tools, conferences, and more.

HPT@work
Who Mentored You? So asks the website of National Mentoring Month, a site of the Harvard School of Public Health Center for Health Communication. This website contains celebrity reflections on their mentors, including Ray Charles, Gloria Estefan, Colin Powell, and Tom Brokaw. The site also offers you the opportunity to submit a story to thank your mentor. So, mark the calendar for January 25, 2005, as Thank Your Mentor Day, and find a way to honor the mentors in your life.

I-Candy
Who’s Mentor? Well, at the very least, this loyal friend of Odysseus in Homer’s Odyssey is not alone, as we see at this website of eponyms from the “Diversions” section of the online collection of tales and other literary writings from Scorpio Tales. According to the site, “An eponym is a word derived from the name of a real, fictional, mythical, or spurious character or person. Most eponyms originate from a person’s surname.” (Any ISPI eponyms come to mind?) Here we learn that January comes from “Janus, Roman god of doors, thresholds, and bridges.” Other pleasant diversions include expressions and sayings, tongue twisters, phobias, and other explorations into the unusual quirks of the English language. This site serves as an interesting mentor on unique words and language expression, for all of us free of Sophophobia (Fear of learning) and Sesquippedaliophobia (Fear of long words).

I am eternally grateful to the many wise and wonderful people in ISPI who have taken the time over the years to offer their advice, insights, wisdom, and humor to help me develop as a professional. So, to all of my mentors, thank you. See you next month!

When he is not Internet trawling for ISPI, Todd Packer can be found improving business, non-profit, and individual performance through research, training, and innovation coaching as Principal Consultant of Todd Packer and Associates based in Shaker Heights, Ohio. He may be reached at tp@toddpacker.com.

Improving Naval Excellence One CPT at a Time
by Tamara Sonmez, Human Performance Center Public Affairs Office

In accordance with the Navy’s Revolution in Training’s focus of aligning military qualifications and civilian certifications, a third of the Navy’s Human Performance Center’s (HPC) employees have now achieved designations as Certified Performance Technologists (CPT).

An important building block in achieving the vision of the HPC is the development of the best-qualified human performance professionals. This has become a driving factor in the HPC endorsing the International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI)/American Society of Training Development (ASTD) CPT program.

A CPT is a human performance practitioner who has proven his or her ability to systematically identify opportunities to improve organizational and individual performance. ISPI developed the CPT designation, along with the Standards of Performance Technology, in response to demands in the private and public sectors for specific criteria to distinguish capable practitioners in the Human Performance Technology (HPT) field.

The mission of the HPC, which was established in 2003, is to address U.S. Navy performance deficiencies by systematically analyzing and diagnosing the entire “performance system.” Human performance practitioners evaluate specific tasks, the individuals involved, the processes and policies governing the activity, as well as the overarching environment and organization, to identify and remove the barriers to optimum performance. Consequently, the focus of the HPC is on performance, not the performer.

According to Dr. Roger Chevalier, CPT, ISPI director of certification, the HPC currently has 33 proficient and qualified CPTs.

“This vast effort and press toward certification has resulted in HPC having the largest concentration of CPTs in the industry,” said Chevalier. “The next largest in the industry is in the 12 to 15 range.”

In order to attain the certification, applicants must have at least three years of practical work experience in the performance improvement field and demonstrated use of the 10 Standards of Performance Technology.

According to ISPI, these standards are based on the following four principles: Focusing on worthy results (address problems clients care about); Considering the larger context (like the client’s constraints and marketplace reality); Adding value (the outcomes are worthwhile); and Collaboration (work as part of a team and bring in appropriate specialists). An applicant’s documented work is attested by clients and supervisors, and reviewed by ISPI’s panel of experts.

In addition, all applicants must commit to ISPI’s Code of Ethics, promoting ethical practice in the profession while guiding the performance improvement process through commitment to value, validated practices, collaboration, improving proficiency, integrity, and confidentiality.

HPC clients, as well as the individual practitioners, benefit from this certification. Clients benefit from having use of highly competent professionals who can immediately and positively impact their organizations, while the performance technologists have the professional satisfaction of being part of an interactive, exclusive group of professionals with a shared interest in continuous improvement and growth in the performance improvement field.

Dr. Burton F. Krain, the HPC detachment manager at Naval Service Training Command, feels that his certification gives him additional exposure and access to a wide range of individuals and organizations that share the common goal of systemic and systematic identification of performance related issues.

“Gaining my CPT certification has meant a greater degree of interaction with professionals in the private and public sector that deal with similar performance problems,” said Krain. “Having access to fellow professionals has resulted in the sharing of ‘best practices,’ tools, and techniques to effectively engage in problem identification and intervention. Those partnerships have saved our HP Det. time and improved our efficiency. The result is greater productivity for the Navy.”

HPC human performance technologists are not just claiming to be performance improvement professionals. Instead, they are proving it through their certification and demonstrating it through their work.

“Having the CPT designation from ISPI gives me an initial credibility with a customer,” said Karen McBee, CPT and HPC Standards and Methodology department head. “It tells the customer that I not only know the principles of Human Performance Improvement, but also that I am experienced in applying them. This helps me get my foot in the door. Oftentimes, that’s all I need as an HPT to start the performance improvement ball rolling.”

For more information on HPC, visit www.hpc.navy.mil.

How Well Do You Know the 43rd Annual Conference?
by Chris Nelson,CPT, ISPI 2005 Conference Committee Chair

Since the 2005 conference committee first met to outline the plan for ISPI’s 43^rd Annual International Performance Improvement Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, April 10-15, 2005, over 14 months ago, many members have asked me “what’s going to be new and exciting about Vancouver?” Well, in addition to Vancouver being an incredible destination with culture, art, science, and outdoor activities galore, the committee has pulled together a program that is sure to provide something valuable for all. This year’s theme, “Process, Practice, & Productivity” focuses us on the HPT process and practices that contribute to individual and organizational productivity and has attracted world-class presentations and thought leaders from countries around the globe.

In addition to a program filled with innovative and informative presentations, the conference has two sub-themes, networking and emphasizing the first “I” in ISPI. From the opening event focused on “making connections” and the traditional “Cracker Barrel,” to the “International Room” and “ISPI Communities” gathering spaces, this year’s conference has been designed to facilitate networking across geographies and disciplines. Everyone attending receives a Conference Passport that serves as a guide for navigating and capitalizing on four information-packed days filled with opportunities to make valuable connections with friends and colleagues from around the globe.

At the center of this year’s conference is a new networking event on Thursday evening, Explore Canada’s West Coast. Included in the cost of the conference is this evening of food, drink, and camaraderie during which we will enter a surreal world through fresh evergreen trees surrounded by the aroma of a British Columbia Rainforest. You will be able to make your way into the rainforest, wander into Okanagan Wine Country, or visit Little Italy for delectable pasta. If it’s sushi you’re craving, plan to spend time in the Pan Asian Square. Whatever path you follow on your journey, you are assured to experience an electric ambiance and a night filled with networking opportunities as you mingle with colleagues from around the globe.

So what are you waiting for? Click here to learn more about our 43^rd Annual Conference in Vancouver and register today!

As announced in the December 2004 issue of PerformanceXpress, the following individuals were selected by the Nominations Committee to run for the 2005-2007 ISPI Board of Directors.

Click here to read the Candidate Statements and learn more about their skills, qualifications, and goals for the Society.

Don’t forget that ISPI is holding the election electronically, and active members will vote online. Since your link to the “voting booth” will be sent via email from Campus Vote in mid-January, it is important that ISPI has your most current email address on file. To review your record, visit www.ispi.org and click on My ISPI to login. Or, you may call us at 301.587.8570.

If you are knowledgeable in OD and have lots of energy and connections, ISPI wants you to be the volunteer Director of the Organizational Design/Alignment Community. For further details or to express interest, please contact Jeanne Farrington at jeanne@jfarrington.com.

According to “The Objectives and Criteria for Accreditation of Training in the Nuclear Power Industry,” National Academy for Nuclear Training, March 2002 ASAD 02-001, training is used as a strategic tool to provide highly skilled and knowledgeable personnel for safe, reliable operations and to support performance improvement.

This is why the International Society for Performance Improvement developed a Principles & Practices of Performance Improvement Institute focusing on Performance-Based Solutions for the Nuclear Industry. During the three-day program, attendees learn to:

This program will be held February 7-9, 2005, at the Sheraton Midtown Atlanta Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia. Click here for further information, or to register.

ISPI is looking for Human Performance Technology (HPT) articles (approximately 500 words and not previously published) for PerformanceXpress that bridge the gap from research to practice (please, no product or service promotion is permitted). Below are a few examples of the article formats that can be used:

In addition to the article, please include a short bio (2-3 lines) and a contact email address. All submissions should be sent to april@ispi.org. Each article will be reviewed by one of ISPI’s on-staff HPT experts, and the author will be contacted if it is accepted for publication. If you have any further questions, please contact april@ispi.org.

PerformanceXpress is an ISPI member benefit designed to build community, stimulate discussion, and keep you informed of the Society’s activities and events. This newsletter is published monthly and will be emailed to you at the beginning of each month.

If you have any questions or comments, please contact April Davis, ISPI’s Senior Director of Publications, at april@ispi.org.

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PerformanceXpress

Related Readings Daniels, W.R. & Mathers, J.G. (1997). Change-ABLE organization: Key management practices for speed and flexibility. Mill Valley, CA: ACT Publishing.

The Winners The judges report a two-way tie for first place. (As always, the judges’ decision is final.) The winning entries are:

Four-Word Definitions

Related Readings
Daniels, W.R. & Mathers, J.G. (1997). Change-ABLE organization: Key management practices for speed and flexibility. Mill Valley, CA: ACT Publishing.

The Winners
The judges report a two-way tie for first place. (As always, the judges’ decision is final.) The winning entries are: