Sunny Kobe-Cook is our keynote at our spectacular holiday event, celebrating NWCCP's two year anniversary!

Award-winning entrepreneur, Sleep Country USA founder and Northwest icon shares inexpensive, practical tips to build your business through your staff.  Learn what REALLY motivates employees - simple techniques you can use today to improve productivity, customer service and reduce costly turnover!  These same practices helped her business become the first retailer ever voted “Best Place to Work” in Washington.

Her practical, proven, inexpensive techniques work on paid staff, volunteers – even those not on YOUR payroll.  If you could benefit from improved relationships with your staff, committee members and vendors – don’t miss Sunny’s words of wisdom!  Her high-energy style will revitalize you – her ideas will inspire you!
 

January 19th 2005 (top)

February 16th 2005 (top)

Exceeding Customer Expectations - Brad Worthley

Call Centers and Help Desks can no longer allow mediocrity in their workplace.  The goal of each frontline employee should be to “exceed” each customer’s expectations and create a great experience for them.  What does that call sound like from the customer’s perspective?  Brad will entertain you with great stories and hilarious examples of businesses that found ways to wow the customer.  You will walk away with actionable information with which to make immediate changes.  Targeted to anyone, at any level, engaged in customer service delivery.

Benefits From This Seminar Will Include:

• Increased employee performance

• Increased employee retention

• Increased customer retention

• Increased sales

• Increased profits

Key Presentation Points: Creating an emotional attachment; Perception is the customer’s reality; How do people judge us; Becoming an advocate; Teamwork; Attitude/aptitude; Obstacles to listening; Listening statements; Customer behaviors; Difficult customers; Sincerity; Customer peeves; Stress.

Meet Brad:

Brad Worthley is an accomplished business consultant with over 30 years of business management experience. He is also an internationally acclaimed leadership and customer service expert who has trained hundreds of thousands of people in a wide range of industries throughout the world.  Brad started his business career at the age of 20 by opening his first successful business, and has since created and sold five other successful businesses in the fields of retail, wholesale, marketing, distribution and consulting.  Brad teaches leading corporations how to consistently build and retain customer loyalty, by changing their cultures and not just their people.  His client list contains small and medium size companies, up to some of the largest corporations in the world.  For more information and to sign up for his powerful (free) newsletter, see www.bradworthley.com.

March 20th 2005 (top)
The Real Challenges and Successes of Implementing ITIL: a Port of Seattle Perspective
Speaker: Gene Trent

The Port of Seattle IT organization, approximately 75 people strong, supports both the seaport and airport. Gene Trent, the Senior Manager of IT Service Management, has been leading the charge in an ITIL Implementation Project for the past 12 months. Take a walk in his shoes as he describes the challenges and successes thus far. It’s been a significant investment of time, resources, and people to implement sustainable change in an organization of this size. They’ve had to wrestle with operational obstacles, and develop workable solutions along the way. Although just one year into the effort, they do see that the results and benefits are far-reaching, and are making a real difference. There have been positive gains in how the Help Desk operates, and how other divisions interact with the Help Desk, for example. This has resulted in measurable improvements in the customer experience.

This session will be a great learning experience for anyone interested in implementing ITIL best practices. Gene will share lessons learned, facilitate a discussion and answer any questions you might have based on their experiences in the following areas:

• Rebuilding An Organization While Maintaining Daily Operations

• Training Requirements

• Setting And Managing Expectations

• Improving The Customer Experience of the IT Organization

April 20th 2005 (top)
The Technology Behind the Business

Speaker: Ivy Meadors

Location: Sea-Tac Airport

Sponsor: Symon Communications

Click for slides

During the next decade, computing and networks will transition us toward entirely new ways to communicate, do business, organize, think, live, and more. Companies must react more quickly to customer needs and respond more completely to changing needs. To gain the competitive advantage, manage down resources, and keep jobs on the home-shore, it is crucial to use advanced technological solutions. These solutions will provide advanced eService and Support, enhanced telephony services, better customer relationship management, and exemplary communication avenues.

In this interactive session, Ivy’s delivery of a potpourri of technology solutions will excite you to embrace the more advanced technologies as a means to empower the service and support team to provide the best customer experience.

This session will:

• Identify key technological solutions for service and support
• Get you exposed to and excited about Blogging
• Discuss embracing VoIP and review the pros and cons
• Expose you to SIP phones, phones that are beginning to replace some cell phones
• Stimulate ideas on using notification technologies
• Review CRM and CRM Light
• Expose you to Interactive Brochures
• Unlock ideas for using Online Assessments
• Stimulate conversations on anything else technology related that you want to discuss

If we hope to reduce the number of jobs going offshore, nearshore, or ending up on no-shore, its time to embrace the newer technology solutions and put them in place soon. We can do it better and for low cost right here on the home-shore. The technology behind the business is the most critical component to ensure corporate success.

Meet Ivy:

Referred to as the "Female Tom Peters"; internationally renowned, award winning, speaker-consultant, Ivy Meadors, with over 28 years of experience, is a seasoned expert specializing in business, customer service and technical support. She is recognized as one of the help desk and call center industry's most respected leaders.

As a speaker, Ivy is known for her engaging, spontaneous style, delivering forward thinking, unconventional ideas. She got her roots in the industry during her tenure at U S West Communications and IBM. When it comes to using Customer Relationship Management methodologies to foster business success, combining technology, industry best practices and procedures, with highly motivated team members, she’s one of the top experts who can contribute at all levels.

Ivy is CEO and founder of High Tech High Touch Solutions, Inc.™, a full-service, vendor-neutral, consulting firm specializing in service and support of the enterprise from a comprehensive viewpoint. Together with her team, she has provided innovative solutions with extraordinary results to hundreds of Fortune 1000 companies and others throughout the world.

In the state of Washington, we proudly share that 7 of the 10 largest, and most profitable, companies have been our customers as well as many, many others!

She is personally driven with a desire to “pay it forward”, passing her knowledge on to others, giving back for all that she has received from so many others.  Being the co-founder and President of the 2 ½ year old NWCCP group and the President of HDNW for 9 of its 14 years in operation, are two of the ways she “pays it forward”.

For more information visit www.hthts.com

May 18th 2005 (top)
 

Topic: Peregrine Help Desk Case Study

Speaker: Kelly Hoopes

Meeting location: Safeco in Redmond

Sponsor: Lucent Technologies
 

Click for slides

June 15th, 2005 (top)

Topics: Member Short by John Regan from Puget Sound Blood Center and facilitated networking discussions

Facilitator: Mary Kay Wegner

Location: Swedish in Seattle

Sponsor: CA

Facilitated networking session NWCCP/HDNW members are invited to network with one another on challenges in their own environments. Your Northwest Call Center and Help Desk Northwest board will facilitate this lively discussion. The time is entirely devoted to the members. Please bring examples of a specific Help Desk or Call Center challenge you’d like to explore with others or a success story you’d like to share. We will devote the entire meeting to networking time. Here’s your chance to talk, share, and learn from one another without interruption! The following ideas are provided to assist you in preparing your thoughts in advance:

What unique changes/challenges are you experiencing at this time and what impact is that having on employee performance? Are employees fighting or embracing change, and why? What tools or strategies do you use to identify areas in need of adjustment/change? How do you keep standards high when employees are being asked to do more with less? How do you help supervisors, in particular, to maintain the company course without losing their sanity or energy in the process? What is your favorite source for ideas, tools or inspiration to deal more effectively with change management? What success or challenges have you had, specifically, when implementing new technologies into call center or help desk operations?

July 20th 2005 (top)
 

Topic: Training and Developing IT Staff

Speaker: Troy Robason

Sponsor: CA

Whether you are an IT Manager or practitioner, you recognize that the demands to stay on top of emerging technologies, processes and increasing client expectations have never been tougher. At the same time, the opportunities for development and training have never been more flexible – and confusing. Troy Robason will help to cut through the uncertainty, bringing years of experience developing and implementing training programs across many levels of the IT organization.

A colossal “disconnect” occurs, for example, when training is neglected or, worse, used as a band-aid to fix all that is challenging an individual or team. If you don’t have a plan, and if you don’t know how to capitalize on the learning that is occurring all the time, through formal and informal venues, your employees will flounder. And when that fantastic class or conference is identified, how in the world do you validate that real learning occurred, or that training efforts are hitting the mark? Your employees are counting on you to map out their career path; you’re just trying to get them from point A to point B.

Creating a sustainable training and development program is one of many hallmarks of an effective Help Desk team. In this lively session, Troy will share insights and techniques he has employed to address the real issues you may be facing as well. In particular, you will:

• Understand how people learn and how that translates to meaningful change

• Learn how to develop targeted training plans for individuals, the team and the organization

• Enhance your ability to identify training that fulfills both tactical and strategic needs

• Build in tools and processes that validate learning along the way

• Coach your employees to accept responsibility for their own development and career advancement by providing them the tools and know-how to get there

Meet Your Presenter:

Troy Robason, HP OpenView Solutions Architect and Principal, Robason Consulting, has had a varied career spanning almost 20 years. Troy’s strength in computing products and services has been gained through various roles, from data center operations to systems integration to solution architect. Throughout this journey, he’s provided leadership and maintained the focus of driving out solutions in a mature, process-driven manner; integrating teams to work together beyond their traditional boundaries.

Whether it was developing operational training procedures in the Department of Defense world; building a Code of Conduct for Boeing employees; leading the technical training and documentation efforts as well as on-the-job training programs for network administrators; developing presentation and training programs for industry events; or educating customers on technical specifications, Troy has brought his own ability to educate to the fore. His “service through education” mantra has made a significant difference in the industries he has supported.
 

August 17th 2005 (top)
 

Topic: Four Corners Mastermind Sessions

Speakers Facilitating each "Corner"

Location: Bellevue Library

Sponsor: Symon Communications

1. Mike Stone from Western Wireless on Six Sigma

2. Chriss Cardwell from Watermark on Developing High Performance Teams

3. Ivy Meadors from High Tech High Touch Solutions on Technology

4. Ron Hanson from WAMU on Metrics

September 21st 2005 (top)
 

ACCE Conference and Expo
 

October 19th 2005 (top)
 

Topic: Change for Good

Speaker: Scott Sulak

Host: Group Health, Tukwila

Sponsor: Pace Staffing

As corporate profits shrink and competition heats up, your staff is working harder just to keep up. They are stressed out; many are fatigued or have trouble sleeping at night. They want change...but don't know how. The secret to unlocking their true potential lies within their subconscious mind.

Seattle Talk-Radio Host Scott Sulak is the author of ''Get Your Ship Together,'' and a nationally renowned expert in the field of personal change. Learn some strategies and techniques on how you can help yourself and your employees feel better and be more productive. A live demonstration on relaxation techniques will be included!

In this seminar, you will learn :

• How the ''quality-of-life'' affects the quality of work
• How you can de-stress the workplace and your staff
• Why more than 40% of your workforce has trouble sleeping at night
• The 7 steps you can take immediately to help your staff change-for-good

Meet the Speaker, Scott Sulak:

A recognized leading expert, specializing in behavior modification, Scott Sulak is a Nationally Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist and is the author of the popular personal change CD series "Get Your Ship Together- Be the Captain of Your Subconscious Mind." He hosts his own Seattle Radio Talk Show and has gained national recognition for his ability to understand the inner workings of the subconscious mind. Scott has been active in human potential and personal development for more than 20 years. His celebrated approach has facilitated change in thousands seeking relief from old habits and behavioral patterns. His presentations are exciting and fun!
 

November 16th 2005 (top)
 

Topic: REI Case Study

Speaker: Dave Stockwell

Host: Swedish Medical Center in Seattle

Sponsor: Peregrine

Session Description:
Recreational Equipment Case Study REI has been a cornerstone of the Northwest’s retail community since 1938. In 1983, they formed their first computer help desk. From the start it was an exciting task to provide the customer service REI is famous for as the company continually invested in some of the newest technologies available. Currently implementing ITIL’s Incident, Change and Problem management, creating an ITIL compliant Service desk, installing an automated password reset tool and fully upgrading the entire corporation to Windows XP/Server2003 the REI Help Desk provides the single contact for all 7000 employees.

Join Dave Stockwell, REI’s Help Desk manager, as he relates the why’s and how’s that allow his staff of 10 to meet his organizations needs as the nation’s largest retail cooperative wraps up it’s 67th year serving its members.
 

December 14th 2005 - "3 Year Anniversary of NWCCP" (top)

Topic: Secrets of Influence

Speaker: Chris Widener

Host: Safeco in Redmond

Sponsor: NICE

What does it take to be a leader today? What characteristics are shared by top leaders who successfully lead great teams and organizations? Chris Widener will share with you the top 12 Characteristics of Successful Leaders in his 90 minute session.

• How to attract followers who want to follow you
• How to set and achieve goals as a leader
• The key to connecting with people and developing positive relationships
• Laying a foundation of integrity
• Developing an attitude of optimism on your team
• Making and carrying out hard decisions
• The importance of priorities and learning to say "no"
• Basic time management principles for effective leadership And much more, all with an emphasis on practical, action-oriented steps you can begin TODAY.

Meet the Speaker, Chris Widener:

Chris Widener receives rave reviews from his attendees and is endorsed by personal development legends such as Jim Rohn, Denis Waitley and Brian Tracy! He demonstrates a style that is engaging and versatile while providing life-changing principles of leadership, motivation and success.

• His articles appear monthly in close to 100 publications and the Chris Widener E-zine has subscribers in 105 countries, making it one of the world’s most widely distributed newsletters on success and leadership.

• He has shared the stage with top political figures, nationally known television news anchors, best-selling authors and professional athletes.

• Chris has written 350 articles and 5 books and has produced close to 30 audio programs on leadership and motivation. His articles appear monthly in close to 100 publications.

His new book, “The Power of Influence” is just about to be released. See other great resources and information about Chris at www.madeforsuccess.com

January 18th 2006 (top)

Topic: “Reduce Stress & Increase Productivity: Bring Balance to Your Life”

Speaker: Brad Worthley

Host: Swedish Medical Center

Sponsor: Peregrine

Improving work performance and employee morale comes with finding balance in your personal and professional life. You cannot help others if you are not able to take care of yourself. Learn what the 12 areas of your life are and how to keep them in balance. Learn how to coach your employees to help them enjoy their job and life more.

Benefits from this seminar will include:

• Create more time in your day
• Reduce chaos in your life
• Reduce stress
• Increase performance
• Wake up happier each day

Key Presentation Points: Reduce Chaos, Reduce Stress, Motivation to Change, Prioritize Yourself, 12 Areas to Balance, Why we get out of Balance, Seeing the Big Picture, Celebrate the Small Victories.

Meet the Speaker, Brad Worthley:

Brad Worthley is an accomplished business consultant with over 30 years of business management experience. He is also an internationally acclaimed leadership and customer service expert who has trained hundreds of thousands of people in a wide range of industries throughout the world. 

Brad started his business career at the age of 20 by opening his first successful business, and has since created and sold five other successful businesses in the fields of retail, wholesale, marketing, distribution and consulting.  Brad teaches leading corporations how to consistently build and retain customer loyalty, by changing their cultures and not just their people.  His client list contains small and medium size companies, up to some of the largest corporations in the world. 

For more information and to sign up for his powerful (free) newsletter, see www.bradworthley.com.

February 15th,2006 (top)

Topic: “VoIP Goes Into Production at Three Local Companies”

Speaker: Ivy Meadors moderates a panel of three VoIP implementors

Host: Starbucks

Sponsor: Interactive Intelligence

Your Peers Share Their First-hand Experience Implementing and Releasing a VoIP system into Production.

ChemPoint, Seattle Times, and Swedish Medical Center will be represented on the panel. This highly-interactive discussion will be moderated by Ivy Meadors, "facilitator extraordinaire".

The move to VoIP brings many challenges. Our panelists will be sharing their real-world experience implementing a VoIP solution. We will start out with each panelist describing their individual environments and how they are using VoIP. They will share their experiences, describe what worked, what didn't work, and openly and honestly answer any questions you have about their implementations.

Discussions will address considerations like:

• How is the system being used at each company?

• What works and what doesn't?

• What considerations were made in the decision to move to a VoIP solution?

• What would you have done differently if done again?

• What were some of the biggest challenges faced?

• How is voice quality? Is it consistently of good quality?

• Why is it (apparently, or is it?) consistently under estimated how much bandwidth is needed?

• How will VoIP affect your business?

• Have you realized a cost savings yet?

• What technical considerations should be made?

• Infrastructure considerations are key. What should you be aware of?

Each panelist uses a different vendor's system. The vendors for each product will be in the room and available to answer technical questions should the panelists need their assistance.

The discussion is going to answer many of your questions and concerns and likely generate many others. We encourage you to invite your telecom department to attend our meeting. We will get as technical as you like, discuss processes, return on investment, and anything else you bring up for discussion.

About our speakers:

Stephen J. Kruse
Telecom Engineer
Swedish Medical Center

Steve came to Swedish approximately 16 months ago. His tenure started in the very roots of the VoIP implementation. His prior history as a field technician with NextiraOne and an Electronics technician with the California Department of Corrections give him over 11 years of Nortel PBX experience in various telephony environments. Having also spent four years with a small Internet Service Provider in San Diego, his knowledge of networking and voice systems enabled him to quickly move forward with the VoIP implementation at Swedish.

Steve has been involved with both electronics and computer systems since high-school. After graduation, he entered service in the United States Air Force as a Secure Digital Communications Specialist. His ten year service also included maintenance on both communication and computer systems. In all, Steve has worked in some capacity with communication systems for nearly 24 years.

Leif Haslund
Sr. Telecom System Analyst
Seattle Times

Leif has been with the Seattle Times since Aug of 2005. Prior to that he was working for Ericsson USA on a project for Sprint. He was the Prime Integrator Technical Lead on an IP project. The job was to design, implement and test SIP from an Avaya S8700 system to a Sprint PSC handset with full functionality of a PBX desk set. Leif has been in the Telecom industry since 1991 and has worked for Nordstrom, State of Montana, Western Wireless, and Expedia in that time. He is certified on Avaya, Nortel and Cisco systems and has focused on VoIP and converged systems since 1997.

Peter Grilley
Sr. Systems Administrator
ChemPoint.com

Peter started his career in accounting conducting financial and computer audits of telephone carriers. He used technology to increase the efficiency of the audits and eventually switched to a full time technology career. He is currently employed as the Senior Systems Administrator for ChemPoint.com. Since the startup of ChemPoint in 2000, Peter has had primary responsibility for the phone system as the company grew from 25 employees to nearly 250 in two sites. The telephony has been VoIP/SIP based since 2003. Peter has spoken several times about the benefits and experiences of upgrading to and maintaining a VoIP/SIP environment and is always excited about sharing the information with others.

March 15th,2006 (top)

TOPIC: "The ITIL Experience"

SPEAKER: Greg Charles, Ph.D

HOST: Swedish Medical Center (click for directions)

SPONSOR: iConclude

The ITIL Experience: What is ITIL, How Does this Methodology Align Service with the Business Needs. How Does this Thing Called ITIL Work?

Using the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL), many companies, including some of the largest and smallest in the world, are finding it an easier way to successfully achieve their goals. ITIL best practices serve as an example that can guide organizations to help reduce business risks, improve the ability to deliver expected levels of service and support, and tighten the alignment of IT to the business.

Come hear and discuss how organizations, public and private, large and small, are implementing ITIL. Hear about the benefits and challenges these organizations are experiencing and what implications it has for your business, as well as key issues surrounding the integration and utilization of ITIL processes. Local companies will be sharing their "real" experiences presenting along with Greg Charles, our speaker and certified ITIL master.

Meet the Speaker

Greg Charles, Ph.D., is a Principal Consultant in CA’s Technical Services organization. Since joining CA in 1998, he has continually been focused on meeting clients' business challenges through CA's Enterprise Management solutions on both distributed and mainframe platforms.

Currently, he leads both CA’s ITIL and CA’s Sarbanes-Oxley practices for the Western United States. Prior to CA, Greg held various positions within Fortune 500 companies, including TRW, implementing and managing help desk applications for both mainframe and distributed applications.

Greg has been an IT professional since 1981, and holds a Ph.D. in Business Ethics, attained after completing his undergraduate studies in Information Technology.

April 19th,2006 (top)

TOPIC: "Developing Young Leaders"

SPEAKER: Ivy Meadors presents on topic and moderates a panel of young leaders

HOST: Starbucks (click for directions)

SPONSOR: SafeHarbor

Do you have employees or teenagers ranging in age from twelve to twenty-five who are aspiring leaders? The Millennials, commonly known as "Generation Y", are the next most likely leaders of our corporations and government agencies. It is important to know how to effectively help prepare and develop these young minds for their future potential.

At the April 19th meeting we will have six panelists ranging in age from sixteen to twenty-four on stage along with Ivy Meadors on the subject of developing young leaders. This is a rare opportunity to hear what is in the minds of six young people in an open forum to explore what it takes to develop young leaders from the Millennial Generation. We will explore mentoring, behavioral styles of the different generations, communication considerations, and leadership techniques that are the most effective for the Millennials. You will hear specifics and statistics about the different Generations and receive many resources. We will encourage audience participation for a highly interactive, thought-provoking and stimulating discussion.

Our Panelists include Corissa Meadors (16) student, Kevin Osborne (17) student, Annie Reimer (20) college student, Jennifer Jeffery (21) employed at Nintendo, Leona Higashi (21) employed at Starbucks, Kristiana Jimenez (24) youngest call center manager at Costco.

About our Moderator:
Ivy Meadors is CEO and founder of High Tech High Touch Solutions, Inc., a trade show producer and consulting firm specializing in help desks and call centers.

Award winning, speaker-consultant, Ivy Meadors, has over 29 years of experience in call centers and help desks. She is considered one of the industry’s most respected leaders and is one of the top 5 most recognized names in the Help Desk industry. She got her roots in the industry during her tenure at U S West Communications and IBM.

The owner and producer of both the Help Desk Professionals Conference and the Government Customer Support Conference, Ivy is the sole woman tradeshow / events company owner in our industry. Ivy is also co-founder and President of the Northwest Call Center Professionals Association and President of the Help Desk Northwest User Group.

Ivy publishes the online newsletter, eSharings, has been published in the top industry magazines and newsletters, wrote a monthly column for Customer Interface Magazine - one of the top call center magazines in the industry, received the Service News Award for being one of the 25 most influential people in the service and support industry, and received the honor of being one of the Top 10 Legends in the Help Desk Industry.

May 17th,2006 (top)

TOPIC: "Six Sigma in the Contact Center"

SPEAKER: Mike Stone

SPONSOR: HP

HOST: CA

What is Six Sigma? Six Sigma is a disciplined, data-driven approach and methodology for eliminating defects (driving towards six standard deviations between the mean and the nearest specification limit) in any process -- from manufacturing to transactional and from product to service.  It was pioneered by Motorola in the mid-1980s. It has since spread to many other manufacturing companies, including GE, Honeywell and Microsoft. However, it can be applied wherever the control of variation is desired. In recent years, it has begun to branch out into the service industry.

You can deliver a variety of benefits to your organization through the implementation of six sigma: reducing costs, increasing revenues, improving process speed, raising quality levels, enhancing the employee experience and deepening customer relationships.

In this session, Mike will provide an introduction to Six Sigma using a case study to make it relevant.  Mike will also share some Six Sigma resources.

Meet the Speaker

Mike Stone studied and used Six Sigma while at GE Capital in 1998 and 1999.  In addition to Mike's 20+ years in IT, he managed a project management group in T-Mobile's Customer Service department in 2002 and 2003 where his team implemented call center improvements.  Mike recently joined Expedia, Inc. as Director of Project Management for Operational Excellence, where Six Sigma projects in Expedia’s contact centers are part of the project mix. 

 leader, Ivy is known for her engaging, thought provoking, spontaneous style, delivering forward thinking, and unconventional ideas. She carries the title of Professional Speaker as recognized by the National Speakers Association. Ivy’s presentations are rich with content and alive with humor and real-life examples. You may not always agree with her position but she will certainly challenge you to think of things from a different view-point as she challenges the norm and promotes the exceptional.

June 21st,2006 (top)

TOPIC: "Roundtables on loads of different topics"

SPEAKERS: TBA

SPONSOR: SafeHarbor

HOST: City of Seattle

July 19th,2006 (top)

TOPIC: Case Study - Knowledge Management at WaMu

SPEAKER: Jerry Rice

SPONSOR: Robert Half International

HOST: Swedish Medical Center

August 16th, 2006 (top)

TOPIC: Score-carding

SPEAKER: Debbie Crandall, CEO of Parker Services

HOST: Swedish Medical Center

Why do people often work harder at sports and athletic endeavors than they do at their jobs? Because in sports a participant has constant feedback on how he or she is doing. The score is known and the effort necessary to win is established. In work, feedback is often unreliable, inconsistent or nonexistent. The participant seldom knows the score or what it takes to win.

Setting goals and evaluating employees can be the most frustrating aspects of a manager’s job. Typically, upper management decides on goals and employees are kept in the dark as to why and how those goals were set. The staff doesn’t buy in and goals are not met. We then have the same conversations over and over and you hear the same excuses. Score-carding will give you the tools to set goals your employees believe in and want to hit. Your job will be much easier when it’s time to sit down and evaluate employees. You will have 12 months of documented metrics to refer to instead of trying to remember what your employee did 6, 10 or 12 months ago. Your employees won’t be surprised, because each month they will have set goals and reviewed their progress with you.

Meet the Speaker:

Debbie Crandall has been leading winning sales and service teams for over 20 years. She started her career in the staffing industry working for a San Francisco firm where she managed a team of 20+ recruiters and account managers. As a Corporate Trainer and then as a Vice President, her mission was to create productive teams who could consistently meet their goals. After 11 years, a national staffing company recruited Debbie to manage a territory of 8 offices. She stayed with them for 3 ½ years opening 3 additional offices and 4 Vendor On-Site programs.

Debbie joined Parker Services in 1999 and was promoted to President/CEO in October of 2005.

September 11-13th,2006 (top)

ACCE Conference at Washington Convention Center

October 18th,2006 (top)

TOPIC: The Top Ten Secrets of Peak Performers

SPEAKER: Laurie Finkelstein, CH

SPONSOR: Change for Good

HOST: Swedish Medical Center

What separates peak performers from average performers? How can you apply their secrets to enhance your energy and your performance?

Recent research clearly demonstrates that the key to peak performance is not how you manage your time, it’s how you manage your energy.

Believe it or not, some stress is actually GOOD for you! Using examples from professional athletics and successful corporate executives, you can discover how to create maximum benefit from the stresses in your life.

We’ll explore how professionals in all walks of life can turn stresses into successes. You can apply many of these practical tools immediately in your life to noticeably increase your energy and enhance your success.

We’ll also discuss effective ways to manage stress, how to access a high performance state at will, and how to balance your energy levels to stay at the top of your game.

Meet the Speaker:

Laurie Finkelstein, CH, is a Clinical Hypnotherapist and a Certified Personal Trainer. She offers an integrative approach to achievement and motivation using proven techniques from sports psychology and hypnosis. She teaches monthly classes at Evergreen Hospital, and serves on the board of directors of the Washington State Chapter of the National Guild of Hypnotists.

For more information about achieving your peak potential, visit her website at www.PositiveCentral.com where you will find free reports, articles and lots of powerful information designed to help you achieve your goals.

November 15th,2006 (top)

TIME: 3:00 - 6:15 PM

TOPIC: ITIL and Managing the Change

SPEAKER: Sean Kennedy

HOST: Group Health in the Eastside Hospital and Specialty Center in Redmond

This meeting is being held with the itSMF Local Interest Group.

Sean is a co-founder of Kennedy Consulting and has over 20 years of experience in managing large business, government and IT programs and projects and leading organizational change efforts. Over the last nine years, he has worked with large national, local and international companies to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their IT Support organizations, leveraging best practices and the ITIL framework. He has a BA and MBA, both with a concentration in Management Studies and Organizational Development. Sean will share his perspective and experience regarding:

• Best practices for managing organizational change during an ITIL implementations

• Understand the value of managing the change

• Leveraging Governance models to smooth the change

• Tips for Selling Up to IT Management and the Business

• Overcoming resistance to change by opening and using effective communication channels

• Tips on tailoring change management for your organization

• A panel discussion will follow as well as a discussion regarding what you would like your CIO to know about IT Service Management.

December 14th,2006 (top)

DATE: December 14th 2006 MAKE NOTE OF DATE CHANGE

TIME: 1:30 - 4:00 PM

TOPIC: Hold the Phone…it's a Customer Calling!

SPEAKER: Jan McLaughlin

HOST: CA

SPONSOR: InContact

Hold the Phone…it's a Customer Calling! Every time the phone rings, your business is on the line. When customers call, what's their impression of the person who answers the phone? Of your company or organization? Make sure you're sending the right message every time.

In this workshop, you will discover how to:

• Manage calls right from the start—even shorten them
• Make sure your voice sends the right message
• Use effective phrasing when answering and placing calls
• Recognize emotional trigger words to avoid

About Jan M. McLaughlin

Jan McLaughlin is known for her delivery style—which interjects humor and invites audience participation—in programs loaded with practical information. An expert in communication—spoken, written and visual—Jan helps people discover how to positively influence the responses they get from others whether they’re

• Serving customers or clients
• Working with coworkers
• Selling a concept, product or service

Jan established the speaking, training and consulting firm, Your Communication Connection, in 1976. Referred to in the Seattle Times as a “pioneer in the image industry” and “the most frequently-quoted image professional in the Northwest,” Jan has also been quoted in the Wall Street Journal and featured in Suddeutsche Zeitung, the largest daily newspaper in Southern Germany. Laurie J. Hopkins, Human Resources Manager, Alliance Machine Systems International, LLC, commented, "From our very first conversation, I knew that we had struck gold! Comments from the staff after the sessions were incredibly positive. And best of all, we got the results we'd hope for."

A graduate of Washington State University, Jan is a former teacher, retail executive and actress in television commercials. She was the 1992-93 President of the award-winning National Speakers Association/Northwest. As a highly-rated trainer with CareerTrack from 1994 until 1999, Jan toured the United States, Canada, Ireland, and the United Kingdom conducting communication skills seminars. James R. Duncan, Chairman of the Northwest’s leading electrical and technology consulting firm, Sparling, says, “You continue to impress us with your personal attention in understanding our business and focusing your presentations on our particular needs.”

January 17th 2007 (top)

TIME: 1:30 - 4:00 PM

TOPIC: Work At Home – Will this hot trend work for my operations?

SPEAKER: Bill Price, Driva Solutions

HOST: Swedish Medical Center

SPONSOR: SYMON

Many companies are experimenting with moving their agents to work from home, a reprise from an old and popular “telecommuting” trend from the ‘90s. Others, such as JetBlue and OfficeDepot and 1-800-Flowers have committed to agents-at-home for a big percentage of their work, and others are beginning to handle help desk contacts at home, as well. In this session, Bill Price will share the economics and operational “in’s and out’s” of remote, at-home support and other variations on that theme (such as “hub and spoke”).

Benefits of Attending:

• Work at home costs and other advantages
• Risks with mitigation
• How to pitch work at home in your company

Meet the Speaker:

President of Driva Solutions, and first Global VP of Customer Service at Amazon.com, Bill Price was named one of the first wave of “Call Center Pioneers” in 1997 and has continued to innovate since then. Bill has over 26 years in the services business starting with strategic consulting with McKinsey & Company, CFO for a start-up IVR service bureau, VP & General Manager for four business units at MCI, and then almost 3 years as Amazon’s first Global VP of Customer Service. Since leaving Amazon in late 2001 to form Driva Solutions, Bill and his team have served more than 50 clients in the US, UK, Thailand, Japan, and Australia.

How to Reach

Email: bill@drivasolutions.com

Websites: www.drivasolutions.com

February 21st 2007 (top)

TIME: 1:30 - 4:00 PM

TOPIC: Workshop: Master the Skills to Develop and Deliver Advanced Presentations

SPEAKER: Ivy Meadors, High Tech High Touch Solutions

HOST: Bellevue Library

SPONSOR: Parker Services

"People will consistently name public speaking as their number one fear—right up there ahead of spiders and death (Wallechinsky, 1977)."  
 

Do you get a pit in your stomach when someone asks you to speak in front of a group of people?  Do you spend hours, days, sometimes weeks preparing the slides for your presentation? Are you still using clipart on your slides and fill them with too much text and images? Do you really need slides each time?

In this workshop you will learn how to own the platform and deliver an exceptional presentation with fewer jitters, using well designed slides and understand how to present without them too.

If you are an advanced speaker or just starting out, Ivy will share techniques for delivering your first or enhancing your hundredth presentation. The information you will learn in this session will contribute to your next presentation being awesome and confident in your delivery. 

This is your opportunity to learn from a professional speaker, qualified by the National Speakers Association. Learn how you can own the platform and deliver a memorable speech. Overcome the fear of speaking by being fully prepared and be comfortable in the front of the room or on the big stage.

Benefits of Attending

• Key characteristics for the room setup (atmosphere, equipment, music, visuals, distractions).

• Learn about movement, appearance and positioning on the platform.

• Gain ideas about what to wear for different presentations and how your appearance is key to the message.

• Learn how to design excellent slides - lose the clipart! (color considerations, layout, use of transitions, etc.)

• Hear how to increase or improve audience interaction.

• Understand what defines an excellent speech.

Meet the Speaker:

Ivy Meadors is CEO and founder of High Tech High Touch Solutions, Inc., a trade show producer and consulting firm specializing in help desks and call centers. Speaker-consultant, Ivy Meadors, has over 29 years of experience in call centers and help desks. She is considered one of the industry’s most respected leaders and is one of the top 5 most recognized names in the Help Desk industry.

The owner and producer of the Help Desk Professionals Conference and the Government Customer Support Conference, Ivy is the sole woman tradeshow / events company owner in our industry. Ivy is also co-founder and President of the Northwest Call Center Professionals Association and President of the Help Desk Northwest User Group in Seattle.

Ivy publishes the online newsletter, eSharings, has been published in the top industry magazines and newsletters, wrote a monthly column for Customer Interface Magazine, received the IT Support News Award for being one of the “Top 25 Most Influential Professionals in the Service and Support Industry”, Support Technologies awarded her with recognition for being one of the greatest contributors to the Service and Support industry, and she received the honor of being one of the Top 10 Legends in the Help Desk Industry.

Ivy’s presentations are rich with content and alive with humor and real-life examples. You may not always agree with her position but she will certainly challenge you to think of things from a different viewpoint as she challenges the norm and promotes the exceptional, and sometimes even unusual, solutions.

How to Reach

Corporate Office: 425-398-9292

Email: Ivy@hthts.com

Websites: www.ivymeadors.com and www.hthts.com

March 21st 2007 (top)

TIME: 1:30 - 4:00 PM

TOPIC: Puget Sound Energy Winter 2006

SPEAKER: Corina Stretch and Debra Humphrey from Puget Sound Energy

HOST: TBA

SPONSOR: TBA

• Brief description of the unprecedented damage of the December 06 power outages causing over 700,000 customers to be without power.
• Restoration Metrics
• Call Center Metrics
• Sharing Information
• Operations, Corporate Affairs, and Customer Services
• Community and Government Outreach
• PSE.com
• PSE’s Daily operations
• Corporate and Department Contingency Plans
• At home Agent program

Meet the Speakers:

Corina Stretch is a front line supervisor for Puget Sound Energy.   Her 19 years experience in the Customer Service department has gained her valuable insight and in depth knowledge in the utility business.  Currently, she is responsible for 35+ agents in the Customer Call Center.  Coaching, mentoring and motivating her team.  Corina is also involved in process improvement and in keeping abreast of the many new technologies the Company has adopted.

In addition to supervisor, she is also the Outage Manager.  This involves being available, flexible and helping to create a bridge between the Emergency Operations Center and the Call Center when there are emergencies.  She is an instrumental member in the day to day operations including PSE’s Service Level guidelines, Emergency Contingency Plans, and department goals. Corina was an integral part of the team that helped create the At home Agent Program in 1996.  And now recently is involved with the re-vamped program of today.

Corina is also a certified speaker and trainer for PSE.  She has conducted numerous engaging training workshops and presentations for call center representatives as well as staff outside the department and company. Corina is a member of the Northwest Customer Call Center professionals has given other presentations to the organization.  (Agent at home program (2000), Providing Positive Customer Service, 2004) She is a member of  Toastmasters International and is currently an Officer of her local PSE Galvanizers Toastmasters chapter.  Corina is known for her fun and enthusiastic attitude and will be sure to delight any audience she speaks to.

Debra Humphrey is also a front line supervisor for Puget Sound Energy.  She adds an additional 10 years of utility experience to the Customer Access Center (Call Center).  Her knowledge of the field and customer service helps to support her team of more than 35+ employees. Debra is an essential and indispensable part of the Call Center and is currently involved in helping to develop the quality assurance software program.  (Reviewing, testing, and adding valuable insight to ensure its success.)

Outside of the department, Debra is currently partnering with PSE’s H.R. department revamping policies and procedures on various benefit programs.  She also is a member of the Corporate Awards and Recognition rewards program. Which has been extremely successful in recognizing individuals and departments nominated by others in the company.

Debra works diligently at creating a positive environment for her team, department and company.   She is a member of Toastmaster International and currently is an officer of the local chapter, PSE Galvanizers.

April 18th 2007 (top)

DATE: April 18th 2007

TIME: 1:30 - 4:00 PM

TOPIC: Nautilus Case Study and DSHS Case Study