EPSS (Electronic Performance Support
System)...
Custom Designed to Give
Your Firm a Competitive Edge
EPSS Pays Off For IOA Re With Improved Productivity
The staff of this reinsurer faced the tedious and discouraging process of issuing insurance applications and certificates. The company looked to Leewood Associates and EPSS for a solution. Leewood automated repetitive tasks with a series of macros and templates in
Corel WordPerfect and also integrated on-line help into the process.
IOA Re of Pennsylvania and its staff experienced three immediate benefits
of its new electronic performance support system:
- Significantly increased productivity
- Enhanced personal job satisfaction
- A sharp decrease in the time consumed by the process
EPSS Grew Out Of Best Practices
It began in 1991 when Gloria Gery analyzed different systems in corporations. She wanted to know:
How were some companies able to benefit more than others from technology?
Her findings were published in the book Electronic Performance Support Systems: How and Why to Remake the Workplace Through the Strategic Application of Technology (Galagan, 1994).
Immediately, EPSS became the new hot topic because it had practical applications. It pointed the way to improved job performance and greater organizational competitiveness.
Exactly What Is EPSS?
There are as many different definitions of EPSS as there are types of tea, but the one we enjoy the most is by Barry Raybould, a leader in EPSS:
"The electronic infrastructure that captures, stores and distributes individual and corporate knowledge assets throughout an organization, to enable individuals to achieve required levels of performance in the
fastest possible time and with a minimum of support from other people."
The vital elements of an EPSS structure are:
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EPSS Element
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Benefit
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Capture, store and distribute
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Networks and software easily accommodate
the distribution of these tools and the information captured by
them.
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Individual and corporate knowledge assets
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View corporate knowledge
as an asset as well as individual knowledge.
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Required levels of performance
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With performance support tools,
the minimum level of performance can be raised, allowing an overall
increase in performance for the organization.
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Fastest possible time
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Time is also an asset and can be
assigned a monetary value.
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Minimum of support from others
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This also incorporates the element
of time and encourages the learners to be independent.
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Electronic Performance Support Systems
Are Friendly and Easy-To-Use Visual Tools
That Make Complicated Tasks Simple
Macros, wizards, templates, and other Electronic Performance Support Tools are proven to have an immediate and positive impact on the learner's attitude and performance and... on the bottom line.
Not surprisingly, they also provide answers to tough organizational challenges such as:
- The need for consistency and standardization
- High turnover in personnel
- Downsizing of IS personnel
- Expensive and extensive technology training
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Issue
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EPSS Value
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Need for consistency and standardization
throughout documents
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Consistency and standardization
is embedded within the templates - no more standards manual!
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Paper-based forms
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Document automation using templates
and wizards increases performance and productivity.
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Growing body of “Corporate Knowledge”
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The knowledge needed to perform
a complicated task would be imbedded within a tool and easily dispersed
to the desktop.
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Need for increased efficiency and
performance
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Task completion is streamlined
and eliminates the need to learn entire software applications.
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High turnover in personnel
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The knowledge needed to perform
a complicated task would be imbedded within the tool and not in
an individual’s head.
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Extensive and expensive technology
training is needed before employees are productive
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Training time is reduced since
task details can be incorporated into EPSS tools.
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Down-sizing of IS personnel
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Minimal support from
other people including the Help Desk is required.
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How Can EPSS Help You?
Does your company have knowledge and tasks that are specific, procedural, or skill-based?
If you answered "yes," then automated wizards, macros, templates, and other EPSS tools can improve productivity and enhance user performance and satisfaction.
Does your firm have corporate knowledge assets that are too cumbersome or too complicated to be taught in a single training event?
That's where you get the biggest bang for the buck.
A training event often introduces learners to the EPSS tools. Then, the macros, templates, and wizards take over and enable your staff to grasp the details on an as-needed basis when they are ready. Your staff feels less stress when they have the answers at their fingertips.
A reduction in training time and a decrease in the support required can optimize productivity gains for your company.
Our list of Recent Projects demonstrates the range of issues addressed, the types of tools utilized, and the results companies like yours are achieving through EPSS.
Contact us for a free analysis to reveal how EPSS can "remake your workplace" to give you a significant competitive advantage.
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