Business software firm Business Performance P/L this week announced the new release of its Excel-based project management software, Project Master.

Melbourne, Victoria -- (ReleaseWire) -- 08/12/2013 -- Studies continue to show schedule overruns and budget blowouts are more the norm than the exception when it comes to managing projects. Having skilled people and tight processes is part of the story about running successful projects. However, the best people and processes are still prone to failure if the only tools available belong in the last century. It is in this context that Business Performance P/L this week offered the latest version of their highly functional project management tool.

Project Master strikes a welcome balance between the overly simple task lists pretending to be project management tools and the complex, overblown and expensive behemoths. Based on Microsoft Excel, Project Master combines a familiar interface with a light footprint. Speaking at the launch, Managing Director, Leslie Allan, said, "Many of the smaller and simpler tools fail to manage project risks, issues and proposed changes. These are critical project management tasks that are often forgotten at the peril of less experienced project managers. Project Master gives project managers the tools to manage these key processes in a straightforward way that doesn't break the budget."

The core project activities are also handled effectively and efficiently. Project Master manages the project schedule, calculating task start and end dates, drawing a project timeline (Gantt Chart) and displaying milestones. It also manages the project budget, recording costs and comparing them to forecast expenditure. Project Master shines with its array of project reports and key performance charts.

This new version sees the introduction of many new features and enhancements. Allan explains, "Our developers worked hard to rewrite the code from the ground up. Project managers will most appreciate the new click 'n' go reports, the data import and export functions and the New Project wizard. Organizations will no longer need to decide on the US or the UK version. The one version will now detect automatically the customer's location and show cost data in their local currency."

Project Master requires Microsoft Windows XP or later and Microsoft Excel 2007 or later. The software is supplied complete with a comprehensive 63 page User Guide, Quick Start Guide and import template for importing data from other databases. Business Performance P/L has also made available a try before you buy version of Project Master. The sample project file is populated with real life project data and is fully functional. Project Master and the free trial version are available for download from the Business Performance P/L website at http://www.businessperform.com/project-master

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

Peak Training and Development Institute honors Leslie Allan's contributions to the training profession with the 2012 Council Member of the Year Award.

Melbourne, Victoria -- (ReleaseWire) -- 10/31/2012 -- The peak body for training and development in Australia, the Australian Institute of Training and Development, conducts its annual National Training Excellence Awards ceremony to celebrate the best in training and organizational development for the current year. Each year, many applicants compete for one of the six prestigious awards. This year, the award for Council Member of the Year is granted to Leslie Allan, Managing Director of Business Performance P/L.

Allan graciously accepted his Award during the celebrated National Training Excellence Awards dinner held at Leonda on the Yarra in Melbourne, Australia. Allan had served on the Professional Development Committee since 1998 and then on the Vic/Tas Council since 2003. Accepting his Award, Allan thanked the AITD and the many people who supported his nomination.

Allan went on to say, "This Award is not won by one person working alone. The great work that the Councils perform is the result of a talented team of professionals working collaboratively to do the best for AITD members. I am especially pleased to see so many nominations for Council positions this year. This is a real testament to the dedication that trainers feel for their profession. I thank you all for your contributions in making AITD such a valuable organization."

Allan went on to thank the other Award winners for their outstanding achievements in leading the training industry with their ground-breaking learning programs. He expressed his delight in acting as one of the Award judges for the category, Australian Learning Innovation. The other National Training Excellence Awards categories and winners for this year are:

Award Name: Australian Learning Innovation
Winner: Skilled Up and Microsoft
-for significant innovation in the design and/or delivery of a learning program and/or initiative

Award Name: Organizational Learning Effectiveness
Winner: Adelaide Shores
-for a learning program/initiative that has supported/driven a specific business strategy and enhanced organizational performance

Award Name: eLearning Achievement
Winner: Evolve Studios
-for excellence in an e-learning specific program or initiative

Award Name: Best Implementation of a Blended Learning Solution
Winner: Department of Immigration and Citizenship
-for excellence and impact by developing a new learning initiative that includes a combination of methodologies in the delivery mechanism

Category: Excellence in a Learning Resource
Management Consultancy International and NPS MedicineWise
-for developing a learning resource that is not specific to an organization which significantly enhances the learner experience and maximizes learning outcomes

More information on the AITD National Training Excellence Awards is available from the AITD web site at http://www.aitd.com.au/awards

More information on Leslie Allan's acceptance of his Council Member of the Year Award is available on his blog at http://www.BusinessPerform.com/blog/?p=2260

About Leslie Allan
Leslie Allan is Managing Director of Business Performance Pty Ltd; a management consulting firm specializing in people and process capability. He has been assisting organizations for over 20 years, contributing in various roles as project manager, consultant and trainer for organizations large and small. He is also the author of five books on training and change management and is the editor of practical guides on managing projects and human capital. Leslie is a member of the Australian Institute of Management and the Quality Society of Australasia. He also serves as a member of the Divisional Council of the Australian Institute of Training and Development.

About Business Performance Pty Ltd
Established in 2003, Business Performance Pty Ltd provides business and management consulting services globally in a range of business areas. From its web site, the company also proudly supplies a wide selection of business and management software products designed to make managing organizations easier and more effective. Products featured include tools, templates and guides in the areas of workplace training and communication, project management, organizational change and talent management. All products can be purchased and downloaded easily from anywhere in the world from the Business Performance Pty Ltd website at http://www.BusinessPerform.com

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

Human Resources consulting firm Business Performance P/L this week announced the release of a new package targeted at human resources professionals striving to obtain more value from their workforce.

Melbourne, Victoria -- (ReleaseWire) -- 09/06/2012 -- For many businesses, human capital costs account for more than half of their total costs. And yet surveys report CEOs are frustrated that the people factor is one of the least effectively managed of their organization's functions. Furthermore, since the GFC, organizations are now under greater pressure to recruit and retain the best talent in the employment marketplace, to do more with less, and maximize their flexibility.

The new Workforce Segmentation and Reporting Pack released this week by Business Performance P/L gives human resource executives, workforce planners and organizational development professionals the resources they need to win a strategic advantage in the human capital landscape. The Pack delivers the principles, models and data gathering templates that human resource professionals need to segment and report on their workforce for generating better business outcomes.

The Pack's author, Colin Beames, explains why this new resource is a step ahead. "Segmentation is a fundamental concept in business and the traditional approach to segmenting the workforce is on a job level or hierarchical basis. For a whole host of reasons, this approach is limited in addressing the complexities of managing the 21st century workforce. My approach to workforce segmentation and identifying the importance of various roles to the business, including critical roles, is more closely linked with value creation, business strategy and outcomes.

The Skills' Based Workforce Segmentation Model featured in the Pack allows organizations to tailor their HR policies and practices to various workforce segments during all phases of the employment life-cycle; recruitment, engagement, training and development, and retention. Data gathering, reporting and analysis, based on the above approach, is made easy with the bundled human capital reporting templates.

Also included in the Pack is a practical Outsourcing Guide. There has been a significant shift towards outsourcing in recent years. This guide provides a framework for analyzing the economic and strategic benefits of outsourcing. Managing Director, Leslie Allan, added, "What I find most useful about the Outsourcing Guide is its eight criteria for making rational role outsourcing decisions. The guide also helps managers include all the important sections in their contractual agreements."

Beames piped in with some timely advice for human resource professionals: "CEOs are under increasing pressure today to demonstrate to their board members how they are managing their human capital. At the same time, HR is struggling to exert the required influence and gain a seat at the table. This Pack will assist HR professionals to become more strategic and produce better quality data. With this new Pack, HR people can start to make a real difference to business results."

The workforce segmentation and outsourcing guides are supplied as Adobe Acrobat PDF files, which are readable on almost any computer. The Adobe Acrobat Reader is available as a free download from the Adobe website. The reporting templates are supplied as Microsoft Word-based templates and can be used on any Microsoft Windows-based PC with Microsoft Word 2002 or later installed.

For those wanting to review the Pack before purchase, Business Performance P/L has made available the introductory chapters as a free download. The Pack's author is also available to help organizations segment and analyze their workforce.

The complete Workforce Segmentation and Reporting Pack and the free introductory chapters are available for download from the Business Performance P/L website at http://www.BusinessPerform.com/workforce-segmentation

About Colin Beames
Colin Beames is a leading human capital, workforce trends, engagement and retention specialist. He has consulted to a broad spectrum of industry sectors, including both public and private organizations. Colin has worked with a number of organizations to assist them in adopting a more strategic approach to managing their workforce and developing their Human Capital Strategic Plans.

He is a registered psychologist and holds a masters degree in Business Administration from the University of New England, an honors degree in Arts from the University of Queensland and an honors degree in Engineering from Monash University. Colin is also a prolific author, having developed and commercialized a number of human resources tools and resources. He is best known for his book entitled Transforming Organisational Human Capital: Emerging Stronger from the GFC and Beyond.

About Business Performance Pty Ltd
Established in 2003, Business Performance Pty Ltd provides business and management consulting services globally in a range of business areas. From its web site, the company also proudly supplies a wide selection of business and management software products designed to make managing organizations easier and more effective. Products featured include tools, templates and guides in the areas of workplace training and communication, project management, organizational change and talent management. All products can be purchased and downloaded easily from anywhere in the world from the Business Performance Pty Ltd website at http://www.BusinessPerform.com

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

Business products and services company Business Performance P/L this week released a major redesign of their market-leading business web site.

Melbourne, Victoria -- (ReleaseWire) -- 03/18/2012 -- Business Performance P/L launched a significant upgrade to their reference business web site this week. The key purpose for the redesign was making it easier for visitors to interact with the site and to get them quickly to the information they are looking for.

The site is structured around five subject categories: workplace training, workplace communication, change management, talent management and project management. This significant redesign brings all of the resources for each category – expert views, articles and products – to a single portal page.

Director, Vicki Heath, explained the new site structure this way, "With our new visual section markers, improved navigation buttons, site wide search facility and quick links, it's much easier for visitors to keep track of where they are and to navigate quickly to other areas of interest." She added, "Our web site has grown considerably over the years to become an authoritative site in many areas of business. We wanted to make it easier for people to find what they are looking for amongst the hundreds of pages of excellent content."

Other areas getting a special makeover are the Business Performance Blog, the product catalogue and the business articles section. The Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section has been expanded considerably to encompass many new areas as the company grows its products and service offerings. The shopping cart area has also seen significant improvements, seeing a more seamless integration with the rest of the site and more support for customers buying online and off-line.

The site's designer, John Knowles from WHURL interactive, agrees that the new design is a major step forward for the business. He said today, "The new website represents a significant upgrade designed to enhance brand identity, improve navigation and general usability, increase accessibility, eliminate layout inconsistencies and free the Business Performance Team from the limitations imposed by the proprietary software previously used to manage the website."

This release also raises significantly the profile of the business services team. The team comprises seven experts delivering business consulting, coaching and training services to a world-wide client base. The new site features the talents and experience of each of the company's experts, making it easier to select the right expert for every situation. The new release web site can be visited at http://www.businessperform.com

About BUSINESS PERFORMANCE PTY LTD
Established in 2003, Business Performance Pty Ltd provides business and management consulting services globally in a range of business areas. From its website, the company also proudly supplies a wide selection of business and management software products designed to make managing organizations easier and more effective. Products featured include tools, templates and guides in the areas of training and employee development, project management, organizational change and career planning. All products can be purchased and downloaded easily from anywhere in the world from the Business Performance Pty Ltd website at www.businessperform.com

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

Business software company Business Performance P/L this week announced the new release of their popular training database and reporting tool.

Melbourne, Victoria -- (ReleaseWire) -- 04/20/2010 -- Given the current global financial turmoil, many businesses are looking to save money on their system and software purchases. This week, Business Performance P/L made the job of purchasing an economical training database easier with the release of Version 2.0 of their popular Training Tracker software.

This software will benefit anyone who needs to track training economically and efficiently. It is well suited to small business owners, training database administrators, training coordinators, project managers and anyone else with a need to track and report training activity and expenditures. Business Performance P/L is able to offer Training Tracker at the low end of the cost scale because the software is built upon Microsoft Excel.

The company's Managing Director, Leslie Allan, explained, "Instead of building our software from the ground up using a proprietary system, we designed Training Tracker as an integral part of the Microsoft Office suite. Almost everyone in business already uses and is familiar with Microsoft Excel. So we can get our customers flying with Training Tracker very quickly, and they save money by not having to pay for a new platform."

Training Tracker is set up to produce at the click of a button many reports and charts. These include reports displaying participant activity, expenditure by department or training provider, training hours by department, trainer, training provider and more. It will also track and report training outcomes, results and purchase status. If a report is not exactly as required, the customer can tailor any report or chart to their liking or even create new reports and charts.

Training Tracker Version 2.0 sports many new features and enhancements. For example, it now includes a data migration wizard. The wizard takes all the hassle out of importing company data into Training Tracker and exporting it into another workbook. In addition, customers upgrading from a previous version of Training Tracker can now transfer their data into the new version easily and very quickly.

Allan went on to describe another of the many improvements. "Our new click 'n' go reports and charts make reporting so much easier. Our customers can now simply select from one of the many predefined reports and charts and click a button. Their report or chart is then ready for presentation to the management team, clients or learners. Any report or chart can also be easily copied to another software application or document. The database administrator can, for example, copy the Training Tracker expenditure report table and chart with one click and paste them into their Microsoft Word monthly management report."

Other significant enhancements include a new style interface, improved navigation, more stable reports, new reports and charts, improved data protection and error handling and step by step instructions on customizing compliance training reminders and warning flags.

Training Tracker is set up to produce a range of preconfigured reports and charts. These include reports displaying training participant activity, training expenditure by department or training provider, training hours by department, trainer and training provider and more. The software will also track and report training outcomes, results and purchase status. Any report or chart can also be easily tailored to the customer's exact needs, or the customer can even create new reports and charts.

Training Tracker is supplied complete with a comprehensive User Guide, Quick Start Guide and import template for importing data from other databases. Business Performance P/L has also made available a try before you buy version of Training Tracker. The sample version is populated with data from a fictitious company and is fully functional. Training Tracker and the free trial version are available for download from the Business Performance P/L website at www.businessperform.com/training-tracker

ABOUT BUSINESS PERFORMANCE PTY LTD:
Established in 2003, Business Performance Pty Ltd provides business and management consulting services globally in a range of business areas. From its website, the company also proudly supplies a wide selection of business and management software products designed to make managing organizations easier and more effective. Products featured include tools, templates and guides in the areas of training and employee development, project management, organizational change and career planning. All products can be purchased and downloaded easily from anywhere in the world from the Business Performance Pty Ltd website at http://www.businessperform.com

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

Business software firm Business Performance P/L this week announced the new release of its Excel based talent management software, Succession Planner.

Melbourne, Australia -- (ReleaseWire) -- 02/05/2010 -- As the economy is starting to pick up, leading organizations are doing their utmost to keep their talented employees. In the area of talent management, Business Performance P/L led the way this week with the new release of their Succession Planner software.

The new version of Succession Planner builds on its key capability of tracking, managing and reporting succession nominations. A key benefit with Succession Planner is that it is based on Microsoft Excel. Leslie Allan, Managing Director of Business Performance P/L, explained, "Succession Planner really cuts to the chase in avoiding the complexity and administrative overhead of other talent management tools. By using the familiar and simple Excel interface, our software makes light work of managing leadership potential in any organization."

Andy Beaulieu, the tool's author, has over 20 years of experience in the human resources and organization effectiveness field. His work with organizations over that period offered him an intimate understanding of what works and what does not work for businesses trying to manage their talent pool. Time saving aspects of the tool include an informative Organization Chart. The chart displays the succession status of incumbents and is automatically updated with changes. Another key feature customers find essential is the C-P Matrix. This matrix plots visually the distribution of staff using the key variables of contribution and potential. Customers can also easily generate reports for informing key leaders about any individual and any position in the database.

In developing this new version, Beaulieu wanted to add some new functionality without sacrificing the simplicity of the tool. "One such enhancement", Beaulieu explains, "is the ability to view the names of associates falling into each of the nine boxes in the C-P Matrix. Users wanted not only the statistics (percentages) but also the specific names to better equip them to prescribe development for associates in different stages of their leadership journey." Allan added, "In this version, we have kept the features that worked well, such as the bonus Process Guide that lays out a simple business process for collecting, reviewing, and validating nominations. Users are treated to a number of significant enhancements, including expanded capacity and increased flexibility."

The tool is supplied as a Microsoft Excel template and can be used on any Microsoft Windows-based PC with Excel 2002 or later installed. Accompanying the tool are two key resources: a User Guide for those administering the tool, and a Process Guide to assist HR in setting up a strong succession planning process. Both resources are supplied as Adobe Acrobat PDF files, which are readable on almost any computer. The Adobe Acrobat Reader is available as a free download from the Adobe website.

For those wanting to try out the tool before purchase, Business Performance P/L has made available a trial version of the tool as a free download. The trial version is complete with sample data that can be modified, so customers can see how the tool will work in their organization. The tool's author is also available to help organization's implement their succession planning process.

The complete succession planning pack and the free trial version are available for download from the Business Performance P/L website at http://www.businessperform.com/succession-planner

About Andy Beaulieu
Andy has over 20 years of performance improvement experience as both an internal specialist in global organizations and as an external consultant. Based in Washington DC, USA, his services span the spectrum of technical and interpersonal interventions. He has developed and implemented large-scale tools and systems to improve organizational effectiveness, and he has also coached and trained managers to improve their individual effectiveness.

Andy holds a master's degree from Johns Hopkins University, and undergraduate degrees in engineering and business from the University of Pennsylvania. He has authored ten chapters in books on organizational effectiveness, most notably multiple entries in the renowned "Pfeiffer Annual" series published since 1971.

About Business Performance Pty Ltd
Established in 2003, Business Performance Pty Ltd provides business and management consulting services globally in a range of business areas. From its website, the company also proudly supplies a wide selection of business and management software products designed to make managing organizations easier and more effective. Products featured include tools, templates and guides in the areas of training and employee development, project management, organizational change and career planning. All products can be purchased and downloaded easily from anywhere in the world from the Business Performance Pty Ltd website at http://www.businessperform.com

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm