Employee Incentives on NCOF's Agenda, April 29 May 2 in Schaumburg, IL

January 12, 2007 — Employee management will be a key component of the National Conference on Operations and Fulfillment (NCOF) to take place April 29 – May 2 at the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel and Convention Center in Schaumburg, IL. Presented by the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) and Multichannel Merchant’s Operations & Fulfillment®, published by Prism Business Media, NCOF is the premier gathering of direct-to-customer operations and fulfillment professionals in the world.

“In surveying 2006 NCOF attendees, we found that the most challenging operations issues O&F professionals face are employee-related,” said Florence Torres, conference manager, NCOF. “Incentives and recognition are significant components of an effective employee relations program and are integral to an organization’s success. NCOF is providing attendees with an opportunity to identify and deliver rewards and experiences that employees find meaningful and inspiring.”

Recognizing that employee incentive programs must also contribute to a positive bottom line, NCOF’s employee management track features sessions presented by the Forum for People Performance Management and Measurement and the Incentive Marketing Association, as well as case-studies from practitioner companies. NCOF’s employee management track is designed to address the needs of employees while satisfying organizational goals.

In addition, an employee incentives pavilion will be featured in the Exhibit Hall, which will be open April 30 – May 1, during the event.

Featured sessions related to employee management will include the following:

The Compelling Economics of People

This session will enable employees to leave NCOF armed with research intelligence that proves the compelling link between engaged employees, satisfied customers, profits, and especially long-term financial return. Research will be presented showing how the link not only occurs with customer-facing employees, such as call center employees, but even with back-of-the-house employees such as those who work in warehouse, fulfillment, and data facilities. The session will share research showing the critical issues and challenges involved with profiting from a people-centric business approach and provide best practice case studies on how successful companies connect the dots between customer satisfaction, financial performance, and employee behaviors. Especially tailored to address issues faced in the operations and fulfillment business, the session will demonstrate the difference between a process-oriented management approach and a people-oriented approach, and how the latter can drive improved performance.

A Blueprint for an Effective Employee Training Program

This session features actionable tips and techniques for upgrading employee-training programs, including hiring tips and techniques to ensure the right hire. The session will also explore how to gain employee buy-in for the training program and determine what components should be included. Attendees will be presented with innovative ideas on how to present training material and discover methods to periodically review their programs to determine overall effectiveness and success.

Rewards – Recognize Employees’ Work and Recharge Their Desire to Succeed

A look at bonus rewards in the distribution center, this session will provide valuable insight into the benefits, myths, and realities of distribution center performance bonus rewards, providing real-world examples directly from experienced executives who will share the successes, philosophies, and pitfalls of their recent incentive compensation plans. Rewards come in many different types, sizes, shapes, and packages; bonus rewards can be structured to fit the needs, goals, and environment of any employer. Practices for selecting and implementing the right rewards will be reviewed.

It’s Not the Systems – It’s the People

This session will feature specific “how-to’s” to get people working with you instead of against you, to increase production and efficiency, and to completely overhaul the workplace atmosphere. People are our most important resource. However, companies often put substantial money and energy into new systems, software and procedures, yet forget that people are the ones who make these things work successfully. Without people on the side of the company, the best systems, software, and procedures will fail. This NCOF session will provide tips for reading different personality types, valuable insight into the art of dealing with all kinds of people, and tips on avoiding common supervisory mistakes. It will also offer advice on becoming a better supervisor by increasing your self-awareness, explain how to deal with controversy proactively and effectively, and offer actionable tips to make people feel valuable every day.

The 5 W’s of World Class Customer Service Training

Much attention is given to technology and the benefits of providing multiple channels for customer contact. Yet, too frequently, insufficient attention is paid to handling the human part of the equation—properly training CSRs. More organizations are turning to the contact center as a strategic player in the competitive landscape. This session will identify the 5 W’s of world class customer service training:

· Who needs to be trained?

· What is the appropriate curriculum?

· Where should training be held?

· When should sessions be scheduled?

· Why train?

Best Kept Secrets for Unlocking the Productivity of Your Call Center Workforce

A variety of ideas will be presented for the improvement of the workforce planning process, beyond the forecasting and scheduling basics. Attendees will learn how to get the right people in place as well as what the most common hiring mistakes are. Actionable tips for setting reasonable performance goals, metrics for individual and team productivity, increasing adherence, and motivating staff to perform at their peak also will be presented.

For a complete list of employee management sessions being presented at NCOF, and to register, please visit www.ncof.com.

About Prism Business Media

Prism Business Media Inc. is a leader in business-to-business communication and information, connecting qualified buyers and sellers in 21 industry sectors. Prism's growing portfolio of market-leading brands spans 71 magazines, 170 e-newsletters, 17 industry trade shows and more than 500 rich data products. Each month, more than 3.3 million unique visitors utilize Prism Web sites and services. Prism Business Media is owned by U.S. Equity Partners II, an investment fund sponsored by Wasserstein & Co., LP, and Highfields Capital Management and Lexington Partners. For additional information on the company and its businesses, visit www.prismb2b.com.

About DMA

The Direct Marketing Association (www.the-dma.org) is the leading global trade association of businesses and nonprofit organizations using and supporting multichannel direct marketing tools and techniques. DMA advocates industry standards for responsible marketing, promotes relevance as the key to reaching consumers with desirable offers, and provides cutting-edge research, education, and networking opportunities to improve results throughout the end-to-end direct marketing process. Founded in 1917, DMA today represents more than 3,600 companies from dozens of vertical industries in the US and 50 other nations, including a majority of the Fortune 100 companies, as well as nonprofit organizations.

In 2006, marketers – commercial and nonprofit – will spend an estimated $166.5 billion on direct marketing in the United States. Measured against total US sales, these advertising expenditures will generate an estimated $1.93 trillion in incremental sales. This year, direct marketing will account for 10.3 percent of total US GDP. Also, there are today 1.7 million direct marketing employees in the US alone. Their collective sales efforts directly support 8.8 million other jobs. That accounts for 10.5 million US jobs.

The Power of Direct: Relevance. Responsibility. Results.

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