IT Skill Builder Competency Assessment

Bedford, NH and Seattle, WA, October 4, 2011 - Ouellette & Associates Consulting Inc. (O&A) and RealTime Performance announce the launch of IT Skill Builder, a web-based tool for assessing core IT competencies and enhancing employee development and engagement. Working in close partnership, the two firms have leveraged their complementary strengths in the areas of IT transformation, leadership, employee engagement, and assessments to create this new Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) tool.

Today's IT professionals increasingly find themselves in business facing roles that they are ill equipped to handle. Based on its 27 years of experience and with input from CIO's representing the firm's 3,000 IT clients, O&A has identified the 12 core competencies necessary for IT leaders and their staff to succeed in today's increasingly demanding business environment. These competencies include: Business Acumen, Client Orientation, Communication Skills, Consensus Building, Influencing Others, Leadership, Leading Change, Organizational Understanding, Problem Solving, Project Management, Strategic Focus, and Technical Understanding.

"We know from years of experience how critical interpersonal skills like influencing and communicating are to IT professionals at every level", says O&A CEO Dan Roberts. "Unfortunately, most IT departments have very little data about the current level of proficiency for these skills across their workforce. Furthermore, many IT professionals are seeking to better understand their individual proficiency in these "core" skills, identify and close skill gaps, and have the guidance and resources available to move their career forward. The IT Skill Builder is an exciting tool that will help CIO's and senior leadership teams develop the IT workforce of the future."

"Google recently commissioned an internal study to identify the critical leadership skills that drive success in IT and they found seven soft skills ranking higher in importance than technical proficiency", says RealTime Performance CEO Sean P. Murray. "IT skill development has traditionally focused on technical skills, but what Google and others are now discovering is that the focus needs to shift to interpersonal skills development. IT Skill Builder provides IT professionals with the tools they need to build a development plan, set career goals, and map a career journey from where they are today to where they want to be in three to five years. This, in turn, will help IT departments ensure they achieve their strategic objectives now and in the future."

IT Skill Builder is packed with links and references to 89 Experiential Activities - 37 Articles & Videos and 13 Training Workshops to develop high performing IT employees.

To learn more about the IT Skill Builder competency assessment and development tool, or to schedule a personal demonstration, please contact O&A at 800-878-4551 or visit our website at www.ouellette-online.com.

About O&A

Authors of the Amazon best-selling book, Unleashing the Power of IT (Wiley, 2011), Ouellette & Associates Consulting, Inc. was founded in 1984 and continues to fulfill it's mission of "Developing the Human Side of Technology". The firm has helped more than 3,000 IT organizations worldwide achieve their IT transformation and reskilling initiatives. Savvy IT leaders leverage O&A's series of IT-specific leadership and professional development education services to make the shift from reactive, technology centric, order takers to consultative, client centric, business partners.

About RealTime Performance

Founded in 1999, and authors of Getting More From Your Investment in Training: The 5A's Framework, RealTime Performance delivers online training products to develop company leaders. The products enable companies to cost-effectively assess leadership skills, make target recommendations for performance improvement and empower employees to create and share development plans to achieve business goals. The company's flagship web-based training product, Inspire, provides a self directed means for employees to manage their career development, giving them access to knowledge and skills at the "point of need." For more information, visit www.realtimeperformance.com.

For additional information or to schedule a demonstration of IT Skill Builder, please contact:

Tracy Dinu
Ouellette & Associates
800-878-4551
tdinu@ouellette-online.com
www.ouellette-online.com