Insphere Insurance Solutions® Wins 2013 Stevie® Award for Sales and Customer Service

Our client Insphere Insurance Solutions has won a recent award. Please see the press release below for more information.

"DALLAS & FORT WORTH, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Insphere Insurance Solutions (http://www.insphereis.com) today announced it has been presented with a Bronze level Stevie Award in the “Best Use of Technology in Sales” category in the seventh annual Stevie Awards for Sales and Customer Service (http://www.StevieAwards.com).

“Our entry showcased the work of our Information Technology team toward increasing agent adoption of our CRM tool through the use of mobile technology. We have made great strides in this area and earning this award gives additional validation to our approach.”

“Everyone at Insphere is pleased and proud to have won a Stevie Award,” said Kenneth J. Fasola, President and Chief Executive Officer of Insphere Insurance Solutions. “Our entry showcased the work of our Information Technology team toward increasing agent adoption of our CRM tool through the use of mobile technology. We have made great strides in this area and earning this award gives additional validation to our approach.”

The InSiteMobile^® application allows Insphere agents the ability to rapidly interact with new insurance leads and manage their current customers and policies. These mobile tools extend the rich capabilities available to agents on the Insphere InSite^® Customer Relationship Management platform and position our agents to be the most informed and productive in the market.

More than 100 members of eight specialized judging committees determined Stevie Award placements from among the Finalists during final judging this year. The awards were presented to honorees during a gala banquet on February 25 at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas. More than 300 nominated customer service and sales executives from the U.S.A. and several other countries attended."

Full press release here.  

Pariveda Solutions Announces New Website and Brand Refresh

DALLAS, March 11, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Pariveda Solutions, a leading provider of strategic consulting services and technology solutions expertise, is pleased to announce the launch of a new public website. The updated site combines the latest technology, a complete reworking of content and design with easier navigation creating a rich user experience.

The most visible update can be seen in the site's graphics, colors and layout, with a new, cleaner, easier-to-navigate design implemented across all pages with key areas displayed prominently through a sliding menu. This refresh combined with the latest technology of responsive design allows the site to automatically resize and adjust on any device.

Pariveda's new website is focused on providing relevant information that gives clients and prospective employees a look into Pariveda's expertise and experience.  Emphasis on experience and thought leadership is evidenced through solution reference stories and perspectives from Pariveda's leading edge thinkers. Newly crafted sections, Career and Join, depict Pariveda's talent development philosophy and what life is like working at the company.  

Lastly, the refreshed site's look and feel is meant to be consistent with Pariveda's brand. The cleaner, fresher look embodies the company's commitment to modern design while maintaining Pariveda's reputation as a leader in technology solutions.

Take a closer look at www.parivedasolutions.com.

About Pariveda Solutions

Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Pariveda Solutions, Inc. is a leading technology consulting firm delivering strategic services and technology solutions at the edge. Pariveda's technology solutions include custom application development in areas such as business intelligence (BI), mobility, portal and enterprise content management, customer relationship management (CRM) and cloud computing. In addition, Pariveda provides strategic services around business systems planning and project management.

Pariveda Solutions, Inc. is an employee-owned private company with a core mission to develop, manage and apply talent for the benefit of their clients. The company operates on a local project delivery model and its locations span nine cities across the U.S. For more information, visit www.parivedasolutions.com.

Pariveda Solutions and The Business of IT are trademarks of Pariveda Solutions, Inc., Dallas, Texas, USA.

View this release on PRNewswire and Dallas Business Journal

Pariveda Published: Susan Paul in Software Magazine

The Power of Relationships 

by  Susan  Paul 

You've likely heard the adage "dig your well before you need it," which I’d loosely translate to "be prepared." In the IT world, we spend a lot of time and energy preparing—for backup and recovery, testing, dry runs of system rollouts, and so on. Why then is it so hard to make the same investments in relationships to "be prepared" when we know we should?

Too often, I hear people say they feel that their work should stand on its own merits, and they resist investing in developing relationships they will one day need. I confess to having been there as well at one point in my career, but two experiences convinced me otherwise—both with consulting firms. However, the same experiences could have occurred in an internal IT organization or a software company.

The first transpired when I ran a branch of a small consulting organization. We took on a high-risk project, which encountered difficulties. I spent a lot of time with the project team, encouraging them and doing what I could to keep morale up, all the while thinking that the project would right itself. I did not, however, spend much time with the client, instead letting project status conversations happen through the project manager and sales rep.

When the project didn’t right itself and, in fact, went seriously downhill, the only acceptable path forward financially for me was to engage the client in a negotiation of how much more they would pay to finish the project. I went into a meeting with the client CIO having met him only briefly once before...

Read the full article here.

About Software Magazine 

Software Magazine has been a brand name in the high-tech industry for more than 36 years. Softwaremag.com, its Web counterpart, is the online guide to enterprise software and the home of the Software 500 ranking of the world’s largest software and services companies. Software Magazine and Softwaremag.com are owned and operated by Rockport Custom Publishing.

How We Can Develop Our Own Career Faster

By Lori Dipprey - Director of Talent Development 

In the earlier post, we discussed the traps we can fall into around our own career development. Now let’s look at what we can do to help avoid traps and set ourselves up for success:

1. Know the capabilities you need to work on in order to develop your career

If you don’t know where you are going, how will you know how to get there? Understand the career path you are on and what capabilities are expected in the role you are working towards. At Pariveda we use our Expectations Framework to outline capabilities at every level within our firm. These capabilities build on one another so that the end result is a collection of capabilities developed over time that we expect in an effective executive. If your career path isn’t formally documented, discover your roadmap to success by working with your manager and/or mentor to identify a potential career path. Then develop your own plan, setting milestones moving you toward career goals.

2. Find a coach/mentor that can provide you guidance along your way

If you’re serious about developing your career, you need to find someone that is willing to guide and coach you along the way. You are embarking on new areas of expertise; therefore, you don’t know what you don’t know. Find someone that can help you navigate this unknown area. If that person isn’t within your organization, then go outside of your organization (maybe hire a career coach). At Pariveda, we provide each employee a mentor who is really acting as a career coach. A coach is someone that provides direction when you lack the knowledge and provides support when you need the extra motivation to keep going. As you progress down the learning continuum, you will need a little of both but to varying degrees at each stage.

3. Break down your career development goals into manageable, repeatable practices that can be achieved during your daily work

The only way to truly master something and be your best is through repetition which is achieved through practice. K. Anders Ericcson has provided years of research around a methodology called “Deliberate Practice” which he also discusses in a 2007 HBR article. The easier it is to repeat a practice, the faster you will develop the capability – requiring capabilities to be developed in manageable chunks that can build on one another.

4. Get feedback early and often – from yourself and others

I mentioned it before but it can’t be stressed enough, just like testing out any system, a feedback loop is necessary. You need to know what is working, what isn’t and where you need to adapt or modify. Your coach will be able to provide some feedback but you will also want to elicit feedback from individuals that can observe the capability you are trying to develop and provide thoughtful, constructive feedback. Getting this feedback early and often gives you more time to adjust and less time to develop a bad habit.

During the next post we will take an in-depth look at feedback, the different types you need and how to collect it.

To view more by this author click here. 

Company Spotlight: Pariveda Solutions, Inc.

Jason Sanders, Ivy Exec’s Vice President of Executive Search, recently interviewed Bruce Ballengee, President and CEO of Pariveda Solutions.
Pariveda Solutions is an award-winning technology consulting firm focused on custom application development as well as strategic services, business systems planning and project management. Pariveda is a 100% employee-owned private company with a core mission to develop, manage and apply talent for the benefit of their clients. The company operates on a local project delivery model and its locations span 10 cities across the U.S.

Jason Sanders: In which area of your company do you expect the most growth over the next 12 to 18 months?
Bruce Ballengee: We expect our fastest growth in our newer geographic markets with our more established markets generating the bulk of our growth.
Jason: What changes and challenges do you think your company and industry will see in the next 5 years?
Bruce: I expect an overall business slowdown, or in 2013-2014. If so, it will be a challenge in the short run. Longer term a legitimate, healthy US economic recovery will follow. Regardless of the state of the overall economy, expect increasing talent shortages of capable IT people in industry and consulting....

View Full Interview here. 

Pariveda Solutions Wins ASTD Dallas Best Place to Learn Award in the Category of Leadership Development

Great place to learn and grow your career in technology consulting - Pariveda Solutions recognized for leadership development training

Dallas, TX (PRWEB) December 13, 2012
Pariveda Solutions, a leading provider of strategic consulting services and technology solutions expertise, is pleased to announce that they have won an ASTD Dallas Best Place to Learn Award in Leadership Development.

According to the ASTD, Pariveda “… has taken the time to understand the most critical competencies for leadership in their industry and has designed a customized leadership program to support each phase in growth and development cycle of their employees.” As an employee grows in their career at Pariveda they are able to demonstrate leadership qualities from the moment they start.

“Pariveda and our employees are honored to receive this award,” said Bruce Ballengee Pariveda’s CEO. “Dallas is headquarters to some of the largest and best companies in the world that take great care in developing their people as leaders and we aspire to be like them.”

“It was a real honor to receive this award. Developing talent is a critical part of our mission and something everyone is a part of so we are excited to see the fruits of our labor,” said Lori Dipprey, Pariveda’s Director of Talent Development.

About ASTD Dallas

ASTD Dallas is the local chapter of the international ASTD professional association. ASTD is the world’s leading organization focused on the promotion and advancement of workplace learning and performance.

Incorporated in 1980, Dallas ASTD has over 400 members with a variety of backgrounds, including corporate directors, training managers, instructional designers, delivery facilitators, OD specialist, e-learning specialists, external consultants, and newcomers to our profession. Member companies include Fortune 500 organizations, non-profits, government and mid-size and small businesses. View more information at http://www.dallasastd.org

About Pariveda Solutions

Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Pariveda Solutions, Inc. is a leading technology consulting firm delivering strategic services and technology solutions at the edge. Pariveda’s technology solutions include custom application development in areas such as business intelligence (BI), mobility, portal and enterprise content management, customer relationship management (CRM) and cloud computing. In addition, Pariveda provides strategic services around business systems planning and project management.

Pariveda Solutions, Inc. is a 100% employee-owned private company with a core mission to develop, manage and apply talent for the benefit of their clients. The company operates on a local project delivery model and its locations span 10 cities across the U.S. For more information, visit http://www.parivedasolutions.com.

Pariveda Solutions and The Business of IT are trademarks of Pariveda Solutions, Inc., Dallas, Texas, USA

View this release on PRWeb 

Why Wait for Someone Else to Develop Your Career?

By Lori Dipprey - Director of Talent Development 

Most, if not all, professionals desire to continually develop their career, but they often lack confidence in the strategy they are using to do it. Career development is a lifelong process that takes into account a number of factors.

According to a recent Financial Times article, the best skill you can develop in your career is how to acquire another skill - learning how to be an effective and efficient learner. This is important in consulting since solving the complex business problems of our clients is not as simple as implementing the same system over and over again

Let’s start by identifying some traps we can fall into with our approach to career development:

I’m not given the right type of work

Often our career development follows an ad-hoc approach. If we get to work on the right project, in the right role, then we will have an opportunity to develop our career. Getting that perfect assignment may make things easier, but sometimes we don’t realize there is a lot that can be done where we are right now.

I’m too busy to do the extracurricular activities that develop my career

People are constantly being asked to juggle more responsibilities, which often leads to working more hours while still balancing a career and personal life. It’s easy to see why it’s difficult to attend training or read the books on your nightstand. You may choose some of the activities that contribute to your busyness, but often there are things – such as fast-approaching deadlines – that are beyond your control. The key to continually developing your career is integrating career advancement tasks into your daily activities so they are part of your normal routine and not “additions” to your current responsibilities.

My manager isn’t helping me grow my career

Part of every manager’s responsibility should be developing each member of the team, but statistics show there are more ineffective managers in the workforce than effective. There’s no guarantee you will always have a manager who shares your interest in your career growth. There could be multiple factors contributing your perceived lack of support, but one of the most common mistakes is assuming that your manager knows what you want and need in terms of career development. Be upfront and direct with your manager, communicating exactly what you want to work on in your career.

No news must be good news

Have you ever been surprised during your performance review? It’s not uncommon to receive feedback that no one has mentioned before. Frequent feedback is a crucial component in your career development and can help stop a bad habit before it’s formed. Feedback can come from anywhere; peers, subordinates, managers and friends. They need to be able to observe actions in the areas where you want feedback – and this is important – they must know you want the feedback. By not asking you are missing an opportunity.

Next time we will discuss a comprehensive strategy that can help you avoid these traps.

To view more by this author click here.