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PowerVote key in training of 25,000 Mercedes-Benz sales staff and dealers in 2011

When Mercedes-Benz launch a new car, they roll-out training programmes for sales staff and dealers throughout the world. These programmes are a key component in the launch of a new product. In 2011, this involved a global audience of 25,000 sales staff and dealers, who had to be briefed, trained and tested on the new product features. This training involved face-to-face sessions, each event gathering between 10,000 and 15,000 participants over a 3-month period.

For such large-scale events, preparation is the key. The specialist participant management and on-site project coordination company comware was briefed to source a voting system that would promote audience interaction and allow feedback and evaluation. PowerVote’s audience response system was quickly selected as the best solution for the Mercedes-Benz training programme thanks to its ease-of-use, full integration into Microsoft standard software, and the strength of its technical support.
Prior to the events, comware worked closely with Mercedez-Benz Global Training, a part of Daimler AG Group, to turn their training content into interactive multilingual presentations that would develop a barometer of public opinion with questions about the product, as well as test the knowledge acquired as a result of the training. This was translated in 21 different languages for the global training programme.

The voting sessions took place in 12 workshops, each involving up to 360 voting keypads.
Before the events, comware was responsible for training Mercedes-Benz trainers in the use of the PowerVote system, enabling them to use it on their own. This reduced the technical support requirements to a minimum and promoted more direct interaction between the trainers and their individual groups.
Once the voting was completed, individual results were imported into a web-based tool programmed by comware. The results were displayed through real-time online reporting, bringing distinct benefits to the training, such as:

voting results being immediately discussed within the groups, contributing to a better knowledge acquisition amongst the participants;
certain topics could be instantly revisited if the results highlighted poor understanding amongst the participants;
thanks to the PowerVote system, participants were fully engaged in the training process, leading to a better assimilation and retention of the course content.

Following several months of use for the Mercedes-Benz training events, Christian Kleffmann, Project Manager at comware, said: “We have found PowerVote to be a very reliable and robust interactive voting system. This positive experience has definitely convinced us to call on the PowerVote solution again in future contracts.”

About comware
German-owned comware TeilnehmerManagement specialises in solutions for the organisation and management of large-scale events, spanning from administration and software development to project coordination and on-site support. Established in 1990, the company manages national or international events involving audiences of 500-50,000.

BIFM AGM benefits from live and e-votes thanks to PowerVote

When the British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM) was planning its AGM, it elected to use PowerVote for members to vote on resolutions.

The 300+ participants used the audience response system at the start of the event at the British Library in London and during the AGM. Their votes were consolidated with those of more than 6,000 participants who had pre-voted online ahead of the meeting by using
e-PowerVote.

BIFM was delighted by the high participation rate that the combination of both live and electronic voting systems generated.

Established in 1993, BIFM provides information, education, training and networking services for over 12,000 members.

More information on BIFM is available here.

World Tourism Forum votes on sustainability in tourism

The World Tourism Forum 2011 in Lucerne, Switzerland, attracted top managers, ministers and tourism experts from all continents.

230 delegates, including the South African tourism minister, voted with the PowerVote audience response system in a survey on the strategic importance of sustainability in tourism.

Sustainability already offers opportunities for businesses in the tourism sector. However, a study commissioned by World Tourism Forum Lucerne found that buyers generally expect sustainability to be built into products at no extra cost.
Click here for more information on the event.

The Funding Network Uses PowerVote to Award Support for Charities.

Participants at the fund raising event held at the House of Lords used the PowerVote keypads to make donations to charities of their choice. PowerVote Audience Response System became an electronic pledging system for the night, and instrumental in raising funds for charities such as a breast cancer project and a mushroom growing project in India. More information on the event at http://www.thefundingnetwork.org.uk/news/tfn-at-the-house-of-lords-3102/

Voting System: The perfect way to beat the meeting doldrums

Interview of Christophe Jacob, head of Communication at HSBC Technologies & Services.

Can you describe what actually are the “HTS Mysteries”?
It’s simply a quiz distributed to HTS’s 180 team managers and top executives. The intention is to test their knowledge regarding latest HTS news and objectives, based on 10 questions with different levels of complexity. The whole exercise was set up to be entertaining, in a relaxed and easy-going atmosphere. In no way was it meant to be an exam! For that matter, some of the questions were quite surprising or even funny.

Why did you opt for this voting solution?
In the past, we’d use videos to energize our meetings, but the video medium remains a static presentation that doesn’t really encourage interactivity or incite a direct response from participants. We wanted to stimulate our meetings through generating live feedback and measuring the effectiveness of our communication efforts. And this is exactly what the Powervote electronic voting system has been able to accomplish… while adding a dose of fun and originality to the meeting!

How did you come across Powervote?
By the most natural of processes… a Google search!

How would you qualify the outcome of this first use of Powervote voting system?
Lots of positives… I was very impressed by the simplicity of system set-up: super fast and streamlined! And especially the operational flexibility: for example, we were able to modify the voting procedure in just a few seconds without interrupting the flow and without any difficulty. If I had to summarize the experience in a few words, I’d say this interactive voting system is efficient, flexible, easy to handle and definitely a good value for money.

Do you plan on using Audience response systems in the future?
By all means… On average, we’ll have one or two occasions a year to use the system in a number of settings. With the experience of “HTS Mysteries”, I concluded that giving participants a voting system breaks the routine in meetings! The ability to take part in an entertaining way serves to stimulate interest and extend everyone’s attention span.

About HSBC
HSBC, one of the largest banking groups operating at the international scale, employs some 10,000 staff within its French subsidiary alone. Beyond its traditional banking services, the Group offers a whole host of services and products relative to financing, investment, asset management and insurance.

The Ruhr-University Bochum successfully used interactive voting system

Report by Prof. Dr. Heinrich Wottawa (Unit manager, diagnosis and evaluation) sponsor and initiator of the electronic voting project.
The Ruhr-University Bochum successfully uses interactive voting system in the classroom. It is used extensively for psychological diagnosis, as well as training at the Academy and is popular with both students and teachers.

Viktoria Molz, student/coach at Ruhr-University Bochum talks about their experience with PowerVote voting system

Ruhr-University Bochum encourages 3^rd year students to work with 1^st and 2^nd year students in classroom seminars. Regular use of the interactive voting system improves the learning conditions, and the quality of lectures and seminars. Active participation of the audience is encouraged using the interactive voting system and helps to get an immediate sense of the understanding and competence of students.

ECS: Leader in IS

ECS deploys PowerVote in all of its European subsidiaries
The leader in Europe for rental engineering services and computer infrastructure management, ECS relies on the interactive PowerVote voting system to lend dynamism to its training programmes and optimise its sales marketing seminars.

With a presence in 11 countries and 7,000 clients, ECS currently manages over 20,000 rental contracts. Baked by this size and scope, the group is capable of offering its clients, both SMEs-SMIs and corporations, a wide range of global, personalised solutions for resolving each company’s specific problems.
Setting great store by the performance of its staff, ECS uses the PowerVote system at the European level to confirm the level of understanding of its marketing teams and to optimise the impact of its sales marketing seminars.

Confirm the participants’ level of understanding in real-time

Based on electronic voting, the PowerVote system allows its users to create interactive, fun presentations, to collect the participants’ answers, and to graphically display the results in real-time with the help of a video projector.

Searching for an easy-to-use and customisable tool, ECS decided in November 2003 to start using PowerVote during its “International Academy”, an internal institute dedicated to training sales forces and present both in United Kingdom and in each of the group’s European subsidiaries (Germany, Belgium, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland and Switzerland). Following each training course, the staff members, equipped with voting keypads, individually answer a series of questions in order to evaluate their level of understanding, with a minimum score required to pass the course.

“We use PowerVote throughout the year to confirm the skill level of our entire staff, both junior and senior members. They are obligated to take several training courses, allowing them to not only master the latest information technologies, but also to remain familiar with all of the group’s offers. It was, therefore, essential for us to be able to rely on a solution capable of evaluating in real-time each staff member’s level of understanding, while favouring knowledge acquisition, thanks to the playfulness of the voting keypads,” states Laura Barracco, Marketing Director at ECS.

Optimise staff involvement thanks to interactive games

Adapted to the group’s flexibility needs, PowerVote is also used by ECS during its annual seminar dedicated to its entire European sales force, consisting of over 300 people. This event allows the group to present and to confirm among the participants all of its plans of action to be implemented. Capitalising on the playfulness of the system as a lever for learning and memorisation, ECS also relies on a variety of interactive games specially designed by PowerVote. Divided into teams, staff members answer several quizzes on the group’s products. The answers and scores are then displayed in real-time up on the screen. “The multimedia-based presentation coupled with the principle of gaming and excitement makes this challenge a high point of the seminar and optimises staff involvement because the members become actors of this event,” continues Laura Barracco.

Easy and friendly to use, PowerVote is also a regular fixture during ECS’s internal meetings.
“The group’s other departments, such as the financial department, make regular use of PowerVote during their meetings. Whenever we need to gather opinions on a given product or situation, we rely on this solution, which provides us with immediate feedback from the audience while facilitating collective decision making,” concludes Laura Barracco.

Today, ECS owns 2 PowerVote cases, each containing 20 voting keypads, and can always hire additional devices when the number of participants exceeds 40.

About ECS
ECS is the leader in Europe of rental engineering and computer infrastructure management (50 sites throughout Europe). Created in 1974, ECS offers a global solution guaranteeing the dynamism, optimization and securing of its clients’ computer investments.
ECS in figures: £1.52 billion in turnover for 2004, 1,100 staff members, 7,000 clients, 20,000 rental contracts, 760,000 managed micro-computers, 300,000 managed peripherals, 10,000 intermediary systems (Unix, Intel, AS400) and large systems.
For more information: http://www.ecs-group.com

HSM: conference organiser in Executive Education & Management

PowerVote facilitates interactivity and the carrying out of surveys during your events

Over 2,500 people used the electronic voting system during ExpoManagement in 2008

Since 2006, HSM, a multinational company that each year organises various executive training programmes, has used the electronic voting systems during ExpoManagement, one of the leading company management forums in Spain. During the last forum held in Madrid on 23 and 24 May, electronic voting keypads were used during the Orange and Daemon Quest conferences. All together, over 2,500 people used the system marketed by PowerVote to participate in the various thematic presentations. According to Maximiliano Massuci, Operations Manager at HSM Europe, this electronic voting system is extremely versatile and allows not only for an interaction between the audience and the speaker, but also for the carrying out of surveys and studies among the participants.

The best option

The multinational company HSM considered various alternatives present on the market before adopting the PowerVote system. According to Massuci, the other options did not offer the same services as PowerVote.
“This tool has advantages not shared by conventional voting systems. For example, within the same building, two rooms can vote simultaneously without experiencing any interference between the radio signals. In addition, you can differentiate in the voting processor which remote control is in the process of voting in one room and which is voting in the other, while the conventional systems existent on the market do not offer this possibility. With a normal electronic voting system, the radio signals experience interference when voting takes place in two juxtaposed rooms, which risks altering the voting results.”

The advantages

An individualisation of the vote and the carrying out of analyses among the participants by separating the various samples from the available groups are among the advantages underlined by the Operations Manager at HSM Europe.
“The system is very flexible and very easy to implement. You can use it for basic applications or in a more complex manner to gather concrete data. What’s more, this system is easy to use, as demonstrated by its flexibility for an audience such as ours of some 3,000 participants: for a 5-option question, only a few seconds are needed to ask and answer the question and evaluate the results. It also allows for an exact determination of the participants’ level of understanding, for the speaker can modify his or her presentation based on the results obtained.”

The second application used by HSM is the carrying out of surveys among the participants. The questions can be presented, completed and commented on immediately.
“It’s very interesting, because the participants are surprised to see the results up on the screen,” points out Massuci.
However, he admits that for certain speakers, a sort of psychological block exists faced with such new technologies. “Speakers are normally very traditional and they are afraid of opening a breach allowing for interactivity. Here we are confronted with a critical point.” Massuci argues in favour of educating speakers so that they can adapt their conferences to this type of system.

A complete system

Before the sudden emergence on the market of electronic voting systems, the most common method of voting during these events was by a show of hands. The presenter asked a question and the audience members answered by raising their hands. As the Manager of Operations at HSM Europe recognises, this system is possible during small meetings, but not during events gathering together hundreds or even thousands of participants.
“It is very different to ask a question directly to a room of 50 people and to ask this same question to an audience of 1,000 people,” he points out.
However, he also considers that this tool can be used during meetings of only several people or with a smaller audience.

According to Massuci, the PowerVote system is very flexible and easy to implement.
“It can be used for basic applications or in a more complex manner to gather concrete data. PowerVote is very easy to use.” In addition, Massuci asserts that no application is lacking in the PowerVote voting system: “There currently exists no better tool.”
HSM has so far used PowerVote only at ExpoManagement, but during its next meetings, the company plans on hiring this tool for an adequate application.

About HSM
Founded in 1989, HSM is a multinational company that provides directors and executives a variety of training products and services. To this end, the company uses the most advanced tools and techniques, relying on the principal sources of knowledge and management experts at the international level. HSM offers its services to a market of over 500,000 clients distributed throughout South America, the United States and Europe. Its shareholders include JP Morgan, Dresdner Bank, Credit Suisse First Boston, La Nación and HSM’s top management team.
Outside Madrid, ExpoManagement is presented each year in Mexico City, Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo. The HSM Group also organises other executive training events: the World High Performance Forum and the World Marketing and Information Forum.

Publishing company

This global publishing company used the electronic PowerVote voting keypads during a meeting with its employees

The Human Resources department of the publishing company held a meeting with all of its employees in November 2007.
So as not to limit itself during this meeting to a simple presentation, the event was organised in the form of a competition, with questions being asked on the company. All participants were invited to take part in the quiz, thanks to the electronic PowerVote voting keypads.

According to the Director of Human Resources, during this type of event, the audience’s involvement is proportional to the system’s ease-of-use: “The tool used arouses in large part the participants’ curiosity, and this voting keypad encourages participation while at the same time facilitating communication.”
Organising a meeting for several hundreds people, gathering information, and ensuring that the answers instigate immediate exchanges can together seem an impossible task without the use of interactive voting keypads. This was a priority for the HR department of the publishing company in preparing for this meeting to which all of its employees had been invited. It amounted to a huge challenge for the organisers, for this was the first time that the company was gathering together “all Group personnel in our country,” explains the Director of Human Resources.

An interactive competition

Taking advantage of the work carried out on the group’s corporate values, the general management, as well as the HR department proposed gathering together all staff during a one-day macro-event. “The proposed goal consisted of reflecting upon our company and sharing a day with all of the group’s professionals,” explains Mr Crooke.
The Aranjuez Casino in Madrid was chosen as the venue for this event, and several presentations were held. Management members presented to the participants the goal and the developed actions, while members of the HR department explained the company’s policy on reconciling one’s professional and family lives. “Since we didn’t want to only carry out the classic presentation of an agency specialised in this type of event, without any type of interactivity, we proposed a competition in the form of questions on the company,” explains the Director of Human Resources.

This competition was held at the Aranjuez Casino, with the Assistant General Manager of the company acting as the presenter. Three volunteers were recruited among the participants to also act as presenters. However, a voting keypad was given to each employee to allow the entire audience to participate by answering the questions. “In this manner, the participants and the audience were able to vote. In addition, a prize was awarded the audience member who answered the most questions correctly,” explains Mr Crooke.
According to the Director of Human Resources, this activity was made possible thanks to interactive voting, “which facilitates the participation of all audience members, while rendering dynamic an activity that otherwise could only have been carried out on stage”.
According to Mr Crooke, the audience’s involvement is proportional to the system’s ease-of-use. He underlines that, “The acceptance of this system depends in large part on the tool used, which arouses the audience’s curiosity, for it encourages participation while at the same time facilitating communication.”

A positive experience

This meeting constituted a double challenge for the HR department. Firstly, this was the first time that the publishing company was gathering together all of its employees and secondly, it was also the first time that the interactive PowerVote voting keypads were being used. “We hesitated to use a new tool without first knowing how it worked. It’s true that we were pleased with the system glimpsed at ExpoManagement. We had noted its simplicity and its ease-of-use. That’s why we decided to use the electronic voting keypads. What’s more, we requested the assistance of the PowerVote technicians to resolve any incident or answer our questions,” explains Mr Crooke.
Despite the system’s simplicity, the Director of Human Resources at SM admits that “taking charge of its set up, programming and coordination would have been difficult or impractical”.

Convention Centre

PowerVote: information in real-time!

Since its opening nearly ten years ago, hundreds of events, conferences, congresses and meetings, have been held at this Convention Centre, during which audience members have been able to use interactive voting systems. The use of such systems is increasing. According to the Director of the Centre, “interactive voting keypads have proved to be very interesting tools that furnish information in real-time for any type of event.”
At the Convention Centre, each event is unique. And even though this centre’s main function is the renting of convention space, it should be pointed out that ever since its opening in 1998, every effort has been made to provide each of its clients with personalised attention and exclusive devotion. Likewise, if a company needs wireless voting keypads for its meetings, the Convention Centre goes out of its way to ensure their distribution, for a complete, one-of-a-kind service is offered its clients, who can choose à la carte any element helping to make their meeting a success.
However, The Director of the Center admits that the clients usually bring along their own voting systems and that the convention centre is rarely asked to provide such a system. “We are sometimes asked for information concerning these systems, but they are usually provided by agencies specialised in events planning,” he points out.
The number of users remains limited
This probably explains why, even though interactive voting systems are becoming increasingly well known, they have yet to be used to the same extent as in the surrounding countries. In fact, according to the Director of the Convention Centre, they continue to be used by a minority of convention goers. “According to our statistics, they have been used for 2% of our events. In 2007, for example, they were only used during three important events.”
The most often used voting systems at the Convention Centre are based upon wireless radio technology, “with a connection allowing for a projection in the hall, with the help of interactive presentations,” confirms The Director. However, he admits that during certain events, voting is usually carried out by a traditional show of hands.

Advantages and drawbacks

Voting keypads constitute a very useful tool to increase productivity during meetings, whether for training, communication or marketing purposes. In the opinion of the Director of the Convention Centre, “the main advantages of electronic systems are, firstly, the rapidity of vote counting and, secondly, the graphic presentation of results on the screen.”
In addition, he considers that “interactive voting keypads are very interesting and they can help gather information in real-time during any type of event.”
As his main criticism of interactive voting systems, he underlines the cost of such systems, for “they remain very expensive for certain clients”. Similarly, he considers that the presentations “could be improved, for they usually make use of conventional graphics.”

About this Convention Centre
Nearly ten years after its opening, this Convention Centre has hosted more than 1,500 national and international events, gathering together over one million participants of every nationality.
These past few years, the convention centre has welcomed numerous national and international congresses, company conventions and organised events of all types.
The convention centre offers a wide variety of services for the organisation of any type of event. In addition, the site is equipped with the latest technology, allowing it to adapt its services to any type of meeting.

Medical Faculty

Experience of a Medical Faculty

The monthly presentation of multidisciplinary clinical cases has offered the faculty, for the past few years already, a new, interactive method for continuing medical training, allowing it to gather together and improve communication between doctors from diverse backgrounds, which today’s hyper-specialisation tends to isolate.

In this manner, general practitioners and specialists in and outside the hospital are brought together.

During 2 hours, 6 varied clinical cases are presented via video and thanks to information technology with the use of voting keypads each device recording the vote of 3 or 4 doctors gathered together on some fifteen small, friendly tables.

The faculty plans on organising video conferences and making these training sessions available online to gather together geographically remote practitioners.

Fast Food chain

This Fast Food chain boosts its training courses with PowerVote
To train the future managers of its restaurants and franchises, this Fast food chain uses the interactive PowerVote voting system to monitor the level of understanding of its trainees.

Setting great store by its teams’ performance, the fast food specialist, has set up a training centre for its restaurants’ team members, assistant managers and directors…

Each year, this training centre welcomes over 2,000 trainees for 25 different courses. These training sessions are designed around two main themes: mastering their technical know-how (product composition, hygiene and quality, food safety, stock management, marketing, etc.) and developing their management skills (team leadership, recruiting, etc.).

Confirm the level of understanding with PowerVote

In May 2003, the Training Department used the interactive PowerVote voting system for the first time during the inauguration of the I2M (Management and Trades Institute). The goal was to present in a fun, interactive manner this new institute, while at the same time convincing the audience of the advantages of using PowerVote. Following the great success of this dynamic presentation, the PowerVote system was integrated into the training courses to evaluate the trainees’ knowledge level.

The 3-month, 3-course training programme combines classes with work experience. Between 25 and 30 trainees participate in each training session. The first course covers the technical aspects of the trade (production, maintenance, etc.), as well as customer service. The second course concerns the various aspects of communication and team management (training and delegation). Finally, the third course tackles the administrative tasks of the trade (turnover, markup, etc.), followed by an overall evaluation of the trainees’ knowledge acquisition. The score awarded at the end of this training programme allows the regional manager to evaluate each trainee’s knowledge level.

The interactive PowerVote voting system is used with questionnaires for the confirmation of each course. These questionnaires are dotted with “best answer rankings”, which lend dynamism to the session and motivate the learners, while allowing each trainee to monitor his or her positioning.

PowerVote a source of envy within the Fast food Chain

Before PowerVote, the Training Department used paper-based questionnaires.
« The use of paper was especially time-consuming, for both the instructors and the trainees. What’s more, our trainees being rather young, they tended to trade their questionnaires. With PowerVote, there’s no way to cheat and due to the playfulness of the system, the trainees feel more involved. In the end, everyone’s happy,” states the Director of Operational Training.

“We use PowerVote every three weeks, and since 2003, we have trained over 2,000 employees. PowerVote allows us to immediately verify our trainees’ level of understanding. Thanks to its ease-of-use and the possibility to make immediate modifications, our questionnaires are always up-to-date with regard to standards. In addition, we save considerable time and paper. Now much easier to organise, our sessions are lighter and less boring, for we have eliminated the time-consuming corrections imposed by paper.”

PowerVote has then attracted more people within this fast food Chain! Today, the regional managers want to use the PowerVote system to evaluate their personnel, and other projects are under way: hygiene training, HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points), etc.

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