Gen-i Launches First Australasian Training Academy

Media Release

Gen-i launches first Australasian training Academy for service delivery people

. . designed to drive excellence in client service . . .

Auckland, 2 February 2009 –

Gen-i has today launched the first Australasian training Academy for service delivery people. Designed to elevate Gen-i's client service skills to a new level of excellence, the new programme is based on Gen-i's existing Sales Academy and strengthens Gen-i's ability to create strong and sustained relationships with its clients.

Called the Service Academy, the new training programme has been designed for Gen-i's 1,700 people who work across service delivery, providing IT and telecommunications services and support to Gen-i's 3,300 clients across Australasia.

Gen-i's service delivery people will receive tailored development that focuses on tracking and improving the core competencies of each individual. Its success will be linked to measureable improvements in key business outcomes, such as staff engagement and retention, and client satisfaction.

The training will be rolled out as a phased programme, with the first group joining the Academy in February 2009, and all groups participating by early 2010.

Chris Quin, Gen-i Australasia Chief Executive Officer, explained that the launch of the new programme was a key component in Gen-i's ongoing work to transform the end-to-end experience for Gen-i clients.

"Early in 2008, we created a single Australasian business and set ourselves the goal of becoming Australasia's largest and most preferred ICT provider," said Quin. "The quality of our people and the excellence of our service are a key differentiator for us as we continue to build a client-driven business where client preference is key."

Quin says that the new programme is an endorsement of the quality of Gen-i's existing Sales Academy and its success at building world-class sales people.

"The Sales Academy has been pivotal in developing our sales and client relationship skills to new levels, and we look forward to extending best practice in training and development across our entire service delivery organisation," he added.

John Woodyard, Gen-i Academy Manager, says that the new training programme will provide people with further development and learning opportunities, and enhance their client service capabilities.

"It's all too common for companies to put their people through external training courses and then wonder why they don't work any differently," said Woodyard. "The old sheep dip approach to training has truly run its course.

"We have introduced a structured and personalised training and coaching programme across core competencies and role-specific skills. It requires demonstrable proof of performance and will include a rigorous graduation process.

"It will be a great contributor to our efforts to recruit and retain the best in the business, and will legitimise client service as a professional skill that is critical to our business success."

The Academy has created an annual training curriculum that will drive prioritisation of investment in the following year. It has established a formal certification and graduation programme similar to that already used in the Sales Academy. It leverages and shares the current operations team and tools used in the Sales Academy, and the skills of third-party training providers as appropriate.

About the Gen-i Sales Academy

Gen-i established its internal Sales Academy in 2005. The training across core competencies, followed by a rigorous graduation process, has legitimised sales as a professional skill that is critical to Gen-i's business success. Around 500 Gen-i people are eligible for the Sales Academy training.

In August 2008, Gen-i and the University of Waikato Management School launched the first Australasian post-graduate sales training programme. Gen-i client managers and sales support people who graduate from Gen-i's existing Sales Academy programme can now enrol in the new post-graduate Certificate in Management Studies jointly taught with the University to further develop their sales and client relationship skills.

In 2008, Gen-i's Sales Academy talent development programme was recognised by the US-based Sales Executive Council (SEC) as one of the most effective programmes worldwide out of the hundreds evaluated by the SEC. The SEC is a global association representing over 500 sales organisations and thousands of executives committed to stewarding sales and marketing practice.

Mary Detterick, Sales Executive Council Research Director, ranked Gen-i's Sales Academy as world-leading. "The Sales Executive Council has assessed hundreds of sales development programmes. Of all these development programmes, we believe the Sales Academy developed at Gen-i and Telecom to be one of the most effective we have seen. We first recognised the Sales Academy in 2005, and have been greatly impressed by the programme's continued development and success since then."

Ends

About Gen-i

Gen-i is at the forefront of helping customers take advantage of the convergence of technology and telecommunications, and the new opportunities this makes possible. Gen-i works alongside its 3,300 corporate, government and business customers to deliver seamless and integrated ICT solutions. A member of the Telecom New Zealand Group, Gen-i achieves this with the support of over 3,000 highly skilled people in 17 locations across New Zealand and Australia. For more information on Gen-i, visit www.gen-i.co.nz

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