Dashe & Thomson, Inc., a recognized leader in enterprise training solutions, announced it has partnered with McGraw-Hill, the content, software, and services-based education company, as they replace their existing financial management systems with a modern ERP solution.
McGraw-Hill chose Oracle e-Business Suite, based on prior experience with Oracle’s products already used within the company. Dashe & Thomson is providing a number of services on the project including Custom Training.

Project Atlas will help McGraw-Hill meet their global digital strategic growth by providing the right management information to the right people at the right time to make the right business decisions.

Jolene Wilson, VP of Training and eLearning Development at Dashe, says “This is more than just software training for a software implementation. Dashe is helping to transform the way that McGraw-Hill does business. We are helping to define how Oracle EBS will impact the way users perform business processes and key performance indicators (KPIs) for each user audience. We will are tying business goals and KPIs back to the custom training we’re building for each group. In addition, we are creating an online learning and reference portal to support users during training, at go-live, and on-going.”

Atlas is more than just a systems replacement. It includes replacing Lawson Financials with the Oracle 12 E-Business Suite and redesigning the Corporation’s Chart of Accounts (COA) to address known deficiencies and leverage leading practices. Atlas will provide dramatic improvements in McGraw Hill’s management information capabilities and lay the foundation required to implement the remaining Atlas projects.

About McGraw-Hill:

With sales of $6.2 billion in 2010, McGraw-Hill has approximately 21,000 employees across more than 280 offices in 40 countries. The company is based in New York, New York. Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies is a leading global financial information and education company that helps professionals and students succeed in the Knowledge Economy. Leading brands include Standard & Poor’s, McGraw-Hill Education, Platts energy information services and J.D. Power and Associates. More information is available at www.mcgraw-hill.com

About Dashe & Thomson:

Dashe & Thomson provides customized training solutions to enable large-scale business changes – from enterprise-wide software to process reengineering. The company was founded in 1981 on the belief that knowledgeable users are the key to any company’s goal of achieving return on software investments.

Dashe & Thomson provides highly experienced teams of instructional designers, training developers, trainers, online help developers, and e-learning specialists, using a project methodology developed over the company’s 30-year history. Dashe & Thomson consultants provide training services for both corporate and public sectors, and average more than 15 years of professional experience. To learn more, visit www.dashe.com

Claire Narum

Dashe & Thomson is pleased to welcome Claire Narum as its new Director of Instructional Design.  Claire joined the company in July after working as a training and documentation consultant for Dashe over the past five years.  Prior to that, she spent several years working as a trainer and instructional designer for the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland.  She has developed and delivered training both nationally and internationally, for a range of industries and systems, from large-scale ERP implementations to specialized, in-house software applications.  Claire has a B.S. degree in Psychology from Brigham Young University.  In her spare time she enjoys reading, cycling, swimming, and travel.

Find out more about Claire in the interview below.

Q:           How did you come to learn about Dashe & Thomson?

A:            I was in Minnesota visiting relatives, and my sister brought home a copy of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.  It contained a special section on the job market in Minnesota, and I stumbled on an article about Dashe & Thomson.  As I read it, I thought ‘That sounds like the perfect place for me to work.’  However, at that time I was still living in Switzerland.  I did send my resume, but not surprisingly, I didn’t hear back.  Eventually, when I moved back to the United States, I found a contract position in Minneapolis.  Dashe contacted me about six months later, and I’ve more or less worked exclusively for Dashe ever since.

Q:           Discuss your background a little bit.

A:            Well, after graduating from college I jumped on an airplane and moved to Switzerland to work for the international organizations.  It took three months to ‘break in’ to the system, and my first job was as a temporary secretary for UNHCR (the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees).  I was pretty idealistic, and a little disappointed to be taking a secretarial position, but I figured I would work my way up.  Eventually I found my way to the World Health Organization, and after a few years there I landed a job doing training on one of their proprietary systems called AMS (Activity Management System).  That was the first time I ever had a job that I truly looked forward to in the morning.  It was like a revelation!  Since then I’ve moved more into the training development arena, but I’ve stayed involved in training ever since.

Q:           So how long have you been working in the training field?

A:            In total, I’d say about ten years.

Q:           And what about this industry attracts you?

A:            Initially, it was simply the desire to help people do their jobs more easily.  Working at WHO, there was a lot of bureaucracy, with a lot of hoops to jump through, and very little training.  Although they did have “New Hire Training,” it was highly conceptual – not practical at all.  So when I started, it felt great to help people go back to their desks and understand how to use the AMS to do their required work.  I was also the point person for system help at that time, so I really worked hard at providing help with problem-solving, as well as answering simple system usage questions.

These days, I’m motivated a bit more by the production process.  Now that I’m not doing much training, I like the process of developing effective training documentation.   And I love working with lots of different companies, getting to know their cultures, their special needs, and so on.  It keeps me growing and always learning, which I like.

Q:           You’ve been a contractor for several years now. What’s the biggest change, working full-time for Dashe & Thomson?

A:            It is kind of the best of both worlds.  As I said earlier, I enjoy moving around and working with lots of different companies in different industries.  Taking a position with Dashe gives me the stability of working with a team of people over the long term, without giving up the variety of contract work.  Also, I’m looking forward to getting to know a bit more about the other side of the business, the project development and planning side of the equation.

Q:           What are you hoping to accomplish in your new position?

A:            Generally speaking, the two things I’d like to contribute are, first, to build relationships with as many clients as possible.  I’d like to increase our repeat business by building trust and providing value adds wherever I can.  Second, and even more generally, I’d like to help grow Dashe & Thomson as a company.  I’ll spare you my grand fantasies of a multinational Dashe & Thomson perpetually climbing on the S&P 500, but I definitely want to be part of broadening the clientele throughout the United States, and beyond, if possible.

Services designed to help rural hospitals receive federal incentive payments

Dashe & Thomson, Inc., a recognized leader in enterprise training solutions, today announced it will partner with Healthland, America’s market leader of healthcare information solutions for rural community and critical access hospitals , to provide training to hospitals seeking to comply with the Meaningful  Use requirements described in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).  The training will ensure that those healthcare providers utilizing the Healthland EHR solution are eligible for incentive payments from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

“Achieving meaningful use of Electronic Health Records requires commitment and resources,” said Jon Matejcek, President of Dashe & Thomson.  “To experience the complete benefits of EHR, and meet new requirements, hospital employees need to truly understand and accept the new system.  This can be a challenge at any level, but for rural hospitals with limited resources, it’s particularly difficult.”

Despite the challenges, the rewards of achieving Meaningful Use of EHR can be significant.  A recent press release from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services notes that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), charged by Congress with running the program, expects to issue “as much as $27 billion” in payments over the next ten years.

 Hospitals looking to take full advantage of the stimulus program must be meaningful users of a certified EHR system by 2013.  Beginning in 2014, Medicare bonuses will decrease, and by 2015, those hospitals that are not yet meaningful users will begin to incur Medicare reimbursement penalties.  With this deadline in mind, Dashe & Thomson and Healthland have sought to expand Healthland’s position as the national leader in healthcare IT solutions for rural hospitals by offering a comprehensive learning curriculum designed to help eligible hospitals and care providers receive incentive payments.

The cornerstone of the curriculum is a web-based learning portal that can be accessed at any time by hospital employees.  Designed as an instructional job-aid, the learning portal aligns training and how-to reference material as appropriate for each position, providing instruction on an “as-needed” basis.  The concise, task-based lessons allow employees to learn material in a way that promotes retention, and role-based assessments help employees and management gauge readiness to comply with the Meaningful Use requirements. 

The Healthland Meaningful Use EHR solution and training provided by Dashe & Thomson will enable participating hospitals to maximize the long-term benefits of their technology investment.  

“As the only EHR provider focused exclusively on the rural hospital market, we recognize that our clients look to us to provide a complete meaningful use solution – including training,” said Angie Franks, Healthland president and CEO.    “Dashe & Thomson’s expertise will help us provide our clients with the services they need to achieve Meaningful Use, including preparing staff, adjusting processes, and complying with all reporting requirements.”

 About Dashe & Thomson:

Dashe & Thomson provides customized training solutions to enable large-scale business changes – from enterprise-wide software to process reengineering.  The company was founded in 1981 on the belief that knowledgeable users are the key to any company’s goal of achieving return on software investments.

Dashe & Thomson provides highly experienced teams of instructional designers, training developers, trainers, online help developers, and e-learning specialists, using a project methodology developed over the company’s 30-year history. Dashe & Thomson consultants provide training services for both corporate and public sectors, and average more than 15 years of professional experience.  To learn more, visit http://www.dashe.com. 

 About Healthland:

Healthland is America’s largest provider of fully integrated solutions to rural community and critical access hospitals, serving more than 500 clients across the country. Software and services from Healthland, including its electronic health record (EHR) solution, empower community hospitals to deliver the best possible healthcare by providing a central repository of patient information in all care settings, be it a hospital, clinic or extended care facility.

With 30 years of experience in the rural healthcare market, Healthland solutions are uniquely suited to the size and needs of rural hospitals, enabling them to focus on what they do best – care for neighbors, family and friends. Founded in Glenwood, Minn., population 2,600, Healthland is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn., with regional offices in Glenwood, Minn., Louisville, Ky. and Waco, Texas. More information is available at: http://www.healthland.com.

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Dashe & Thomson was recently selected by the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) to revise and realign its Certified Employee Training Program. Tasked by Congress with overseeing the safe handling and use of propane products nationwide, PERC needed a training partner to update material for 14 separate training certifications, and chose Dashe & Thomson from a national pool of applicants. In providing PERC with engaging and effective training materials, Dashe has applied the latest in adult education, instructional design, and eLearning methodologies.

Leading network infrastructure provider Juniper Networks selected Dashe & Thomson to provide eLearning for its network of field installation experts. Juniper’s expanding national footprint has created a need for a broader range of instructional content for field technicians and installers. After a national search for additional eLearning vendors, Dashe & Thomson was engaged as a partner for Juniper’s ongoing eLearning development needs.

Dashe & Thomson has entered into a partnership with leading education technology provider KaplanIT. Under the agreement, Dashe & Thomson will act as a reseller for STT Trainer, a complete solution for creating software simulations, electronic user performance support, and system documentation.

STT Trainer was voted “Most Innovative” Simulation Authoring Tool by attendees of Brandon Hall and Training Magazine’s “Simulation Shootout”.

Kaplan IT Learning is a division of the Kaplan Company, leaders in educational programs for children and adults. With over 600 locations in more than 30 countries, Kaplan IT is the largest and fastest-growing division of its parent company, the Washington Post Company.

Kaplan IT Learning provides certification preparation, assessment, learning services, and software to help individuals and organizations train on technology and prepare for technology certifications.

For more information about STT Trainer, visit stt-trainer.com.

Inc. Magazine recently published its annual list of the 5,000 fastest growing companies in the U.S., ranking Dashe & Thomson 59th among Education Companies.

The list ranks companies by revenue growth over three years between 2005 to 2008. Dashe & Thomson grew 36% during the period.