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Flexible and Affordable: JCPenney Finds Corporate Training and Communication Solution from Helius Inc. to be a Perfect Fit
"JCPenney has relied on their satellite television network to broadcast corporate communications and training to its associates since 1985, and we felt it was time to replace the satellite equipment we had been using for 10 years," said Alan Langford, Creative Production and Network Manager for Plano, Texas-based JCPenney. "We could have very easily purchased the same type of satellite equipment again and continue doing the same things. Or we could take things to the next level with our corporate training and communication, and get a lot more for our investment." JCPenney met with Helius to learn about the solutions Helius offers to corporations like JCPenney. The company discovered a new generation of corporate training technology with Helius' fully interactive MediaClassroom Live and OnDemand training system. Using the Helius MediaGate 4550 Router platform, combined with Westar's uplinking services and PanAmSat's space segment management, JCPenney can implement an on-demand virtual classroom for its 150,000 associates at 1,020 locations. "Helius' MediaGate Router acts as a TiVo-type device for our stores and offices," Langford said. "We can provide training to our associates when it's needed—not just when it can be scheduled. Training is available when our associates need it most. It's that simple." Among the many benefits JCPenney is experiencing from using the Helius' satellite network system for the company's corporate training model, Langford expressed three key benefits that enforce the company's investment: speed of delivery, cost effectiveness and additional bandwidth to support message traffic. Langford also said he hopes Helius' platform will help him achieve a goal of taking corporate training to the heart of JCPenney's business—the sales floor—to even further decrease lost productivity by condensing training time. More important, JCPenney appreciates that Helius is more than a technology company. When you're a corporation as big as JCPenney, flexibility is the name of the game, and Helius proved to JCPenney that it was as flexible as its dynamic customers. The company came to Helius with concerns and needs, and Helius went right to the drawing board to design a uniquely tailored solution package that would exceed JCPenney's expectations. "JCPenney has utilized interactive distance learning technology since 1996 to ensure that our store associates who are geographically dispersed have the training they need when they need it. By implementing Helius' MediaClassroom solution, we will be able to repurpose our synchronous training and make the same class available to associates when it is most convenient for them and we maintain the same interactive format. Store supervisors will no longer have to tape the "live" class to share with associates who may be working different shifts. And, we will centrally control what gets recorded, and maintained at the store level," said Deborah Masten, Vice President of Associate Development for JCPenney. "In retail environments, employee turnover is an unavoidable challenge, especially during peak selling seasons. Delivering our employee training programs via satellite will help make the training process simpler, shorter and more effective so our newest associates can spend less time in training and more time on the sales floor assisting our customers." "Give Helius an idea and they'll run with it," Langford said. "There's a tremendous amount of flexibility in that company—they are not a cookie-cutter operation. That's a good thing." About Helius Inc. |
