Congratulations to SelecSource for all of its accomplishments!

On August 11-13^th, Avionte had our first ever Client Connection Forum.   

We called it that because we intended it to be a whole lot more than just a User Group meeting. 
To us, we had a couple simple goals:  

• Listen to our clients
• Build relationships
• Help clients gain a greater understanding of Avionté and how they can apply the tools to their businesses.

As our first forum in a poor economy, we were expecting a low number of attendees.   As the registrations continued to climb, our final count was close to 50!  However, numbers alone wouldn’t begin to describe the success of this Forum.  Even now, over 2 weeks later, I’m still humbled and honored to have such a great group of customers and frankly put, friends. 

Top 5 things that I got out of our Forum: 

1.  What a great group of customers and friends we have.  The talent and knowledge level represented was staggering. 
2. Always, always, always listen to your customers about what they need.  Don’t just assume.
3. Our clients are just as interested in each other, as they are in us.   One of the biggest feedbacks about the forum was to have more breakout sessions that featured smaller groups for the staffing individuals to interact.
4. More training – people wanted more staffing software training in all areas.
5. More time with the entire Avionte staff.  Our staff works very closely with each of our clients, so giving them the opportunity to get to know each other and put a face with the voice was a big hit.

Overall, this forum was simply amazing.  Everyone walking out of there (both us and our customers) were blown away and looking forward t next year!

We had a great time at the Avionté Staffing Software - Client Connection Forum, and have heard tons of great feedback from our clients!  It was informational, beneficial and most importantly, they all walked away learning more about Avionté and our staff.  Over the 3 days the conference was held, I had the opportunity to meet many great people, who shared with me some things in return as well.  Here are just a couple of the most memorable. 

• There are creative ways to shower outside if your plumbing goes out.
• Believe it or not, there are Viking fans outside of Minnesota!
• Hot sauce is a collector’s item
• There is a great coffee shop in Door County, WI – http://gtcoffee2.com/
• You may want to bring an alarm clock, even if you never regularly use one.
• A Ghost is a great high-school mascot
• 3^rd party vendor give-a-ways make great gifts for your children!
• Down south, flowers once a week is an expected tradition
• Wisconsin cheese curds are assumed to be just a myth by many!

John and Brenda stopped by the coffee shop on their way through D0or County, WI the following week.  Owned by the daughter of Ann Janquart from Opportunites Inc.

For those of you that made it to Client Connection 2010…you can attest to the learning, networking and fun that was had by all!  For those of you that were not able to join us (we hope to see you next year!) I thought I would share a few of the highlights.  With so much information packed into three days, you may not be able to remember all the highlights… so you can use this information to share with your co-workers as to what really went on!

Wednesday

Most of our guests arrived without incident.  However, we did have a few victims of the thunderstorms that visited Minneapolis.  For those unlucky few (including one of our team members) they missed the opening sessions, but most were able to make it to the end of the day networking event.  We opened the afternoon with highlights from v2010 including:

• Portals, portals and more portals
• Favorites
• Mass Mail
• Outlook
• Roster
• Quickplace

It was great to have our Corporate Trainer Laura, and our Chief Software Architect Samar available to answer questions and explain the new features.  Samar also covered many of the new web portal features available with v2010 including the Spanish on-line application and the re-vamped Applicant, Employee, Customer and Vendor portals.  A new Admin portal was also created to allow Administrators to quickly add, edit and manage the data, permission and interface of all the portals.

The opening session was followed with two breakout sessions for Front Office and Back Office users.  Those that attended my Front Office session will remember the technical difficult with the baby projector (amazing how small they are getting!). Even with the setback, we managed to have a great discussion on AutoMatch  along with other  advanced front office feature.

After five we all headed to the Mall of America to get our food and drink on at Crave.  It was great opportunity to relax, network and most importantly, get caught up on the personal lives of all or clients.  Since many of our customers are in different markets, so much sharing of information took place all night.  A few stepped out to experience the mall for a bit, but most stayed and closed the place down.  I promised I wouldn’t mention names, but one of my faithful blog readers decided they needed a little more fun for the night and headed down to the next night spot in the mall.  It must have been pretty uneventful as no stories followed the next morning.

Thursday

Our day was started with CEO John Long’s comments about Avionté and the direction we are heading (the right one!).  Audience participation was greatly encouraged with the giving of free hours of development.  So if you sent one of your employees and they didn’t come back with one, well they were a little shy about talking in front of the group.

Next Samar spoke about some of the additional developments in our latest version v2010.  I am sure that I am a bit biased, but there is some pretty cool stuff our development team has come out with!  If you haven’t seen it yet, check out our webinars highlighting the new features.

The breakout sessions called…”Design an Avionté feature” and “What’s working for you” were big hits!  The only problem with all the sessions, is that there was never enough time.

John and Laura got the group thinking when presenting Staffing and Software best practices.  Many of our customers want to know how they compare in regards to order filled per user, revenue generated per user/branch or other statistics based on the size of their company.  John unveiled the project he is currently working on that will allow our users to do just that.  They can view monthly statistics compiled from other companies that are comparable to theirs.

Cory showed the group how photogenic he is and garnered a few ohhs and ahhs with some of his cool technology including the “friend maker”.

He discussed the direction that staffing is taking, automated.  The more applicants, employees and customers can do the better.  By allowing applicants to fill out their application on line, you are offering your service 24/7, not just your physical business hours.  The same applies for your employees and customers.  They can log in to your web portals and take care of their information when it’s most convenient for them.

Roundtable sessions followed covering topics such as management/operations, 3^rd party integrations, sales/recruiting and back office.  Our users had great ideas to share how they are using Avionté to boost production and profitability in these areas.

After the final session everyone loaded up to head out for a dinner cruise on Lake Minnetonka.  Although the skies looked a bit ominous, the feeling within the group was one of high spirits ready to have some fun!  Our cruise lasted about an hour before the lights went out and we had to turn back to port and wait out the storm.  A few people on the boat (I’m told) didn’t notice we had headed back or that our engine didn’t sound quite right.  After an hour in port we headed back out to the open waters to enjoy the last bit of our cruise.  Despite the weather and mechanical issues, it was a fantastic evening with great food, drink and conversation.  The night was ended with a fantastic little dance performed by one of our favorite customer’s (they are all favorites) IT people.  “There ain’t no party like an Avionté party!”

I had the privilege of driving one of the groups back.  Some of you may know that I live in Montana.. contrary to popular belief we do have paved roads, stop lights and the internet.  Sadly, we also have a speed limit, which is slightly higher than the one in MN.  Our group returned back to the hotel first.. us Montanans know how to drive.  Thanks to my group for making the drive home a fun one.  Well at least to the people in the first two rows; I have no idea who was in the back three rows.

Friday arrived, much to the sorrow of many.  It was almost like we were at camp.  Camp with really good food and comfy beds.  Everyone was invited back to the Avionté office to meet other team members and have a chance to chat and discuss any topic they wanted.  It was a great opportunity for many of our customers to have some good face time with our four partners.  I did learn something interesting while involved in one of the conversations.  “You don’t know what you don’t know”  Hmm.. I’m going to ponder that one for a while.

At 11:30 part of the group went out for a little golf; which luckily didn’t get rained out.  The rest of the group slowly departed throughout the day.  Hugs and well wishes where shared as people left for the airport to return home and share all they had learned.

For our first effort, I think it was pretty amazing.  Brenda and Briana can’t be thanked enough for the hours and hours they spent making sure that every detail was taken care of.  I would love to hear some comments from those who attended.. and for those of you who couldn’t make it this year – we would love to see you next year!

by Briana Morgan

Mike has made the transition to the staffing industry through several years of software sales experience.  Having this background in ATS and ERP, front and back office systems allows him to provide valuable insight and guidance to our clients.  Mike’s great energy, easy going attitude and highly driven perspective are a perfect fit here at Avionté Staffing Software.  Please feel free to introduce yourself or ask him any questions!  Mike can be reached at mike@avionte.com or 651-556-2121.

Role at Avionté:  VP of Sales – Providing prospects and clients an in-depth knowledge of our front and back office system, while presenting solutions to meet their specific staffing needs.  An active member and participant in several staffing industry associations, Mike is the voice of our organization for his territory, while building upon relationships he’s developed with other organizations and industry partners in the staffing space.

Outside of Work:  Mike maximizes our Minnesota climate, whether it’s heading out of the city during the summers for a weekend at Battle Lake, a back yard barbeque or the annual ski trip to the Rockies, he enjoys surrounding himself with family, friends and always having a good time.

On the Lighter Side…

If you could live anywhere for 1 year where would it be?  Nashville, TN

What is the strangest food you ever ate?  Lutefisk

What is your favorite color?  Blue

What do you think the secret to a good life is?  Carpe Diem

Only the Staff at Avionté knows… just how dangerous a Bluetooth speaker system in a car can be.

Would you rather view learn about the new features at your leisure?  Let us know and we will send you a link to our computer based training.

What you will get to do:

• Install, configure, and troubleshoot routers, firewalls, switches, servers, and workstations

•Manage and implement disaster recovery and back-up plans

•Configure and organize main network administration and server environment

•Maintain internal and external network stability

• Respond to calls and emails from staff/clients to prioritize, track, and resolve network issues
• Correct the issues and communicate resolution to the staff/client
• Gain in-depth knowledge of the proprietary software system
• Perform Software Upgrades to new versions
• Test new product features

Skills/Qualifications:

• Windows Network Administration

• Terminal server environment

• Firewall

• Disaster Recovery Experience

• Knowledge of MS-SQL server administration

• Knowledge of Active Directory

• Knowledge of VMWare

• Knowledge of IIS

• 1 -2 years previous Help Desk experience

• SQL 2005/ T-SQL programming skill set

• Knowledge of C# programming and .Net 2.0 Framework

• Strong problem solving skills and attention to detail
• Ability to work in a fast paced environment
• Bachelor’s degree
• Excellent customer service, written and verbal communication skills

Perks:

• High growth, energetic organization
• Work with others that share your same drive and commitment for excellence
• Significant opportunities for career advancement
• Competitive benefits including retirement plan and company-paid health insurance

Avionté is a fun, high-growth Technology Company based in Eagan, Minnesota. The company offers exciting opportunities for advancement and allows each employee to be intimately involved in the company’s growth and development. Utilizing the latest in Microsoft technology, Avionté offers a full suite of technology products to staffing firms across the country.

Please send all inquiries via e-mail to brianna@avionte.com

What you will get to do:

• Maintain customer relationships through superior support and customer service
• Respond to calls and emails from current clients to prioritize, track, and resolve support issues
• Correct the issues and communicate resolution to the client
• Gain in-depth knowledge of the proprietary software system
• Assist in feature development utilizing SQL and C#
• Perform Software Upgrades to new versions
• Test new product features

Skills/Qualifications:

• SQL 2005/ T-SQL programming skill set (minimum 1-2 years experience)
• Knowledge of C# programming and .Net 2.0 Framework
• 1 -2 years previous Help Desk experience
• Strong problem solving skills and attention to detail
• Ability to work in a fast paced environment
• Bachelor’s degree
• Excellent customer service skills
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Perks:

• High growth, energetic organization
• Work with others that share your same drive and commitment for excellence
• Significant opportunities for career advancement
• Competitive benefits including retirement plan and company-paid health insurance

Avionté is a fun, high-growth Technology Company based in Eagan, Minnesota. The company offers exciting opportunities for advancement and allows each employee to be intimately involved in the company’s growth and development. Utilizing the latest in Microsoft technology, Avionté offers a full suite of technology products to staffing firms across the country.

Tell us about what you have done!  Please include a quick introduction and responses to the following questions:

How many years of customer service experience do you posses?
Were your customers internal, external or both?
Tell us a little bit about your SQL and C# experience. What kind of projects have you worked on?
Rate your level of expertise with SQL and C# from 1-5 (5 being the highest).
What compelled you to apply for this position?
What are your salary requirements?

Please send all inquiries via e-mail to briana@avionte.com

FYI- I took the liberty of bolding a few words. If you’re in a rush, skim the bolded words and you’ll get a pretty good idea of what this trip was all about.  

by Kevin Cunningham 

“Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip, that started from this tropic port aboard this tiny ship.” I was boarding the houseboat for Avionte’s implementation team river extravaganza, so I was a little concerned that the theme from “Gilligan’s Island” was stuck in the back of my head, and could not be silenced. Sure several of us had boating experience but this was a 50 ft houseboat on the Mississippi River which we had to cross lock and dam, and the crew seemed far more interested in swimming, diving and drinking, than in navigating. If the SS Minnow had set sail for 3 days not to return for years, what chance did the twelve of us have? 

The first night we travelled a distance of about 300 yards and then decide to take shelter in a cove. Going further up river with delays from the lock could have caused us to be on the river within the prescribed “one hour before sunset”, apparently a Bozo no-no. Doug at the helm, grounded the boat perfectly, we set our anchors, ate dinner and proceeded to play. I believe chicken, brats and burgers were on the menu the first night, things started to get a little fuzzy after we pulled out of port. Jim, our corporate trainer’s husband, cooked all the meals and did an outstanding job. Laura and Jim had done all the shopping and did a great job of estimating the food, and underestimating what lushes they were traveling with. Before the first day was over, we had to make an emergency call for more beer. 

The first rule we unknowingly broke was “no jumping off the upper deck“, but come on what did they expect, putting that thing up there that looked like a diving board. Because the slide on the back of the boat was obviously not enough, people began swimming across the pond to use the slip and slide that was resting on the opposite shore. So slipping, sliding and falling down went on till somewhere around 11 PM just in time for a some drinking games (Bizz Buzz and Tippy Cup). 

Most of the crew was out by 2 AM when the wind kicked up and started blowing cans and boxes all over the place. We scrambled to put them in the boat and then sat back to watch a wild electrical storm which surrounded us, and looked like fireworks. It was awesome! 

Second day has us steaming upstream after breakfast, Laura remarks that she heard what must have been a grizzly bear the night before with loud roaring sounds, more than likely due to Laura’s drinking too much. We met up with John and Brenda further upstream, they had brought with them, via John’s boat, necessary replenishments (more beer). We spent the day in the channel swimming and diving, and we had a blast. Later we pulled up on a beach where we had seen a volleyball net and joined in with the local natives playing volleyball. Near sunset has John and Brenda returning, and us settling down for a peaceful night’s sleep, not a chance. I think it was around 10 PM when someone decided it would be a good idea to race up the sand bank we were beached on. It was about 200 yards uphill at about a 65 degree angle.  About a half dozen or so started up, and fell down in various places on the hill. Sandeep and Scott decided to roll back down, a decision I think they still both regret. Sandeep spent the remainder of the night trying to get the sand out of his bathing suit. I wonder if that is how he got his name. 

Third day left us dropping off more of the crew, now there were only six of us left. We cruised back down to the cove where we spent the first night and relaxed. We waited overnight and returned the boat in the morning. 

So what did we learn from this experience? 

• 12 motivated people can drink a lot of beer in a short time.
• It is really not a good idea to have an uphill race in the sand after drinking all that beer.
• Kevin can snore louder than a jet engine.
• But by far the best discovery of the weekend was the name of Doug’s first pet, DC. “DC”, what does that stand for we all wondered? “Doug’s cat”. You have to love the simplicity.

One of our original employees, Katie is an integral and vital team member; not only within her department, but throughout the whole organization.  Since Katie started out as our first corporate trainer, many of our clients know her as upbeat, cheery and the person with the answers!  We appreciate her commitment and can’t express enough how much her positive outlook affects each one of us.

Role at Avionté: Staffing Software Support Manager – Maintaining all aspects of the support department and support team including their career development and efficiency; from trouble-shooting to implementing and creating new and improved processes.  Katie is also the main point for all external communication to clients and often our go-to contact of our internal issues as well.

 
Outside of Work: Katie enjoys spending time up north at the cabin, hanging with her hubby and spending time with their friends and family.

On the Lighter Side…

Who is the most famous person you have met? – Josh Campbell www.joshuajamescampbell.com

The next place I travel to will be:  Germany – To visit a friend who lives there.

What was your favorite music group in junior high? – New Kids on the Block

Do you have any phobias?  L.A.R.P.ing

Only the staff at Avionté knows… Katie never yells, what are you talking about support?!