PlanPlus Planit Training Options

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1 1) Classroom Advocacy Training 2) Classroom User Training 3) Web Based On Demand ELearning 4) Web Based Live Webcast Sessions 5) Web Based Lunch and Learn Sessions 6) Web Based Administrator Training 7) Elearning Quick Tips 8) Case Consultation Service 9) Self Help Options 10) Sample Training Plan

2 Training commitments are difficult to make and all of us want to see results quickly after making such a commitment. At PlanPlus we have developed a variety of training options that take advantage of a variety of learning methods and technologies to allow the development of custom training programs that are best suited to each individual deployment. All prices quoted in this document are in Canadian dollars and it should be noted that while the PlanPlus Planit is a multi lingual, multi jurisdictional, multi currency tool, not all training programs are available in all languages. PlanPlus is primarily an English language company and has translated certain materials based on demand into French, Spanish or Chinese. For any corporate deployment, other language options can be accommodated 1) Classroom Advocacy Training In any corporate deployment it s advantageous to have in house advocates who can become process owners or champions who help users adopt the software as part of their normal operating style. This can dramatically improve the corporate adoption of new technology solutions. These in house advocates are developed through Advocacy Training classroom sessions. Target Audience: Ideally the candidates who participate in the Advocacy Training sessions should have good foundational knowledge of the financial planning principles applicable to the deployment and also understand the corporate objectives so that the trainer can build on those core proficiencies. Time Commitment: These sessions may be completed in 1 or 2 days depending on the knowledge level of the participants and the degree of support to be provided by the participants. Venue: The session will take place where the participants can utilize a workstation that can access the corporate installation of PlanPlus Planit so that case studies can be included in the session. Typically sessions will be held at the corporate head office. Cost: The cost for these sessions is $2,500/day plus expenses for a maximum of 15 participants. If the # of participants exceeds 15, a second facilitator may be required increasing the daily rate to $3,500 plus expenses. This cost includes all materials for the session, but the venue is to be provided by the customer. 2) Classroom User Training Classroom sessions for end users cover basic user concepts and case studies. While classroom training is an ideal training option, it often is difficult for a corporate user to bring together the necessary people into a single location to participate in these sessions. Also, the maximum number of participants for these sessions ideally should be 25 for a single facilitator. Groups greater than this can be accommodated, but the session then must be more presentation style vs. workshop style since case studies are difficult to manage with groups larger than 25 people. Additional facilitators are also required for larger groups. Target Audience: Participants for these sessions will be end users who will be utilizing PlanPlus Planit to generate client presentations. The audience in some deployments may also be sub divided in cases where the corporate deployment targets multiple channels and thus where different features and process are accessed. Time Commitment: These sessions typically take place in 1 day. Venue: The session will take place where the participants can utilize a workstation that can access the corporate installation of PlanPlus Planit so that case studies can be included in the session. Cost: The cost for these sessions is $2,500/day plus expenses for a maximum of 25 participants. If the # of participants exceeds 25, a second fascinator may be required increasing the daily rate to $3,500 plus expenses. This cost includes all materials for the session, but the venue is to be provided by the customer. PlanPlus Training Options 2 of 6 Feb/2011

3 3) Web Based On Demand ELearning PlanPlus has 12 hours of standard web based training sessions that are ideal for a corporate deployment. These sessions extended through basic navigation, calculator illustrations, Investment Policy Statements and Comprehensive Financial Planning. A detailed curriculum of sessions is available separately. CE Credits: A total of 11 CE credits are available for this program and are awarded by training track. Target Audience: Participants for these sessions will be end users who will be utilizing PlanPlus Planit to generate client presentations. The audience in some deployments may also be sub divided in cases where the corporate deployment targets multiple channels and thus where different features and process are accessed. Time Commitment: These sessions range from 10 minutes to 60 minutes in length. Venue: On-demand over the Internet. Cost: Free with PlanPlus Planit access. 4) Web Based Live Webcast Sessions Custom Webcast Sessions: This method of training utilizes technology to do web based presentations to small to midsized groups by Webcast. The sessions are normally limited to 60 minutes in duration and thus the topics are more focused on specific tasks and objectives. These sessions can be interactive where participants can ask questions and the presenter can be responsive to demonstrate answers to various questions. Target Audience: Participants for these sessions will be end users who will be utilizing PlanPlus Planit to generate client presentations. The audience in some deployments may also be sub divided in cases where the corporate deployment targets multiple channels and thus where different features and process are accessed. Time Commitment: These sessions typically are 60 minutes in duration. Venue: Because these sessions are on line, the participants can be located anywhere as long as they have a telephone to dial in for the audio portion of the call and have a computer with an internet connection to see the visual portion of the presentation. Cost: The cost for these sessions is $350/hour for sessions that follow standard content parameters. For fully custom session, the cost is $500/hour. The maximum number of participants in these sessions is dependent on the technology being used to support the session. These sessions are delivered using two separate technologies. First there is the audio component provided through a teleconference service. Second is the web conference component for the visual aspect of the presentation. Should the customer have their own technology to deliver this content, it may be utilized. If PlanPlus is to provide the technology, the cost will be $10/participant per session. In some cases these sessions may be recorded. The cost for the recordings will be $150. Note that these costs are passed along with minimal margin to PlanPlus and are primarily just to recover the costs for the use of the technology from a third party supplier. PlanPlus Training Options 3 of 6 Feb/2011

4 5) Web Based Lunch and Learn Sessions After users have participated in the full series of Elearning described above, another alternative to build user knowledge is participating in our free web based Lunch and Learn sessions. These are targeted to specific scenarios and topics that users come across. For example, one session might be on how to incorporate a defined benefit pension plan into the life goals analysis. Or perhaps how to do a comprehensive needs on death analysis using a life goals approach. Target Audience: Users who have completed the foundational Elearning sessions that want to learn more about the tool and how to achieve specific objectives. Time Commitment: These sessions typically are minutes in duration and are held weekly in most jurisdictions. Venue: Because these sessions are on line, the participants can be located anywhere as long as they have a telephone to dial in for the audio portion of the call and have a computer with an internet connection to see the visual portion of the presentation. Cost: These sessions are free to all PlanPlus Planit Professional users. Sessions are currently held in English in Canada the UK and Malaysia. 6) Web Based Administrator Training With corporate deployments of the PlanPlus Planit, there are a number of administrative functions that can be handled by the customers own help desk or by other administrative staff who are trained for this function. Some administrative functions might be adding new users, removing users if they leave the company, managing corporate favourites and corporate preferred portfolios etc. A focused administrators training program is available to teach these functions utilizing technology to do web based presentations to small groups. The sessions are normally limited to 60 minutes in duration and depending on the degree of corporate administration that will be done may require 3 or 4 sessions. These sessions are interactive where participants can ask questions and the presenter can be responsive to demonstrate their answers to various questions. Target Audience: Participants for these sessions will normally be head office support staff who will be assigned specified administrative functions relative to the PlanPlus Planit tool. There could even be several administrative assignments where specified people do different aspects of the administration. For example you might have a security administrator whose job is to manage user access to the system. You might also have a table administrator who will manage or maintain any table setting for the deployment. This can be discussed during the contract phase to determine the appropriate training and target audience. Venue: Because these sessions are on line, the participants can be located anywhere as long as they have a telephone to dial in for the audio portion of the call and have a computer with an internet connection to see the visual portion of the presentation. Cost: This administration training will be included as part of the normal deployment of a corporate installation. There is no additional cost for this training. The maximum number of participants in these sessions is recommended to be 6 people. These sessions are delivered using two separate technologies. First there is the audio component provided through a teleconference service. Second is the web conference component for the visual aspect of the presentation. In all cases the customer will provide the teleconference facility for the audio portion of the sessions. PlanPlus will provide the web conference facility. PlanPlus Training Options 4 of 6 Feb/2011

5 7) Elearning Quick Tips One of the most challenging aspects of deploying new technology in a corporate environment is to get users to embrace the new technology and incorporate it into their daily work methods without making them endure many hours of training on the more complex features and functions of the system. The PlanPlus Elearning Quick Tips feature allows users to access video support on demand to get quick answers to their questions in just a couple of minutes. This Elearning option delivers brief and focused information on specific topics on demand. It allows users to get topic specific training 24/7 just by clicking on their topic of interest. Target Audience: The audience for this program is any user who has access to PlanPlus Planit. Time Commitment: Most Elearning Quick Tips are from 1 3 minutes in length. Each module tells the user up front how much time is required before they even start the movie so the focus is on high value low time commitment help. Venue: These videos are delivered on line are available on demand. Cost: Free to all users. 8) Case Consultation Service Learning theory and concepts is one thing but applying the things learned to real client cases and situations are often where the whole training process can go off the rails. Our case consultation service gives you the final piece of the puzzle to ensure you get maximum benefit from your training investment. This service allows a user to access one of our PlanPlus client services staff (often CFP) to review difficult cases where assistance is needed in dealing with complex situation. It can even be for less complicated cases where the user is merely trying to get a comfort level with the tool. Target Audience: Any user who needs help adopting the system because they need a more in-depth understanding of the more complex calculations and approaches used by the system. Time Commitment: The process is for the user to notify our client services department of their desire to have a case consultation. They would provide the details of the case and where possible access to the client data (non disclosure document can be provided and/or names can be changed). Specific questions can be asked and overall review of the client fill will be done. Cost: For case consultations vary depending on jurisdiction. In most jurisdictions, the consult will be $100 per case for a time commitment of up to 30 minutes. 5 Packs can also be purchased for a fee of $450. Many advisors have found the case consultation service a valuable way to gain a high level of confidence that would normally take many months of use to achieve. PlanPlus Training Options 5 of 6 Feb/2011

6 9) Self Help Options With PlanPlus Planit the users has access to a number of self help options. These include: Users Manual: PlanPlus Planit provides an on-line user s manual through Planipedia, a dedicated wiki for financial planning. This Users Manual provides detailed information on how each feature in PlanPlus Planit works and a good understanding of how to use the various process flows in the system to achieve your desired results for your client. It also has over 200 embedded mini-movie links that give users the ability to watch short 1 5 minute movies on how to perform common functions. FAQ s: PlanPlus is continuously creating Frequently Asked Questions, also available in the HELP link on all sites. These FAQ s are in Planipedia and deal with very specific issues that users often ask about. Screen Help: Every screen of PlanPlus Planit has on-line help available that explains what each screen, and often will give some insight into how that information will be used by PlanPlus Planit. This is a handy option that s available at the click of your mouse. Once again all of this screen help uses Planipedia. Support Desk: Should all other alternatives not provide the assistance needed, the PlanPlus Support Desk is available to answer questions for all PlanPlus Planit Professional Edition users. In cases where the corporate deployment is providing first line support to users, our help desk will be a valuable resource to those corporate staff that might need help from time to time. 10) Sample Training Plan As can be seen from this overview, there are a variety of options available to corporate deployments when determining the most appropriate training strategy. In all cases it will be a combination of different options that will provide the needed depth and breadth of training for users and head office support and administration staff. While each deployment will be somewhat different, to help see how this all might fit together, here s a sample of what a typical training plan might look like. Component Classroom Advocacy Training: This is done first to allow the key people in the organization that will be supporting the deployment to start working with the tool right away. The more they use the tool, the better prepared they will be to assist users. Web Based Administrator Training: This being done second ensures that the corporate head office personnel who will be administering the system understand their duties and functions and can perform them. It also allows them to be involved in the initial set up of the system so they get practice in performing some of the administrative functions sooner rather than later. Web Based Elearning: Use of the on-demand training modules (12 hours total content) allows users to listen to only those sessions they require. Provides the foundational learning needed to become a proficient user of the system. Classroom User Training: This provides users with hands on facilitated training with a qualified PlanPlus Trainer. The foundational 3.5 Hours of Elearning is a prerequisite to these classroom sessions to ensure that all participants benefit for their investment of time by not having to dwell on basics but on more advanced concepts and case studies. Web Based Lunch and Learn Sessions: A series of ongoing minute case studies done on various topics using a rotating schedule. Elearning Quick Tips: Ongoing easy to access video support for the deployment Self Help Options: Access to Users Guide, FAQ s and On-Line Help Typical Cost $2,500 No Charge $2,500 Total $5,000 * Typical costs illustrated exclude expenses, teleconference and web conference technology expenses. PlanPlus Training Options 6 of 6 Feb/2011