You Deserve The Best: Take Some Time Off and Take Care of Yourself!

You Deserve The Best Blog – from ASOCIA Group

Work can be overrated. Don’t we really work to live? It doesn’t seem that way a lot of times as work often seems to continue into the evenings and throughout the weekend.

It is 4 p.m. on a Friday— we are almost near time to leave work and are looking forward to time off on the weekend. Really? Not really, as I think most of us work some on the weekend and are definitely still “plugged in” with computers, cell phones and ipads.

We, at Asocia, decided to write a blog on our quest to help you and help ourselves focus more on life than on work. Why? We actually founded Asocia because we all wanted a better life. We were(and are) passionate about what we do and  about providing a service that makes our customers’ lives easier. We are good at what we do and by doing what we do, we hope we are taking some of the stress off of our customers lives and making your lives easier.

So here it is – the first –You Deserve The Best Blog from ASOCIA Group. Forgive us as we are not professional writers, but merely a team of passionate people who are also passionate about our work, doing a good job and enjoying  life.

Tip #1 – Plan Some Scheduled Time Off During Each Work Week.

We try to stay positive here and always focus on the positive because we believe being positive breeds positive outcomes. We believe behavior is also contagious. However, we all know the recent issues with the economy has changed us – some for the good and some for the bad. One bad behavior may be heavy workloads and work all the time has become a habit to some. A survey of of 605 workers by the Society of Human Resource Management found that 70% of employees work beyond schedule time and on weekend: more than half blame “self-imposed pressure” as the reason. Now, new research suggests some have reached the point where a paradoxical truth applies: To get more done, we need to stop working so much!

A groundbreaking four-year study by the Harvard Business Review confirmed that “getting away from work” can yield an upexpected on-the job benefits. When members of 12 consulting teams at Boston Consulting Group were each required to take a block of “predictable time off” during each work week, “we had to practically force some professionals” to get away, says Leslie Perlow, the Harvard Business School leadership professor who headed the study.

But the results surprised Harvard researchers and Boston Consulting executives alike. Working together to make sure each consultant got some time off forced teams to communicate better, share more personal information and forge closer relationships. They also had to do a better job at planning ahead and streamlining work, which in some cases resulted in improved client service, based on interviews with clients. Boston Consulting was so pleased with the outcome that the firm it rolled out a similar teaming strategy on many new U.S. and some overseas projects, says Grant Freeland, senior partner and managing director of the firm’s Boston office. “We have found real value in this,” he says. “It really changes how we do our work.” See more at WSJ. Com – If You Need To Work Better Maybe Try Working Less.

-Stay Tuned For More – You Deserve The Best Tips!

About ASOCIA Group:

Asocia Group was founded on the principals of Passion, Value, Integrity and Industry Expertise.  We are a specialized information technology consulting and workforce solution provider.  You will not find a better solution for your consulting and staffing needs or someone who will work harder for you. Your complete satisfaction is our goal.  We know that relationships matter.  That is why we have over 90% of repeat business from our clients.  We take great pride in our strong associations with our candidates and our customers.Whether you are looking for contract or permanent staffing – Asocia is your partner. Don’t you deserve to associate with the best?

Asocia Group, is a leading provider of information technology consulting and workforce solutions focused in the commercial, public and healthcare sectors. Asocia Group is based in Atlanta, GA, and has been consistently ranked as one of the top diversity, woman-owned firms in the US. Asocia Group is a WBENC/WBE certified firm.Asocia Group  Divisions : Asocia IT - Asocia Healthcare - Asocia Executives. We look forward to your visit at: www.asociagroup.com

ASOCIA Group – You Deserve to ASSOCIATE with the Best

PeopleSoft Continues To Be Hot In 2012

The demand for PeopleSoft skills continues to be high in 2012. PeopleSoft has been a hot seller even after the acquisition by Oracle and is continuing to be.

To many it may be no surprise that PeopleSoft is a high selling software solution at Oracle. Talk to a license representative at Oracle and a lot of them will say that PeopleSoft is what is selling. The new sales include new license customers as well as add on modules. Even though Oracle recently announced reported quarterly financial results were short of expectation. Oracle’s core software sales for its fiscal second quarter ended Nov. 30, were up 2% compared with the year-earlier quarter, whereas analysts expected at least a 7% increase. That decrease hasn’t seemed to hurt PeopleSoft sales results.

The upswing in demand in PeopleSoft is something we have been seeing here at Asocia Group for the last two years, which not only includes new license customers, but also a lot of customers have upgraded to PeopleSoft 9.1. Per Oracle, the current 9.1 release of Peoplesoft is being adopted at a rate four times faster than any other edition. Approximately 50% of customers are live on 9.1. There are significant enhances in 9.1 that customers are taking advantage of. The next release, 9.2, is scheduled to be out in late 2012.

So what about Fusion?
Oracle announced general availability of Oracle Fusion at Open World in October, 2011. Oracle has stressed repeatedly that customers can adopt Fusion Applications at their own pace, and in a highly modular fashion. It has also pledged to continue supporting and developing its existing ERP (enterprise resource planning) product lines for some time. It will be years before Fusion Applications can provide the equivalent functionality, so companies are moving forward with their software projects.

Industries where we are seeing new license sales include:
• Healthcare
• Utilities/Energy
• Government/State and Local
• Higher Education
• Financial Services

PeopleSoft in Healthcare:
PeopleSoft in healthcare couldn’t be hotter. PeopleSoft is the leading ERP software solution in the healthcare industry. PeopleSoft has long been a strong player in the healthcare industry and with all of the focus on IT in healthcare due to the reform initiatives, PeopleSoft consultants with healthcare industry experience are especially in high demand. Having a healthcare background can be especially advantageous in a healthcare setting, but the combination is a rare skill set to find.

PeopleSoft Consultants:
Top PeopleSoft consultants in general, are obviously a hot commodity. If you are a really good independent PeopleSoft consultant, you are probably getting several phone calls a week about new projects and upgrades. We have seen high demand in PeopleSoft Project Managers, Functional leads and upgrade consultants.

In summary, PeopleSoft is just a good product. Hopefully Oracle will continue to keep it that way for a long time to come.

Asocia Group, is a leading provider of information technology consulting and workforce solutions focused in the commercial, public and healthcare sectors. Asocia Group is based in Atlanta, GA, and has been consistently ranked as one of the top diversity, woman-owned firms in the US. Asocia Group is a WBENC/WBE certified firm. www.asociagroup.com

Where The Tech Talent Demand Will Be in 2012

Social media, smartphones, tablets are shaking up the IT industry not to mention the entire world. It is no wonder that a major focus on hiring for companies in 2012 is predicted to be mostly in the areas.

According to recent data from research firm IDC, a major portion of IT spending – 20% will be driven by a handlful of technologies that are reshaping the IT industry: Smartphones, media tablets, mobile networks, social networking and big data analytics. Per CIO.com: Mobilty, Cloud, Analytics to Reshape IT in 2012.

Fighting for talent

As companies try to balance the technical challenges and opportunities, they’re also grappling with a shortage of skilled professionals. IT pros with application development, virtualization or cloud computing skills are in short supply, as are those with business analytics expertise.

The number of available IT jobs in the U.S. is up about 12% compared to a year ago, and demand for tech professionals is expected to get even stronger in 2012, according to Dice.com. When the jobs site surveyed 1,200 IT hiring managers and recruiters, 65% said they’re planning to add tech pros in the first half of 2012. Among those in hiring mode, 27% said they plan to expand headcount by more than 20%.

Enterprises are deploying technologies that can help them improve customer service, analyze data for better decision making, and get the most out of their workforce.

Companies have continued to spend on CRM, even during the recession, because it’s important for businesses to know their customers — to be able to identify and retain the customers who generate profit for the company, to cut loose the ones who don’t, and to track new customers who are willing to spend.

Analytics technology is hot because it enables businesses to make decisions based on data instead of gut, and it doesn’t require an enormous IT outlay. ”

Cloud computing is another area of accelerated growth as 2012 gets underway. The shift from traditional IT acquisition models to public cloud services is still in the early stages but growing at much faster rate (19% annually through 2015) than overall enterprise IT spending, according to Gartner.

The appeal of the cloud, with its potential to reduce capital expenses and enable greater IT agility, is proving strong enough to convince companies to entrust their data to a cloud provider. More than 50% of the world’s largest companies will have stored customer-sensitive data in the public cloud by year-end 2016, Gartner predicts. Under pressure to reduce costs and operate more efficiently, more than 20% of organizations are already selectively storing customer-sensitive data in a hybrid cloud environment, Gartner says.

Two complementary trends — the meteoric adoption of the mobile devices and the increasing use of personal smartphones and tablets for business purposes – are further disrupting the IT status quo and driving new investments.

Enterprises are grappling with how to incorporate employees’ mobile devices into existing corporate technology infrastructures.A recent survey by the Enterprise Device Alliance found that 66% of organizations allow some employees to bring their own devices, which IT supports at least to some degree. But while employee-owned devices are showing up at work, many IT organizations are under-investing in tools to manage and secure those devices. Just 16% of organizations reported using mobile device management tools — a percentage that is expected to more than triple to 50% by the end of 2012.

There’s a similar tug-of-war going on in the social media realm.
Sales and marketing teams want to engage customers through social networking sites, end users want to access personal accounts from the workplace, and HR wants to be able to recruit, hire and retain social media-savvy employees. But IT doesn’t want to expose the company to unnecessary risk.

In a recent a Ponemon Institute survey, 63% of respondents said use of social media puts the organization at risk, and 52% said their organizations suffered increased virus and malware attacks as a result of employees’ use of social media. Yet only 29% have security controls in place to mitigate or reduce the risk.

Looking ahead, industry watchers say organizations will adopt enterprise tools that bundle compliance, content management and analytics features so companies can stay on top of content created by employees and measure the effectiveness of their social media activities.

In the big picture, enterprises aren’t waiting around for the economy to improve. IT executives are spending in new areas and dramatically rethinking how they acquire technology and deliver services to end users.

Asocia Group, is a leading provider of information technology consulting and workforce solutions focused in the commercial, public and healthcare sectors. Asocia Group is based in Atlanta, GA, and has been consistently ranked as one of the top diversity, woman-owned firms in the US. Asocia Group is a WBENC/WBE certified firm. www.asociagroup.com

Women Execs Get Lost In The Pipeline

Rise through the ranks often stops short of the boardroom. Firms look for ways to encourage ambition.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution speaks to corporate executives in Atlanta including Coca-Cola, Home Depot and Asocia Executives. The cover story article is a review of the status of women in executive level positions and on boards in Atlanta and Georgia.

None of the Fortune 500 companies in Georgia is run by a female CEO. And among women executive officers at Georgia public companies generally, there has been little progress in their numbers. They make up a far smaller share of the executive ranks than they do the overall workforce.

“We haven’t seen much movement for at least the last couple of years,” said Board of Directors Network President Ann-Marie McGaughey. In fact, the percentage of women among executive officers at Georgia public companies has hovered in the range of roughly 8 percent to 10 percent over the past 10 years, according to the Board of Directors Network, an Atlanta-based group that advocates for more women in executive leadership and corporate boards.

Experts say having women represented at a company’s highest levels makes good financial sense.

A 2004 report by Catalyst, a nonprofit that advocates for women in business, showed Fortune 500 companies with the highest representation of women on their top management teams had 35 percent higher return on equity than those with the lowest women’s representation. Those who advocate for women in the corporate world blame the lack of progress on reasons ranging from societal pressures to sexism to not enough companies developing women’s leadership potential.

Some executives say women need to make their ambitions known. Kathy Waller, vice president and controller at Coca-Cola Co. and chair of the company’s women’s leadership council, said that lesson is at the forefront when she reflects on her own career. “I had a manager who was very supportive,” Waller said. “I asked him a question back when I was manager of the Africa group, I asked if I ever could be considered” for the job of director of financial reporting.“His answer was surprise. He didn’t think I’d ever be interested in that job,” she said. “We talked about what it takes.” And once the job opened up, Waller got it. “I don’t think there’s any grand conspiracy going on,” she said. “But if you’ve never had the conversation about why you’re interested in something or what you want to do, people can’t read your mind.”

One reason companies don’t have more female executives may be “there’s not enough womenin the pipeline, and we need to figure out how to build that pipeline,” said McGaughey, who is also a partner at McKenna Long & Aldridge. Among executive officers of Fortune 500 companies in Georgia, 12 percent are women, according to McGaughey. Nationally, it’s 14.1 percent, according to a 2011 report from Catalyst.

Women made up nearly half of the labor force last year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. But there have been some advances in corporate boardrooms. In a study of Georgia public companies this year, the Board of Directors Network found that 56 percent of them had at least one woman on the board — the first time above 50 percent in the 19 years the organization has measured the progress.Yet women still hold less than 10 percent of the board seats at Georgia public companies, the study found.

“We still have a way to go, both in board and executive-level positions for women, but this is true all over the U.S.,” said Cynthia Coker, founder of Atlanta executive search firm Asocia Executives.

Colleen O’Neill, a senior partner at consulting firm Mercer, said “there’s been tremendous progress” for women entry levels and managerial levels, and more women are earning graduate degrees. The difficulty is making the jump from manager level to executive, said O’Neill, who is based in Atlanta and advises companies on leadership development. Companies’ steps today may turn into results at the executive level 10 years from now, she said.

Of course, some women have already found success. High-profile female executives in Georgia include Carol Tomé, chief financial officer of Home Depot, and Penny McIntyre, group president of office products at Newell Rubbermaid.

Women are also seen as more prominent in nonprofit leadership positions, such as at Atlanta-based humanitarian organization CARE, whose chief executive is Helene Gayle. That may be because it’s a smaller time commitment, said McGaughey of the Board of Directors Network.

Research by Mercer has shown that 70 percent of U.S. companies did not have a clear philosophy or strategy for women’s leadership development. Some Atlanta area companies are among those that have developed programs aimed at women.

At the Coca-Cola Co., chief executive Muhtar Kent set a goal of having women make up 50 percent of senior leadership positions by 2020. Two of the 17 named executive officers listed in the company’s most recent annual report are women. Separately, the company plans to add more women to the board, which now has two women out of 16 directors.For Coke, the effort is intertwined with the company’s business strategy of supporting women entrepreneurs and driving more purchases of its products by women.

“Women’s economic empowerment and entrepreneurial growth will drive the world’s economy in the years ahead,” Kent said during a speech to the Atlanta Women’s Foundation in October. “Gender equality is not only a moral obligation. It’s extremely smart economics.” At Coke, a women’s leadership council develops strategies to prepare more women for general management positions, with Kent’s initiative focused on high-level jobs in areas that help drive revenue, Waller said. The positions most females hold at companies tend to be in functional roles such as in human resources, finance or legal departments, she said.

In Europe, legislation in some countries has set quotas for the percentage of women on boards.

In the U.S., a campaign called 2020 Women on Boards that launched in Boston aims to increase the percentage of women on corporate boards to 20 percent or higher by 2020.

“We’re kind of at an inflection point right now, that there’s more pressure on boards and a commitment at the executive level to have more gender parity,” Mercer’s O’Neill said. “Coke right now is in the forefront, but we may see more companies [set targets publicly] because of shareholder pressure,” she said.

Sandy Springs-based UPS also has a women’s leadership development initiative. “Historically, transportation has been more of a male-dominated work environment, and so we have looked at ways to bring women in management together,” said UPS spokeswoman Susan Rosenberg. The program’s goals are to improve retention of women at supervisor and manager levels, develop women in management to improve the pipeline of talent for higher positions and position UPS for opportunities with ?women entrepreneurs.

In spite of some of the efforts, there has been slow progress. Women face various obstacles in their rise to the top, so having the right guidance can be key.

Tomé of Home Depot said Faye Wilson, a former company board member, was a valuable mentor to her.“She taught me a lot about not assimilating, about being authentic, and yet how to really survive in an environment that’s heavily male-dominated,” Tomé said during a recent event held by the Atlanta chapter of Commercial Real Estate Women. She said in honor of Wilson, she created the Velvet Hammers, a resource group for women at Home Depot.

O’Neill said one drawback for women is they often have mentors but don’t have sponsors — advocates at the company who will help them move ahead. Employees may easily find mentors through formal programs, but they must “earn” the support of a sponsor. “As a rule, men have more confidence in their capabilities and ambitions,” O’Neill said. “A man, if he sees a job ahead and he thinks he has maybe half the skills he needs, he’ll raise his hand and say, ‘I want that job and I want to apply for that job.’ ” A woman will wait “until she has all the skills, before she raises her hand.”

Coke’s Waller also said mobility to travel frequently for work or to relocate is often seen as a significant roadblock for women considering senior leadership positions, because women often still carry most of the responsibility for the home.

Erin Wolf, managing partner of Suite Track, a company that develops female leaders, said women may also encounter sexism in the workplace, some of it inadvertent, such as a CEO who may look to promote a man who reminds him of himself.

Asocia’s Coker and others say research has shown that companies can benefit from having more women in leadership and on boards. To Coker, a key reason that there aren’t more women in executive offices at major corporations is that there are “no penalties for lack of diversity” at companies. Some “don’t see gender diversity as critical to companies’ success,” she said.

For full article visit the AJC, Dec 18, 2011-Business Cover Story: Women Execs Get Lost In The Pipeline -by Kelly Yamanouchi

Pictured above: Kathy Waller, VP and Controller, Coca-Cola

About ASOCIA Executives
ASOCIA Executives, is a premier retained executive search firm with corporate headquarters in Atlanta, GA. ASOCIA is retained for positions from CEO to Director and Board positions, across industries. Our clients range in size from Fortune 500 corporations to mid-cap and private equity-backed companies. ASOCIA Executives, a division of ASOCIA Group, is a certified Woman-Owned Business Enterprise(WBENC). www.asociaexecutives.com

Asocia Healthcare Launches New Website

Asocia Group announces formal launch of Asocia Healthcare’s new website.

We are pleased to announce the formal luanch of Asocia Healthcare’s new website. With our further expansion and growth of Asocia’s healthcare business, our new website for Asocia Healthcare will provide information about our core healthcare services for ERP, HIT, EHR and more. We will also be providing industry updates and news that we hope will be of a value to you. It is our goal to provide our clients and others in the industry with tools and resources you need to be successful in their daily operations.

Please visit us here at Asocia Group and also at our family of companies.

Expand Your Network – Asocia’s Family of Companies include:

Asocia Healthcare

Asocia Healthcare services the nation’s leading healthcare institutions and organizations with top quality information technology and healthcare professionals, providing the needed expertise and talent to ensure your success. Asocia Healthcare specializes in ERP, HIT, and EHR consulting and staffing.
Learn about Asocia Healthcare: www.asociahealthcare.com

Asocia Executives

Asocia Executives specializes in mid-to senior-level executive, global placement services to develop and manage a pipeline of high performers for your workforce.
Learn about Asocia Executives: www.asociaexecutives.com

WITI Atlanta Announces Female IT Leader of the Year Award Winner Ann Franks

Atlanta, GA—December 9, 2011—WITI (Women in Technology International), the world’s leading trade association for professional, tech-savvy women committed to using technology, resources and connections to advance women worldwide, named Ann Franks, managing principal of AGSI, as recipient of WITI Atlanta’s Inaugural Female IT Leader of the Year Award. The award honors executive IT leaders for making outstanding contributions to the technology industry, their community, and for inspiring others.

“The WITI Atlanta Female IT Leader of the Year Award recognizes outstanding women who have made significant achievements and contributions to the technology industry, for their leadership, and also for their attitude of service.” said Cynthia Coker and Theresa Spralling, WITI Atlanta Co-Directors. “Ann has made significant contributions to the IT industry through her many achievements. She exemplifies the true meaning of a great leader through her commitment to give back and to inspire others who follow in her path.”

Ann Franks is a business oriented senior technology executive with 25+ years of experience, which includes domestic and international IT operations, serving an expatriate assignment in Europe. Ann advanced through the ranks of Lanier Worldwide culminating with her appointment to Vice President Information Technology, CIO, followed by the appointment of Chief Information Security officer (CISO), North and South America for Ricoh Americas. Her responsibilities have included the integration efforts of 13 European countries; responsibility for IT strategy, program/project management, infrastructure/application portfolios, security and business process improvement for U.S. operations; and the establishment of an Americas program management office managing information security throughout the region. Ann joined AGSI in 2010, delivering executive services, including CIO advisory services, to F1000 companies. Ann was honored with the appointment of Georgia CIO of the Year in 2005. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for Junior Achievement of Georgia and Theatrical Outfits. Ann actively supports and participates in several community organizations, one of which is mentoring women in advancing their career to the executive ranks. Ann exemplifies the characteristics of the technology woman this award represents.

The WITI Atlanta Female IT Leader of the Year Award was presented at WITI Atlanta’s Annual Holiday Event and Special Awards Presentation, held on December 5th, 2011, at the Ravania Club. The premier event sponsors included ADP and Intel.

For more information about the WITI Atlanta Chapter, please visit, WITI.com/Atlanta or contact: witi-atlanta@corp.witi.com. 1818.788.9484.

About WITI:
WITI is the world’s leading trade association for professional, tech-savvy women committed to using technology, resources and connections to advance women worldwide. With a global network of smart, talented women and a market reach exceeding 2 million, WITI has established powerful strategic alliances and programs to provide resources, and opportunities within a supportive environment of women committed to helping each other. WITI’s mission is to empower women worldwide to achieve unimagined possibilities and transformations through technology, leadership and economic prosperity. For more information please visit http://witi.com

Asocia Group, is a leading provider of information technology and talent management consulting and staffing services, focused in the commercial, public and healthcare sectors. Asocia Group is based in Atlanta, GA, and has been consistently ranked as one of the top diversity, woman-owned firms in the US. Asocia Group is a WBENC/WBE certified firm. www.asociagroup.com

US Tech Sector Hiring Continues To Rise

US Tech Sector Employment Nears It’s All-Time High.

U.S. report says tech industry added 7,100 jobs in November; tech wages may be rising as well.
The U.S. government’s report today that the unemployment rate is down and hiring is up showed some good news for tech workers as well.

The tech industry added 7,100 jobs last month, an increase of .17% from the previous month, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data analyzed by the TechServe Alliance, an industry group that tracks labor data month to month.

This brings the overall employment number for the industry to 4.068 million, which represents a year over year gain of 2.1%.Tech industry employment is nearing the all-time high of 4.088 million, which was set in June, 2008, according to TechServe.

The government counts employees working high technology industries as tech workers. Someone working in IT at a food manufacturing company, for instance, may not be counted as a tech worker.

Mark Roberts, CEO of the alliance, said member firms are reporting, anecdotally, strong demand for IT professionals. “I remain very bullish going into 2012,” he said.The national unemployment rate dropped to 8.6%, with U.S. payrolls up by 120,000 workers overall.Tech wages may be seeing gains as well, though the data supporting this is more anecdotal.

The Federal Reserve Board, in its Beige Book released this week, also reported wage gains for IT workers. The Beige Book is a collection of reports about economic from around the country.In San Francisco, for instance, high levels of unemployment kept compensation gains minimal in most sectors. “The primary exception was workers in information technology fields, such as software developers, who continue to see high levels of recruiting activity and significant wage increases,” the Fed reported.

Full report at Computer World.

Asocia Group, is a leading provider of information technology and talent management consulting and staffing services, focused in the commercial, public and healthcare sectors. Asocia Group is based in Atlanta, GA, and has been consistently ranked as one of the top diversity, woman-owned firms in the US. Asocia Group is a WBENC/WBE certified firm. www.asociagroup.com

Women In Technology International:WITI Atlanta Holiday Event And Female IT Leader Of The Year Award – December 5th, 201I

WITI Atlanta Presents:

WITI Holiday Networking Meeting & Female IT Leader of The Year Award Presentation
Monday, December 5, 2011 | 5:00 – 8:30 PM

Join WITI Atlanta for our Holiday networking meeting. We will be presenting our award for the Female IT leader of the Year.

WITI’s Holiday Networking Event: SMART Connections
SMART–Structured to Maximize your Advantage with the Right Technology–Connections was designed by WITI to offer its members and guests a structure for networking.

Come network, share and celebrate in the holiday festivities. Meet local IT executives, share real world issues and solutions and have a little holiday fun.

We will be presenting the WITI Female IT Leader of the Year Award for 2011. Come help us celebrate!!

As part of this meeting we’re also asking participants to bring a new toy for the U.S Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program as a way for us to give back to the local community.

Event Date and Venue:

This event will be held from 5:00 – 8:30 PM on Monday, December 5, 2011 at:

Ravinia Club
2 Ravinia Drive
Atlanta, Georgia 30346
Schedule:

4:30 Registration
5:00 Introductions
5:15-8:15 SMART Networking/Female IT Leader of the Year Award
8:15-8:30 Wrap Up, Drawing

About Our Sponsor(s):

ADP:Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADP),with nearly $9 billion in revenues and about 550,000 clients, is one of the world’s largest providers of business outsourcing solutions. Leveraging over 60 years of experience, ADP offers a wide range of HR, payroll, tax and benefits administration solutions from a single source. ADP’s easy-to-use solutions for employers provide superior value to companies of all types and sizes. For more information about ADP or to contact a local ADP sales office, reach us at 1.800.225.5237 or visit the company’s website at www.ADP.com.

Intel is a place where employees can pursue their passions, support world-changing initiatives, and thrive intellectually. Our employees are as diverse as our customers, vendors, and colleagues in the global market. This worldwide perspective helps us anticipate and provide for the growing needs of a changing marketplace.

Event Registration:

For complete details, please visit: http://www.witi.com/atlanta/meeting.php?id=2557

About WITI:

Founded in 1989, WITI (Women In Technology International) is the leading Global Trade Association for professional, tech-savvy women, WITI is your resource for information and connections to a well-educated, talented group of women who are the buyers and decision-makers at their companies, organizations, homes, and on the net.

WITI reaches more than 2M women in every industry worldwide. Collectively, WITI women purchase more than 3 billion dollars worth of technology for our professional and personal lives. WITI women work in large corporations, run their small businesses; we are professionals in every field who consider technology central to our businesses, careers and professions.

Asocia Group, is a leading provider of information technology and talent management consulting and staffing services, focused in the commercial, public and healthcare sectors. Asocia Group is based in Atlanta, GA. Asocia Group is a WBENC certified firm. Asocia Group’s family of companies include: Asocia Healthcare and Asocia Executives. Asocia Executives provides global executive search and leadership development services with a specialization in Women In IT, providing training, career planning and recruiting services focused on Director to C-Level, specifically for women in IT. www.asociagroup.com

U.S. Women Seeking Board Positions May Find Luck In Europe

European companies may be soon be looking for hundreds of female directors to fill quotas, prompting American executives to send their resumes across the Atlantic.

At least ten European countries, including Norway, France and Spain, have approved quotas or corporate-governance codes for women representation on boards, or are considering them. That may require more than 1,000 new female directors in the next three to five years.

U.S. women executives said they are eager to take their experience overseas, where they face challenges including the language barrier and resistance to outsiders. Doreen Wright, who retired as Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) chief information officer in 2008, is part of a growing number of Baby Boomers transitioning from full-time executives to professional directors. They are willing to take on additional work, she said.

“I feel like what is happening in Europe is important, and I want to be part of it,” said Wright, 54, who parlayed a degree in German literature into a 29-year corporate career that started at Merrill Lynch and also ran through Bankers Trust Co., American Express Co. (AXP), Prudential Insurance and Nabisco.
A director for U.S. companies Crocs Inc. (CROX) and Dean Foods Co. (DF), Wright said she studied in Munich and some of her roles included European and South American operations.

Norway led European nations in 2003 in legislating that at least 40 percent of corporate board seats be filled by women about four years later. Spain and France were among the countries that followed with their own quotas.

According to recent data, among 4,875 directors at 334 companies in Europe, 12 percent, or 571, were women. Getting to 40 percent would mean more than 1,300 additional female directors.

Some European boards conduct meetings in English. Others require native speakers, which can determine eligibility, said Wendy Lane, a former Tyco International Ltd. (TYC) director and current board member for two companies based in Europe in addition to Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings in the U.S.
Lane, 60, who was both a mathematics and French major in college, said she didn’t pursue a directorship this year for a French company specifically because she wasn’t comfortable enough with the language anymore to conduct business.

The eight-hour flight across the Atlantic Ocean requires women with flexible schedules, Lane said. She has about eight board meetings a year for Helsinki-based paper and forest product company UPM-Kymmene Oyj (UPM1V) and four or five trips to Dublin for meetings at insurance company Willis Group Holdings Plc. (WSH)

Women in Their 50s

There is a shortage of European women executives in their 50s, which is the “sweet spot” for directors, and particularly women with operating experience.

The quota in Europe as well as voluntary efforts to increase women directors in the U.S. and add women and foreign directors for companies based in Asia is creating demand for “global-citizen” board members around the world, said Dona E. Roche-Tarry, managing partner for recruiter CTPartners in London.

“There is a big microscope on this across Europe and in the next three to five years we have to meet many quotas,” said Roche-Tarry, who has placed two American women on European boards in the last year among five such searches. “The question is: Where do you find all these people?”

Resistance to Outsiders

The challenge is made more difficult by European companies’ resistance to candidates outside of a traditional background who are often selected based on existing relationships, said Marina Eloy-Jacquillat, 64, a director at French polling company Ipsos (IPS) SA and also Paris co-chair for Women Corporate Directors, which advocates for women in the boardroom.

“I’m for quotas to get things started because it kicks people in the ass to move it along,” said Eloy-Jacquillat, who is French and a former human resource executive for ING Groep NV (INGA) in Amsterdam and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) in New York, London and Paris. “We’ll never get to 40 percent in five years.”

Wright, who lives in New York, said her peers will be a necessary resource for Europe as the pressure grows to meet the requirements. She’s considering adding another U.S. board membership to replace Citadel Broadcasting Corp., which was acquired, and wants to find a European assignment as well.

“The prospect of being able to contribute is really attractive,” she said of service in Europe. “I represent a growing number of women in business. We worked hard on 15-hour- a-day jobs with long commutes. We raised families. I retired at 51 from full-time corporate life. Now I have the capacity for board work.”

Full article at: www.bloomberg.com

ASOCIA Executives, a division of ASOCIA Group, is privately-held, global executive search and corporate executive development firm. Asocia Executives recently launched an initiative “Women To Boards” to help promote more women into senior executive and board positions. Asocia Executives specializes in Information Technology, Healthcare and Diversity/Female, Senior-Level Executive Search. Asocia Executives’ headquarters are in Atlanta, Georgia, with offices in New York, and Paris, France. www.asociaexecuties.com

For information on Asocia Executives “Women To Boards” Programs, please contact us at: womentoboards@asociaexecutives.com

WITI -Women In Technology International Atlanta Announces New Co-Directors – November 2011

WITI recently named two new Co-Directors for the Atlanta network. Cynthia Coker, CEO of Asocia Group, and Theresa Spralling, Director at AT&T, will be leading the network as Co-Directors.

In their new roles as Co-Directors for the WITI Atlanta Chapter, Ms. Coker and Ms. Spralling will be responsible for planning and overseeing all general initiatives for WITI’s Atlanta network. Both Ms. Coker and Ms. Spralling have held leadership positions with the network. Ms. Coker, previously served as Program Chair, and Ms. Spralling served at Alliance Chair, where they have been instrumental in the network’s success. Ms. Coker will lead the WITI Atlanta network’s initiatives focused on women in IT and Ms. Spralling will lead all other initiatives for women outside of IT, including social media, sales, marketing, finance and other technologies.

Founded in 1989, WITI is the nation’s leading trade association for professional, tech-savvy women committed to using technology, resources and connections to advance women worldwide. With a global network of women and a market reach exceeding 2 million, WITI has powerful programs and partnerships that provide connections, resources, opportunities and a supportive environment of women committed to helping each other. Along with its professional association of Networks throughout the U.S. and worldwide, including Hong Kong, Great Britain, Australia, and Mexico, WITI delivers value for individuals that work for a company, the government or academia, as well as small business owners.

For details on WITI Atlanta visit: www.witi.com

Asocia Group, is a leading provider of information technology and talent management consulting and staffing services, focused in the commercial, public and healthcare sectors. Asocia Group is based in Atlanta, GA, and has been consistently ranked as one of the top diversity, woman-owned firms in the US. Asocia Group is a WBENC/WBE certified firm. www.asociagroup.com