YARDLEY, PA. —Prophet 21's Custom Education Program, a complimentary application available on the company's Web site, helps managers pinpoint employee knowledge gaps in relation to the Prophet 21 solution, and find educational tools that will help improve upon those deficiencies.

Developing and deploying an employee education program can reduce costly errors and maximize productivity. While many executives know that they should put an educational program in place, they lack the time and/or resources to develop a strategy. Using this program, they can establish customized training programs for new employees and develop those strategies for continuing the education of staff at every level.

Rene Savage, system administrator at Stellar Industrial Supply, works hard to ensure that every employee is proficient on the company's Prophet 21 program. This task is especially difficult because the company employs almost 100 people at five Washington locations.

"We can't get everyone together and go over order entry for an hour," she says. "People learn at different speeds. The Custom Education Program helps us offer training for each individual's specific needs."

The program manager will first use the program to develop diagnostic tests for the employees based on the relevant topics. With those results, the program manager will be able to identify knowledge deficits, as well as benchmark employee knowledge. The results also will be tabulated in a report prioritizing the areas where the company needs education. The report also includes a list of the Prophet 21 educational resources and services that would be of benefit.