Updates & News from the RapidBI Team

Business is all about Transition and change, it may be fast or slow.

Our goal is to innovate continuously. To continue to provide you with practical tools to use with your clients.

With that goal in mind this page will keep you up to date with some of our thinking.

New product/ service development

RapidBI are currently exploring collaborative arrangements with providers of other credible tools and methods to help you, the change agent, add even more value to your clients. If you have a product that you thinks fits our portfolio please contact us.

March 2013

Developing a new relationship with a world leading research body with the view to making researchers available for managers and OD/ learning professionals. More on this exciting opportunity soon

Work continues on more downloadable materials and resources

February 2013

Server move appears to have been successful, we have done some work on the speed of the site too.

PrimePractice our new safety and environment diagnostic is finishing development

January 2013

Our third server move in 12 months - hopefully this server is a lot faster and you should not experience the same outages as we have been experiencing recently

New Diagnostic Tools Platform
As well as development of our Safety management diagnostic, we are exploring the development of a psychometric system for HR and consultants to develop their own diagnostic tools – more soon!

December 2012

Website performance challenges persist, and the team are working hard to resolve

A new product range for managers and trainers (or tutors/ instructors) is under development for release in 2013 – ready-to-use-training handouts. Follow the success of our ready-to-use training course packs, we are finalising a series of low cost handouts for you to use on your workshops.

November 2012

Our developer is starting to code a new diagnostic tool – PRIME PRACTICE – a tool for identifying environmental & health & safety issues in firms

October 2012

Problems with site performance means we are moving our site to different hosts

Completion of the language packs for the diagnostic tools is now drawing to a close – an exciting opportunity for 2013

September 2012

We are now developing a range of on-line live training solutions, more information in early 2013

June 2012

The big change this month, is taking our prices back to GBP. We have had to do this in order to offer customers the option of using Google checkout in stead of PayPal.

Pay by PayPal OR Google checkout

May 2012

We are currently training a firm of consultants in Oman to take the BIR to the Middle East region – this is an exciting partnership

April 2012

It’s been a while, but we are nearing the completion of a “language pack” for the BIR and EESS, allowing development in a wide range of languages.

If you would like to get involved in translations, and promoting the tool to an exclusive region and take a 50% of all sales, then please contact us.

March 2012

We have formed a strategic alliance with another training company to offer even more “ready to use” training materials. these should be available later in the year.

February 2012

We are working with a new organisation for partnering with new “classroom” based training materials. this will mean we can increase our offer of available programmes at a faster rate. Watch for announcements in the late spring

January 2012

After considerable hosting problems we have had to move the site to a new host, hopefully things should be more stable for website users.

We were invited by a TV production team to help out as technical advisers to the BBC TV show The Food Inspectors

December 2011

Having been active on several social media platforms, we have revitalised our ecademy profile. there you will find a more regular commentary on small business, human resources and other training related matters

October 2011

We have now separated the BIR/ EESS servers from our site. We used to run these all along with our website on tomcat servers, however as the site has grown we felt the need to change the way we work. This helps by building more redundancy into the way we deliver our services

March 2011

Now available 400+ slides in our PowerPoint slides containing more management models

Also available are the first 10 of our ready to use training course materials packs. Everything a manager or trainer needs to deliver a 1/2 day workshop. All fully customisable, with some of the most detailed trainers notes available on the net today.

We are working on releasing a completely re-developed BIR & EESS survey product & platform. We are testing and aim to go live in April.

February 2011

Just one month after changing hosts we have had to change again, hopefully things will be much more stable. We have also changed our cart provider as due to inconsistent product delivery we could not continue. Still not sure if the original problem was the hosting or the software?

Our web stats hit a new record with over 10,000 unique visitors in just one day, more than we used to get a week!

January 2011

After a challenging holiday period our new site is up and running, although there are still some problems to solve.
Coming soon are new sets of PowerPoint slides containing more management models
Ready to use/ off the shelf training courses with leaders notes.

December 2010

A busy period for the RapidBI team with lots of exciting developments in terms of new products.
We are also in the process of changing platforms for our BIR & EESS products. this is taking longer than expected, however the new versions when available will have improved functionality and benchmarking capability.

July 2010

RapidBI site checked by SafeSurf as suitable for all.

May 2010

EESS enhancement
Due to popular request, we have added the ability for users of our EESS (Employee Engagement & Satisfaction Survey) to create surveys for individual business units or functions and then produce not only divisional reports, but to combine them to form an overall report.
This increased flexibility makes the EESS a diagnostic and benchmarking tool not only for small and medium sized organizations, but larger corporates too.
This facility was developed at the request of a major financial services organization in Asia & they are now part way through a very comprehensive survey of their people.

April 2010

Multiple language versions of the BIR
We are please to be working with some strategic partners to offer the BIR in a diverse range of languages. These will be available later next year.

March 2010

We have achieved “verified” status from CallingID the internet security and site verification service.
We are who we say we are – can all web sites you deal with prove this?

Feb 2010

Employee Engagement Surveys
Due to new markets we have revised our EESS prices down-wards to help smaller firms in the current climate.
BIR languages
We are in discussions with several firms about making the BIR available in a range of languages including French and Arabic. Watch this space.
If you want the BIR localised please contact us through the “Contact Us” page

January 2010

Social media & blogging
This month we have been looking at a new joint venture, a blog site for learning professionals.
There are many in our field that just don’t know where to get started. This venture is an integrated learning and marketing tool.

December 2010

Management Models download
after a lot of development we have finally released a revised and updated set of management models along with a second set of over 130+ new models.

In addition we have launched a US & UK version along with a set of blank graphics with no text for total user configuration.

November 2009

Some new products about to come on line – watch this space

BIR
A new fully branded version of the BIR is under development including the ability for organisations to use the package with their clients and benchmark across their client base or sector.
Elearning
We are in the process of developing a small range of videos and packages to help users setup and interpret the BIR results they obtain.

October 2009

Well a busy month for me and Chris at Asterisk software, as we have moved the server to a new and faster platform. Why do these things always take longer than expected and cause problems that could not have been anticipated?
The new platform will enable us to add even more functionality – so watch this space.

July 2009

Following interest from a chamber of commerce, we are developing a version of the BIR to be able to benchmark finances as well as culture and performance issues.

Affiliates
We are currently testing this functionality and expect to roll this out in September

Twitter
We now have over 15000 followers and this is proving to be a valuable marketing channel. It is great for building business relationships too.

May 2009

We have been a little quiet on the news front – but a lot has been happening:

New content access
We have implemented a new article part on the site – it needs branding but we are very happy with its functions – adding over 120+ unique visitors per day.

Twitter
We have been learning to use Twitter as a communication tool and this is working well you can follow us @RapidBI

New Content
We have lots more content being written – including another 100+ management models, Articles on Organizational Development and much more.

Affiliates
Many of you have asked if we have an affiliate scheme, well we did have an unofficial one – but we are not half way through implementing an automatic scheme where you can link to the products right from your site. Due to be complete by the end of June

January 2009 – EESS take off

With an increase in the interest in the EESS we have started aFAQ page on the micro-site

January 2009

Following request from several users we have introduced a new section which will contain short management, leadership and business tips and thoughts. These pages can be found at short management articles

December 2008 – a round up

Packaging
As part of our continued product development a series of marketing ‘wrappers’ have been developed for our e-products.

Web traffic
November saw our web traffic climb to an all time high of over 50000 unique visitors. A Record number of resource downloads and a record number of product purchases – thanks.

New features
We are experimenting with many of the new web 2.0 technologies including Twitter and Google Friend on our management articles index page. If this looks like it can add value we will extend it to other pages.

New Products
Following from the success of our PowerPoint slides we are putting the final touches on a number of other low cost but high value downloadable files. Watch this space (or the products page)

November 2008 – no accreditation required

November 2008 is proving a land mark month for RapidBI in many ways:
1) Our web site visits last month were over 48000 unique visitors
2) The EESS our employee survey went live
3) The BIR is now available without certification on a pay as you go basis.

October 2008 – New graphics & Products

New graphics
This month saw the move from our old text based home page to a more graphical front end.

This is the first of a number of site structural changes over the coming months to make the site easier to use.

Resources for consultants
After the popularity of our management models we have had numerous requests for our models to be available as powerpoint slides – so we have Business, Leadership, Management and Coaching Models in PowerPoint format

September 2008 – EESS, NFEA and CIPD

Employee Engagement and Satisfaction Survey (EESS)
Our development work on this exciting new product is nearing completion with the goal of making it available to our clients by the end of this month. Initial trials have proven very successful.
With the current challenges facing organizations employee engagement and retention is increasingly important. The EESS will prove to be a valuable tool for any HR, OD or consulting professional. For more information about the EESS follow the link

NFEA
From the 9-11 September RapidBI will be exhibiting at the NFEA conference where the UK’s leading business enterprise agencies and advice providers will meet to explore “what is new” in the world of providing support to enterprises as they grow.

RapidBI will be showcasing our BIR with enhanced reporting and the new to be launched EESS.

CIPD annual Conference
Mike from RapidBI will be attending the CIPD Annual Conference 2008 in Harrogate. He will be ‘live’ blogging his experience in the exhibition and conference.

July 2008

SA BIR
First users of our Self Administered Business Improvement Review are signed up

More content added
To our ever popular management articles section, including our learning styles page.

June 2008 – SA BIR & Creatrix Certification

SA BIR
Our Self Administered BIR suite is now in beta testing.

What this means is that users can purchase just one BIR without completing our accreditation process. Do it all on-line – order, setup, and run off reports yourself. No pre-registration required. We will always advise clients to use certified consultants but this enables free choice. It will be available from the end of the month in the BIR micro site

Creatrix Certification
On 4th June 08 we completed another UK Creatrix Certification process. Well done to all those that participated. The programme was a sell out. We are looking to schedule another very soon. Watch this space. See our Creatrix Certification page for details

RapidBI.com to be archived
RapidBI and our Blog have been selected by the British Library for archiving. The RapidBI team are proud to be one of the sites selected for this international archive project.

May 2008 – Stats and more

RapidBI Website Stats
April did prove to be a statistics record in so many ways. With 35098 unique visitors to the site in the month – this figure is climbing steadily month on month.
On the 28 April we had 3220 visitors.

CIPD Fact sheets
The SWOT and PESTLE fact sheets have proven to be among the CIPD’s most popular fact sheets.

BIR Product Changes
Watch this space – for a brand new diagnostic product.. due to be launched soon

No more training required
Soon users will have the ability to buy the BIR online without attending our certification program, so this will mean one easy payment and you can use the BIR on your own company without a consultant.
The RapidBI team still recommend consultants undertake our accreditation to get the most from the product.

Certified Learning Practitioner (CLP)
This month Mike was successful in passing the CLP standard for training consultancy and delivery from TrainerBase Read the press release

April 2008 – A record

Record site statistics
Over the past few months website stats for RapidBI.com have been climbing. On the 7th April we broke the 2000 unique (human) visitors to the site in a single day. And it looks like the trend is increasing. We also broke the 40000 visits per month barrier. With new content planned, watch this space.

HRD Week – Conference and exhibition
RapidBI will be supporting TrainerBase at this years exhibition at the Excel centre London. Click to find out more about the exhibition.
Read a report on our progress

March 2008

Factsheets
The CIPD have commissioned us to write two factsheets for them on Organizational Development diagnostic tools – one on SWOT the other on PESTLE. These have proven to be the most popular factsheets on OD for a long time.

Articles section
Our Articles micro site is growing from strength to strength with several key pages added. This will be an increasing resource for our website users

February 2008

Automated Action Plans
We are currently testing intelligent reporting for use on all reviews. For more information contact the RapidBI team.

January 2008 – RapidBI site verified and more free content

2008 A New and Busy Year
We have a lot of new content and some new diagnostic tools nearing completion. Sign-up to our newsletter to be kept up to date.

Management Models
We have added more free content – this time a range of management models in graphical format. See Management Models for details Subscribe here

RapidBI Website Verified
In January 2008 RapidBI Registered our domain with Geotrust – you can now check that we are who we say we are. Do all the sites you do business offer this?

December 2007

Benchmarking
Is now available to all consultants and BIR users.
Progress is being made on our new reviews – Health & Safety and Staff satisfaction and engagement surveys.

Conference
On Thursday 6 December Mike spoke at the ITOL annual conference for a copy of the presentation go to the resources page.

Thanks
to all our customers past and present and as the holiday season approaches Mike and the team wish you all the best

October 2007 – Benchmarking & Coaching

Benchmarking
On time and on schedule, the benchmarking facility in the BIR is now available for use. All registered BIR users get this functionality within your consultants admin panel.

Coaching Videos
In the Summer Mike was interviewed for some short coaching videos. These are now available to view videos here

September 2007 – Benchmarking & New Developments

Well a lot has been going on behind the scenes here at RapidBI.
Our benchmark version of the BIR is nearing completion of beta testing and will be available soon.

Environmental
Green issues have been increasing in importance in the past 12 months and to reflect this additional environmental questions are under development. They will be integrated in the BIR question set when fully tested

Health & Safety
The Development team are RapidBI are putting the final touches on a Heath and safety diagnostic tool. To find out more visit our PRIME PRACTICE page.
If you would like to be involved in the trials please contact us.

Psychometric Tools
We are currently in discussions with other occupational psychologists to develop a range of cost effective on-line psychometric tests, which will complement the BIR tool set. Watch this space!

March 2007 – micro sites

Supporting The BIR^TM
To increase our support for the Business Improvement Review (BIR) we have opened a micro site for all things BIR. visit it at www.rapidbi.com/bir

Supporting The Creatrix^TM
To increase our support for the Creatrix Instrument we have opened a microsite for all things Creatrix. visit it at www.rapidbi.com/creatrix

Creating Creatrix^TM Normative data
We have agreed with Jacqueline Byrd PhD, author and developer of the Creatrix^TM for 500 free uses of the Creatrix Inventory (c) to create UK normative data. To take the Creatrix^TM CLICK HERE (Sorry this offer is now closed 30/3/07)

Marketing
With the re-branding of UKHRD in the UK to Training Journal on-line, RapidBI have adverts on the home page.
A new approach for us in marketing.

New ILM development awards
RapidBI have added more ILM recognised awards to our training and development portfolio

Febuary 2007 – on-line payments

PayPal
We can now accept PayPal online for instant access to our diagnostic tools and our new on-line course booking software.

Online course booking system
Our new online course booking system went live last month. You can now see place availability on our courses and workshops and book yourself on!

December 2006 – new diagnostics tools & services

New Diagnostics Tools
Due to popular request we are currently exploring the development of 2 new diagnostic reviews:
Human Resources – policies & procedures
Health & Safety – Policies & procedures
If you would like to be involved in the development of these products contact us

Organizational Development for Trainers
A new range of organizational development workshops is being planned for trainers in the UK. dates and programmes will be announced here

November 2006 – New product development

BIR-solo
Due to popular request RapidBI is finalizing our BIR-solo a variant of the popular BIR which can be used with a head of function or CEO/ owner manager of an organization without input from others. This can be used as a sales tool or a rapid positioning diagnostic. We are looking for consultants and change agents to pilot this tool in December. If you are interested please contact us.

Performance Management System – Rapid appraisal
We have started work on a new performance appraisal system aimed at a semi-skilled workforce. Using a new approach to 180 reviews this pragmatic method will help your managers appraise staff better and faster than ever before. If you would be interested in this new development contact us

October 2006 – Training developments

Organizational Development Workshops
We are working with a new partner to provide our customers with a range of practical organizational development seminars and workshops. These will be piloted in December – more information soon.

Low cost training & Leadership Resources
RapidBI has sourced some excellent training material that you can use with your clients – internal or external. It includes content for management, leadership, coaching, change, customer service etc.

August 2006

Business E-Learning Modules
We have been asked by our users for additional material to support implementation beyond the diagnostic process.

Working with KnowledgeWise we have commissioned a range of e-learning modules that will help consultants and end users alike.

If you would like to be involved in the pilot phase of the modules please Contact us

July – 2006

RapidBI Newsletter
As our product base grows we are being asked to produce a newsletter to keep clients & potential clients up to date. This is currently under development & will be launched in September.

Creatrix Certification
Dr J Byrd completes the first Creatrix certification in Europe on 17 July 2006.

Congratulations to those who completed the programme.

ILM endorsed management programmes
RapidBI is proud to announce that it can now offer ILM endorsed programmes.

A number of our management Development programmes are now endorsed. Watch this space for the announcments of our Consulting package being an endorsed programme.

June 2006 – New BIR variants available

New versions of the BIR are now available:

The BIR-c is a full review aimed at very small businesses (1-5 employees) and is ideal for coaches and advisors to use as a coaching or mentoring vehicle towards business development.

The BIR-hr is a version looking exclusively at management style, skills, people development and processes. As well as being used as an HR scorecard, it is ideal as an Investors in People diagnostic or internal benchmarking metric. To request information click here

May 2006

Creatrix reliability & validation data published
A summary of the reliability and validation data published by the author of the Creatrix is available in the resources section.

Journalist resource
RapidBI are now in a position to offer up to the minute comments on the state of SME consultancy, based upon over 8 years of experience in the field and 100′s of interactions with other consultants and clients. Contact us for details

Creative Dialogue
Developed by the team at RapidBI, Creative Dialogue is a creative new way of using simple on-line communications tools for effective collaboration. This simple approach to collaboration easily leads to manageable Knowledge management for smaller organisations. Developed in 2005, this methodology has been used to develop new products and services.

An article on Creative Dialogue will appear in our resources section soon.

April 2006 – RapidBI launches its new Branding

New exciting look
On Thursday the 4 April RapidBI launched its new look branding and web site. We welcome your feedback, Send us your comments

The New revised BIR will be available for BETA testing at the end of April 2006.
If you would like to be involved in the final Beta testing please call us.

New Creatrix Articles
New free downloads are available in the resources section.

BIR Coaching version under development
A revised version of the BIR is currently under development for coaches to use with small companies. It is expected to be released early June 2006.

March 2006 – Creatrix Certification training in the UK

Creatrix^TM Training is coming to the UK in July 2006 – email us for details.

Established author and developer of the Creatrix^TM Jacqueline L. Byrd, PhD will be facilitating this one-off workshop.

New On-line BIR
New on line version of our Business Improvement review planned – with input from customers and suppliers. Come back for news updates.

December 2005

We have entered into a new joint venture to undertake a unique survey of the current and future skills requirements of people developers. Called developing the developers this is a research project starting in late 2006, with initial results expected early 2007.

See the web site developing the developers for details click here

August 2005

New Instant Business Improvement Review Diagnostic
Need 100% web data input and INSTANT reporting?
We will shortly be piloting this new service. This product is expected to be launched in May 2006.

February 2005

The London Innovation Conference – March 2005
This was our first exhibition at a major conference. Both the BIR and The Creatrix^TM were on show and were well received.

New products for improving Innovative capacity – Jan 2005
We are proud to be able to offer the Creatrix Inventory© to the UK. This is a wonderful diagnostic instrument and tool to help drive change (both individual & organisational) through building and developing the capacity for innovation.

Research and development on the RapidBI tool set is continuous. We welcome feedback from our users. All adaptations are based upon ideas from users.

Watch this space for the findings from our 8 years of conducting reviews with companies. What they are good at and not so good at!

Accessibility methods since Jan 2004
We have been asked by Business Advisors within the Business Link organisation if we could make arrangements for clients to buy the diagnostic and Business Link Advisors facilitate the process. If you are interested in this option please send us an email.

What else would make your life easier? Tell us & we will see what we can do for you. Contact us for details.