Overview
We have recognized the need and are responding to the expectations of a few of our customers in an increasingly digital world, to provide Virtual Learning Guides. This service is being offered as an alternate choice of distribution of our learning guides: hardcopy or virtual.
There are three imperatives of providing a virtual learning guide, which guided the following Policy and Procedures.
1. Security of Priority International’s Intellectual Property 2. Ease of use for the customer
3. Efficient administration for both you and for Vancouver
This is a significant and important advancement in the distribution of our learning guides, one that releases our IP in a less controlled environment. We are proceeding with this alternative to meet certain customer requirements in the changing nature of the business world. Anyone who is found to be in breach of the policy or the appropriate distribution of our legal property will be dealt with in a severe manner. Please make everyone in your organization aware of this policy and their responsibility to abide by it on your behalf. The wording and penalties are harsh, but it is to protect PMI and you.
Policy
The only vehicle for virtual distribution of Priority Management’s Intellectual Property will be via Firmex Virtual Data Room, to be controlled and maintained by Priority Management International. Any other posting or distribution of materials belonging to Priority Management will constitute a breach of your agreement. Any other company posting a VLG without prior written approval will be in breach of Copyright and Trademark laws and will be prosecuted and compensation sought.
1) The Virtual Learning Guides are available as:
View Only Guide: accessible if user is online, cannot be printed. It can be saved to a computer (to which it is locked) and can only be opened on that computer.
Printable Guide: accessible if user is online. This can also be saved (as above). The document has a watermark across every page identifying the user’s name and date. Can be printed by page, by series of pages or in its entirety. (exhibit 2, page 6)
Course Documents: (i) Reference – contains the Appendix, QuickGuide & Back at the Office page number reference. (ii) Campaign – Campaign for Working Sm@rt. Both are printable without
watermarks for use during training sessions.
Note: Any VLG files that are “saved” to a computer cannot be opened if the user’s access has been revoked, if the expiry date passes, or if the computer is not connected to the internet.
2) The Associate office will be responsible to ensure the customer is aware of and has agreed that the virtual learning guide link is for the individual use of a single person and not to be transferred or passed on to another individual. (exhibit 3, page 7 – included in sample email to be sent to the client administrator with points we suggest they make know to their employees taking the training).
3) The flow of responsibility regarding awareness of security and requirements for the use of the VLG is:
Priority Management International You Customer Training Participant. If improper use is detected, the link to that individual customer will be revoked and the learning guide, unavailable. 4) Links to the VLGs will be available for 6 months from the date of training. Clients who wish to extend
Technical Requirements
1) The client must be aware and in agreement that either the individual users of the VLG will have the knowledge and ability (administrator rights on their computer) or have the agreement of the IT Department to provide the necessary assistance and support.
2) The invitation email to the Virtual Learning Guides may get caught in SPAM filters and require the assistance of an IT Administrator to “allow” these through exchange servers by adding the following domain to the user’s list of trusted email domains: *@firmexpostmaster.com
3) The guides are encrypted PDF documents that use Digital Rights Management (DRM) security, which requires the downloading and installing of two free Adobe applications in order to view them.
Adobe FileOpen Plug-in – free download. The encrypted files will not open without this plug-in. (Instructions for both included in client email - exhibits 3 & 4, pages 7-8)
Adobe Reader – free download. If opening the guide online, browser settings need to be changed to ensure the document opens in Adobe Reader, rather than at the browser level.
Note: The VLGs may be save to a computer. The files cannot be transferred as they are “locked” to that computer and the computer must be connected to the internet for the files to open.
4) Users must test their access to the Virtual Learning Guides prior the workshop. For technical assistance, Firmex Help should be contacted as opposed to Priority Management. Firmex Help is available 24/7/365 via online form or by telephone (Dial Extension 11):
North America: 1 (888) 688-4042 or 1 (416) 840-4241 Europe: 44(0) 20 3371 8476
International: 1 (416) 840-4241
These contact numbers are found in Firmex Help by clicking on Support and scrolling to the bottom of the page.
Procedures for Ordering
In order to ensure efficient and correct distribution to the customer and billing to the Associate, the following procedures have been put in place and must be used if the Associate wishes to provide Virtual Learning Guides to their customers.
1) A specific template is required when placing the order for VLG, which should be directed to Customer Service (email: [email protected]). This template will be used to input and track all VLG orders from the Associate office must be completed as per the instructions to ensure successful delivery of the virtual learning guide. (exhibit 1, page 4)
2) The template is downloadable from the Infonet:
RESOURCE CENTER VLG DOCUMENTS VLG Order Template
3) To allow for global time zone differences, testing and troubleshooting, orders must be placed no later than five business days prior to the training session. Customer Service will not accept orders under this time frame.
4) When the order is placed, the link to the virtual learning guide will be sent to the individual user from head office and the Associate office will be billed for the number of learning guides distributed. A one-time cancellation/change will be allowed with a minimum notice of 48 hours prior training, to manage client changes. Notification of changes to Customer Service should be held off until this time, to ensure that all have been included. Please ensure that your customer is aware that if an incumbent does not attend the class without proper notification, you will be charged as if they did.
Procedures for the Customer
Customers must be clear about the technical and security aspects as well as procedural requirements if they wish to use the VLGs. It is preferable that the requirements of use for the VLGs be communicated to the individual users from the Client HR departments. (Exhibit 3 & 4 pages 7-8: Sample emails for the Client and for Individual Users).
1) First and foremost, employees must be able to download and install Adobe FileOpen Plug-in and Adobe Reader. This requires “administrator” rights on most computers and if the individual can’t do it themselves, they will need the assistance of the company IT department. The Virtual Learning Guides cannot be viewed without these applications. Downloading of the FileOpen plug-in is part of the initial login procedure and is only required to be done once.
2) Request the IT Department to add the domain *@firmexpostmaster.com to the users’ list of trusted email domains to ensure that they are not caught in SPAM filters.
3) Request the First Name, Last Name and Email Address of each participant in order to send them the invitation link for the Virtual Learning Guides (these are required for completion of the template). This must be received by Customer Service a minimum of 5 business days prior the training. Once received, Customer Service will enter the names in Firmex and emails will be generated to the individual participants.
4) Request that the customer advise the individual users attending training of the following:
Each training participant will receive an email from [i.e.: [email protected]] providing them a link to the Virtual Learning Guide, a Username and a Temporary Password. (The number after priority changes and may be from 1-20).
If they haven’t received the email by (date) , check to see if it was caught in a SPAM filter. The Virtual Learning Guide is available in two modes, view only and print with a watermark. These
are encrypted PDFs. The user is given the option of opening or saving the file.
Save: For the convenience of the user and the easiest method of accessing the VLG, it is highly recommended that the PDF be saved. Files that are saved to a computer can only be opened on that computer and the computer must be logged onto the internet.
Open: If the guides are to be opened online, browser settings should be changed to open the PDFs in Adobe Reader as opposed to the browser, otherwise the files may not open. Instructions are contained in a User Tips document.
The opening of the Learning Guides should be tested several days prior the training session. Numeric page number references for the Appendix, Quick Guide and Configuring Back at the Office, as well as the “Campaign for Working Sm@rt” are printable without a watermark, for use during training.
The Virtual Learning Guides are copyrighted and owned by Priority Management International, are not to be distributed in any form. The link, Usernames and Passwords are for the sole use of the person they were sent to.
Associate Administration
1. Download the VLG Order Template (file name: 000000-yy-mm-dd.xls) from the Infonet > RESOURCE CENTER > VLG DOCUMENTS > VLG Order Template. This is an excel template that allows the users to be loaded into the Virtual Room so they can be given access to the Virtual Learning Guides. a) Rename the template with the following convention (i.e.: 000210-12-03-20.xls):
IA# (from Network Associate List) dash Date of Workshop (yy-mm-dd) file extension
000210 - 12-03-20 .xls
b) Complete the six columns in the template.
Column 1 – Primary Email* (as stated) Column 2 – First Name* (as stated) Column 3 – Last Name* (as stated)
Column 4 – User Name* (same as primary email) Column 5 – Company* (customer’s company) Column 6 – Office* (Associate’s Last Name)
These templates should be filled out by the Associate office and must be completed accurately and as prescribed. They are used to mass import the new users into the data room, which allows the appropriate VLGs and the permissions to be assigned, as well as the “Invitation email” sent to the users.
**Please note** Incorrect emails (typos, etc.) will result in the participant not receiving their VLG. As the invitation email is a non-response communication generated from Firmex, it will not bounce back to Priority Management – neither we nor you will have any way of telling if the email is received or not. 2. Order the Virtual Learning Guides from Customer Service ([email protected]), with
the completed template attached. Please note that orders will not be accepted less than 5 business days prior the training.
3. Customer Service will enable access to the Virtual Learning Guides for the customer users and an email will be generated to each user, with an URL, their log-in name and their temporary password.
4. Clients receive the following invitation to access their VLGs with instructions a brief description of what to expect during the login procedures.
5. Once they log-in to the Priority site on Firmex, they will be prompted to download a plug-in. We are currently using the first option: View Documents with Basic Document Protection, Adobe’s FileOpen plug-in, which will enable users to view the encrypted PDF file. After the download and installation, the
Test Document button should be clicked to ensure that the plug-in was successfully installed. If using a Mac computer, the download automatically changes to the Plug-in Installer for Mac and the icon and link at the bottom left of the screen changes to:
This page is displayed each time the user enters the VLG site.
6. By continuing, all users are required to change their password and sign a Terms of Use and Non-Disclosure agreement.
7. If participants are being requested to do pre-work, such as configure Outlook, you may want to suggest they print the configuration pages (configuring the Outlook settings, pages 21-27).
8. A Course Documents folder contains two printable PDFs without watermarks for use during training: Reference – this reference document includes the Appendix, Quick Guide and Back at the
Office page numbers
Campaign – Campaign for Working Sm@rt page
9. For technical assistance, Firmex Help should be contacted as opposed to Priority Management. Firmex Help is available 24/7/365 via online form or by telephone (Dial Extension 11):
North America: 1 (888) 688-4042 or 1 (416) 840-4241 Europe: 44(0) 20 3371 8476
International: 1 (416) 840-4241
These contact numbers are found in Firmex Help by clicking on Support and scrolling to the bottom of the page.
10. A Facilitator tips document is available on the Infonet under RESOURCE CENTER VLG DOCUMENTS VLG Facilitator Tips, which includes pagination reference between the hard copy LGs with unit specific pages and the VLGs which are numerical (i.e.: 1 through 144). An additional document (VLG User Tips) is available in the same download location. This has steps to download and install the plug-in as well as instructions on setting up Adobe to open the PDF files rather than viewing from the browser. It is strongly recommended that you include this in your email to the client. 11. For clients new to the VLG, to ensure that the customer experience is positive, the Associate Office
should contact the client approximately 48 hours prior the training to ensure that emails have been received, opened, that the login and downloading of files have been completed successfully and that the VLGs are accessible.
12. Priority Management International is responsible to make the Associates aware of the security and requirements for VLG usage; the Associate is responsible to make the Customer aware, and the Customer is responsible to make their employees aware.
FYI only (not meant for passing to customer)
13. Firmex automatically logs every incident of opening/viewing, printing, closing the documents. It reports the IP address from which the user logged into the VLG site as well as the duration the document was viewed or printed. This is monitored as part of the administrative process and if abnormal activity is viewed; the user will be flagged, we will be informed. We will review and take appropriate action.
Example of Printable version with watermark
exhibit 2
***
Sample Email to Customer
Dear
Thank you for booking the “Working Sm@rt” training program. This email details the administrative, technical and security requirements for using our online Virtual Learning Guides.
A. REGISTRATION:
To register the training participants so that they receive a link to access the online Virtual Learning Guides, we will need their names and email addresses a MINIMUM of 6 working days before the training date. It is important that the participants’ email addresses are correct as otherwise they will not receive their Virtual Learning Guide. B. COMMUNICATION TO TRAINING PARTICIPANTS:
1. Please advise your employees of their training and of the actions and responsibilities necessary to view the Virtual Learning Guides. We have prepared a sample email that you may want to use – see text below: (Subject: Virtual Learning Guide for Working Smart Training).
2. Each participants will receive an “Invitation email” from Priority with a domain of *@Firmexpostmaster.com
for their personal link to the Virtual Learning Guide, a Username and a Temporary Password, which they can change. Passwords can be re-set if forgotten.
C. IT SUPPORT: (The following may need to be arranged with your IT Department)
1. Ensure that SPAM filters do not block the invitation emails from the *@Firmexpostmaster.com domain. 2. Support for installing the Adobe “FileOpen” Plug-In.
3. Support for installing Adobe Reader (if not already installed) and for changing settings to open PDFs in Adobe Reader as opposed to browser.
D. DOWNLOAD and TEST:
Training participants should test opening the online Virtual Learning Guide several days before their training – the first time will involve downloading Adobe’s “FileOpen” plug-in to open the encrypted files. This requires ‘Administrator Rights’ or IT Department assistance for installation.
E. CONDITIONS OF SALE:
Please note the Conditions of Sale for the use of the Virtual Learning Guides and reinforce them to your training participants:
1. REGISTRATIONS: Registrations for Virtual Learning Guides need to be made a minimum of 6 working days before the training date.
2. CANCELLATIONS: If a registered participant is unable to attend the training, the registration can be cancelled up to three working days before the training. After this time, a full training charge will be made for that individual even if they do not attend.
3. AVAILABILITY: The online Virtual Learning Guide will be available to participants for six months from the date of registration. This availability can be extended on application to your local Priority Management office. 4. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: The Virtual Learning Guides are copyrighted and owned by Priority
Management International. These are for each individual’s sole use and are not to be distributed to anyone else in any form – forwarding the link to someone else would be a violation of the agreement and conditions. Firmex monitors use and if improper use is detected, Priority Management will be notified and the link will be revoked.
The Virtual Learning Guides will enhance the “Working Sm@rt” experience for those taking the training. Please contact me if you have any questions.
With best wishes, <Priority Office>
exhibit 3
We can’t stress enough, how very important it is that you walk your customers through this process and ensure that they fully understand the technical requirements. Advise them upfront. Then again, when planning for the workshops… SEND the email, PHONE and WALK THEM THROUGH THE PROCESS.
Sample Email to Participant
Subject: Virtual Learning Guide for Working Smart Training – Training Date:
NOTE: Opening of the Virtual Learning Guide should be tested several days before your training.
Thank you for enrolling in the “Working Sm@rt” training program on …. You will receive a separate email for the pre-work and Webshop details from Priority Management.
You have been registered for an online Virtual Learning Guide. If you are unable to attend the training, the registration can be cancelled up to 3 working days before the training. After this time, a full training charge will be made.
1. EMAIL FROM FIRMEX: You will receive an email titled “You are invited to the Working Sm@rt …Course” from from Priority with a domain of *@Firmexpostmaster.com, providing you with a personalized link to the Virtual Learning Guide, a Username and a Temporary Password. Please note this link cannot be used by anyone else. You will be required to follow instructions and change the Password.
2. SPAM? If you have not received your email within two days, check to see if it has been caught in your junk mail. We have alerted the IT department to ensure that this email has not been filtered as SPAM.
3. DOWNLOAD: As the Virtual Learning Guides are security encrypted PDF files, it is necessary for you to download and install Adobe “FileOpen” Plug-In to open the files. This is part of the initial login procedure – follow the on-screen instructions which will require ‘Administrator Rights’ on your computer to install. 4. OPENING THE VLG: You will be prompted to open or save the PDF file. You may save it to your computer,
in which case it will be “locked” to that computer and cannot be transferred. The computer must be connected to the internet to view the VLG. This method is the quickest and easiest way to view the guides.
5. BROWSER: If you prefer to open the guide online, you must change your browser settings so that the Virtual Learning Guide opens in Adobe Reader. See how to do this in the attached notes “VLG User Tips”. Opening the Virtual Learning Guide will be too slow in Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome. (Adobe Reader is a free download application that enables the viewing of PDF files.)
6. OPTIONS: The Virtual Learning Guide is available in two modes: ‘View Guide’ (view only) or ‘Print Guide’ (printed pages will include a security watermark with your name and the date on each page).
7. ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTS: During the training you can make notes of pages you might want to refer to, online or in print. We recommend that you print the ‘Campaign’ page before your training to capture these notes and action items. A ‘Reference’ document for the Appendix and Quick Guide are also printable. 8. HELP: If technical assistance is required with the Virtual Learning Guide, please use the Firmex helpline which
is available 24 hours, 7 days a week, 365 days a year via online form or by telephone: North America: 1 (888) 688-4042 or 1 (416) 840-4241 Europe: 44(0) 20 3371 8476 International: 1 (416) 840-4241(Dial Extension 11). These numbers are also found in the Firmex Help function under “Support”.
9. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: The Virtual Learning Guides are copyrighted and owned by Priority Management International. (Company name) has agreed that these will not be distributed to anyone else in any form. The link, Usernames and Passwords are for your sole use – forwarding the link to someone else would be a violation of the agreement and conditions. If improper use is detected by Firmex, the link will be revoked and Priority Management will notify us.
Please contact me if you have any questions. We look forward to working with you to make the most of your “Working Sm@rt” training, with the added convenience of an online Virtual Learning Guide.
Best regards,
