Experts Advise on "Closing the Leadership Gap," in Authoria Webcast Series

Business Wire,  Sept 17, 2007  

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Stanford Professor and Aetna Executive Present Strategies for Addressing the Critical Shortfall of Potential Leaders

WALTHAM, Mass. -- Authoria, Inc., the leader in integrated talent management solutions, today announced a two-part webcast series designed to help employers recognize and address the critical leadership gaps within their organizations.

Gaps in the leadership pipeline are the number-one talent challenge facing employers today, according to recent research1. The difficulty of attracting, identifying, developing, and retaining high-quality people for high-impact positions is a significant obstacle to achieving vital business objectives.

In the first webcast, Dr. Jeffrey Pfeffer, an expert on organizational design and acclaimed author, will examine the relationship between an organization's leadership pipeline and its overall corporate success. Dr. Pfeffer will identify causes of the leadership gap, debunk a number of "dangerous half-truths" about leadership and talent, and share examples of companies that are exceptional in their leadership development.

Webcast attendees will learn:

* Why the leadership shortage should be keeping them up at night

* The two mindsets related to leadership, and which one to look for - before competitors do

* How to help their organization recognize that it can - and must - invest now in developing future leaders

* What their organization can do to identify, develop, and promote talent

WHO:        Dr. Jeffrey Pfeffer, Thomas D. Dee II Professor of
            Organizational Behavior, Stanford University Graduate
            School of Business; Peter Cohen, Vice President of Product
            Marketing, Authoria, Inc.

WHAT:       Webcast: "Is the Leadership Gap on Your Radar Screen?
            It Had Better Be!"

WHEN:       Tuesday, September 18, from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM EDT

WHERE:      Please visit www.authoria.com/leadership to register for
            this free online event.

In the second webcast, Deborah Kelly, Aetna's Head of Learning Services, will explore how the leading financial-services company tackled its talent-management challenge head-on. In order to tap into the unique talents and experiences of each employee, the company launched a ground-breaking Talent Management Initiative (TMI) that takes a fully integrated approach to managing information about employee skills. Ms. Kelly will discuss how Aetna's talent-management team promoted an entirely new way of thinking about and developing talent, won executive support, and achieved outstanding results in support of the company's business strategy.

Webcast attendees will learn:

* How to achieve executive and managerial buy-in for a comprehensive career-development initiative

* Strategies for integrating various human-capital systems

* Identifying and tracking optimum metrics

* Do's and don'ts for implementation (best practices)

* The critical criteria for success, when considering a technology solution

WHO:        Deborah Kelly, Head of Learning Services, Aetna; Nina
            McIntyre, Senior Vice President of Strategic Talent
            Management Marketing, Authoria, Inc.

WHAT:       Webcast: "Aetna's Fresh Approach: All-Out Commitment to
            Talent"

WHEN:       Wednesday, September 26, from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM EDT

WHERE:      Please visit www.authoria.com/leadership to register for
            this free online event.

These events are the fifth and sixth in the Authoria 2007 Talent Management Webcast Series, which examines best practices and trends in strategic talent management throughout the year.

About Authoria

Authoria[R] helps the world's most competitive employers achieve superior business results, by optimizing the way they recruit, develop, compensate, retain, and engage top talent. Designed for business managers as well as HR professionals, the company's integrated talent management (ITM) solutions enable more effective recruiting, performance management, compensation management, and succession planning across an organization. Authoria serves more than 300 large organizations and 4 million managers and employees with our on-demand Internet-based solutions. Customer companies include Boeing, Pfizer, and Reuters. For more information, visit www.authoria.com.

Authoria and the Authoria logo are registered trademarks of Authoria, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other product names and references contained herein remain the service marks, trademarks, or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

1 High-Impact Talent Management, Bersin & Associates, May 2007.

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