Chartered Management Institute Partners With Cognisco to Improve UK Management Skills

LONDON, June 7, 2010 - The Chartered Management Institute (CMI) is to partner with Cogniso, a
global provider of employee assessments, in order to launch
ManagementInsight, a series of specialised assessments designed to improve
the performance and leadership skills of managers in all industry sectors.
The first two assessments 'Engage' and 'Perform' will focus on improving the
way in which managers address employee engagement and performance.

Poor management is a growing problem for UK companies. Recent research
from CMI revealed that half the UK workforce (47%) had left their jobs due to
bad management, half believed they could do a better job than their boss and
an equal number were willing to take a pay cut to work with a better manager.
This lack of trust in managers also means that eight out of ten workers
wouldn't turn to their bosses if they had a problem at work.

Additionally, the research revealed the root cause of some of the UK's
poor management practices - 63% of managers claimed they had received no
formal management training and many said they were 'accidental' managers who
had not set out to manage a team.

To transform the skills of managers, CMI has engaged Cognisco to deliver
a series of assessments that will measure accurately the skills, knowledge
and confidence of managers and highlight their skills gaps and training
needs. The initial assessments focusing on 'performance management' and
'employee engagement' will initially be rolled out to CMI's corporate
clients.

Ruth Spellman, CMI Chief Executive says, "CMI's goal is to transform
management and leadership. To do that, it is vital that managers review
regularly their own performance and skills, understand their strengths and
how they need to improve. We are delighted to partner with Cognisco to tackle
this serious issue. Cognisco's intelligent assessments will enable companies
to measure the performance of managers accurately and deliver targeted and
relevant professional development programmes. We are confident this
partnership will help to transform the skills of managers, and at the same
time improve employee engagement and well-being."

"Using Cognisco assessments, companies will be able to benchmark the
performance of their managers and compare them with managers in competitive
organisations, companies from different industry sectors and even
international companies," she added.

Mary Clarke, CEO of Cognisco says, "CMI is a champion of management best
practice and we are delighted to partner with them to help transform
management skills. Our assessments will provide organisations with vital
insight into the skills, knowledge, competence and confidence of their
managers and critically, will reveal how well they understand their job
roles. Weak areas will be pinpointed so that companies can address these
immediately with targeted training. Our assessments will not only improve
managers' performance and understanding of their roles, they will boost their
confidence, improve their interaction with their teams and also reduce the
risk of them making mistakes, which could prove costly and damaging to
business."

About Cognisco

Cognisco is a global leader in measuring employee knowledge and
confidence, working with companies in more than 150 countries and 30
different languages. Headquartered in the UK with an office in New York City,
its unique online knowledge development solutions enable customers, including
some of the world's biggest brands, to accurately assess and measure levels
of individual understanding and confidence. By combining human capital
consultancy, online appraisal and learning, Cognisco provides its customers
with critical data which enables companies to reduce risk and cost, while
increasing operational performance and ROI. Cognisco believes in enabling
individuals to reach their true potential by constantly placing them in a
position to excel so that employers can continuously improve business
performance.

About CMI

CMI is the only chartered professional body in the UK dedicated to
promoting the highest standards of management and leadership excellence. As
a membership organisation, CMI has been providing forward-thinking advice and
support to individuals and businesses, for more than 50 years, and continues
to give managers and leaders, and the organisations they work in, the tools
they need to improve their performance and make an impact. Through in-depth
research and policy surveys of its 86,000 individual and 450 corporate
members, CMI maintains its position as the premier authority on key
management and leadership issues

    For more information, contact:

    Kathryn Hughes
    Kathryn@kayakpr.co.uk
    +44(0)203-142-6447 / +44(0)7801-823-839

For more information, contact: Kathryn Hughes, Kathryn at kayakpr.co.uk, +44(0)203-142-6447 / +44(0)7801-823-839