Architect Of The Capitol Purchases Avue Digital Services As Enterprise-Wide Workforce Management Platform

Washington, DC – Avue Technologies, the worldwide leader in workforce solutions for the public sector, today announced a "Signature Partner" agreement with the Architect of the Capitol under which Avue will provide a totally integrated, native Web platform supporting all of AoC's workforce management initiatives. With its purchase, a 10-year agreement valued in excess of $30 million, the Architect becomes the first Avue client to purchase all 10 modules and turnkey content databases in the Avue Digital Services™ offering.

Avue Digital Services™ (ADS) is a subscription service that delivers turnkey, customized and continuously enhanced workforce management support directly to the desktops of managers and employees. One of the key signature elements of ADS is its embedded workflow which includes collaborative processing, supporting such interactive workforce management activities as performance optimization, as well as straight-through processing which completes essential workforce transactions such as hiring.

Other key features of particular interest to AoC include Avue's interfaces with its payroll, finance, project management and other management systems; the ‘My Avue' employee and manager self-service dashboards; and the significant flexibilities provided by Avue's rules engines which allow for alternative compensation structures, multiple types of performance appraisal processes and opportunities to develop and implement alternative policies and practices to address AoC's emerging human capital plans. Further, since Avue rules engines provide for embedded content validity, it ensures non-discriminatory treatment of all employees and applicants in terms of hiring, promotion, training, disciplinary actions, performance appraisals and similar issues of workforce management.

The Architect's nearly 3,000 member workforce will use Avue across the entire range of workforce issues, including position management, recruitment and staffing, individual and organizational performance management and optimization, employee and labor relations, EEO, injury compensation, training and development and workforce planning and forecasting. The Architect of the Capitol has been an Avue client since February of 2003, when it selected Avue's Position Management, Recruitment and Staffing (PMRS) Module.

"The Architect of the Capitol is the ideal Avue Signature Partner – an agency with a clear mission, dedicated workforce and a highly engaged management team determined to lead the Federal Government in achieving the very best individual and organizational performance," said Linda Rix, Co-CEO of Avue. "During the past year, we have developed an outstanding partnering relationship because we share a vision of the critical role technology can play in service delivery and achieving top performance. We are very gratified to be chosen as an essential part of the Architect's long term management strategy."

The Architect of the Capitol is responsible to the United States Congress for the maintenance, operation, development and preservation of the United States Capitol Complex, which includes the Capitol Building, all Congressional office buildings and the facilities for the Library of Congress, the Supreme Court, the U.S. Botanic Garden and the Capitol Power Plant. Its workforce includes a very diverse set of white collar and blue collar jobs.

Avue Digital Services includes a suite of online modules accessed by supervisors, managers, employees and job applicants through standard internet Web browsers and is the only human resource application with "zero-client" architecture. This architecture, providing 100% server-side processing, allows AoC to meet the highest standards of data security. Avue complies with Section 508, the Federal Information Management Security Act and the Federal government's Federal Enterprise Architecture Technical Reference Model.

All Avue modules are purchased on a fixed annual fee subscription "all you can eat" basis that provides unlimited concurrent use by all AoC employees, applicants and other support personnel, 24x7, from anywhere the user can log onto the Internet. Avue provides all help desk functions and as part of their subscription, supervisors and managers using Avue enjoy access to Avue Enterprise Direct™ expert call center support on issues such as creating positions, hiring and conducting employee performance appraisals and personalized concierge services.

Because there is no capital investment in hardware or software to purchase, develop, manage, or deploy it and Avue's unique content database and rules engines make the offering completely turnkey, Avue clients are able to be up and running within hours of contract award. The specific Avue Modules to be used by the Architect include: