ATLANTA (May 15, 2001) ‹ Credit unions nationwide now have support when it comes to training their employees thanks to a new computer-based educational program from John H. Harland Company (NYSE: JH). Harland, one of the country's leading financial transaction companies, has released the Harland Institute for High Performance Credit Union Knowledge CD, a computer-based educational program designed to provide credit union employees with the background and training they need to serve members more efficiently. The CD is the result of a strategic alliance between Harland and MyDAS Marketing, Inc., a Nevada-based multimedia education company specializing in adult learning. MyDAS, with one of their credit union clients, recently won the Award for Innovation from the National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU) for its work in developing multimedia tutorials. "Training is critical to the success of a financial institution and has been identified as a significant issue in the credit union industry," says Timothy Smith, director of Credit Union Strategic Marketing for Harland. "Better-trained employees deliver better member service, which is fundamental to high performance. But finding the resources to properly train staff is a challenge for most credit unions because of their size and limited budgets." Licensed from MyDAS, the CD content covers areas essential to credit union performance and is presented in four tutorials: Credit Union Philosophy, Telephone Service Skills, Product Knowledge and Teller Training. The information includes topics such as credit union industry background, basic service skills, sales scenarios, share products, loans and cash handling. The content is primarily geared for new employees but can be used for refresher training and product knowledge certification. "Credit union employees can use it whenever they want at their own workstation, without working around a trainer's schedule," says Smith. "It can also help reduce training expenses for credit unions." "MyDAS has been working with credit unions for more than 15 years to enhance their educational programs," says Susan E. Mitchell, president of MyDAS. "Our understanding of credit union-specific content, credit union philosophy and building member relationships distinguishes these tutorials." The CD is offered at no charge to Harland checks customers as part of their contractual relationship with the company.