APQC Honors Xerox for Its Knowledge Retention Practices; Recognizes Company as Best Practice Organization.

Business/Technology Editors

CLEVELAND--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 4, 2002

When the lights go off and employees walk out the door, what they know doesn't have to leave with them, according to Xerox Connect, the cornerstone of Xerox Corporation's (NYSE: XRX) recently launched Xerox Global Services.

The American Productivity & Quality Center has highlighted Xerox Connect for its best practices in knowledge retention. One of six companies selected by a detailed set of criteria by APQC, Xerox Connect is hosting a site visit here today to share its strategies with executives from government and major global corporations. All are APQC members and sponsors of its collaborative learning consortium on best practices in Retaining Valuable Knowledge. It marks the fifth time the APQC has recognized Xerox's expertise in knowledge sharing.

"Companies must develop proactive strategies to identify, retain and re-use knowledge so that individual expertise is transformed into real working knowledge," said Carla O'Dell, APQC president. "Xerox has a long-standing appreciation of the importance of knowledge management and has developed innovative practices and processes in this area."

At Xerox Connect, knowledge retention starts before a new employee is hired. The company looks for people willing to share and grow their knowledge, and it teaches them to reflect daily on whether they have learned anything that would benefit their colleagues. Leadership development discourages the know-it-all manager and favors those who value others' contributions.

"A company that fails to effectively capture, share and retain its critical knowledge squanders its resources," said Jim Joyce, president, Xerox Connect. "Our knowledge retention processes help us work faster, better and collectively smarter."

In addition to Xerox Connect, APQC is visiting Best Buy, Corning, Northrop Grumman, Siemens AG, and World Bank to observe best knowledge retention practices.

In 2000 APQC recognized Xerox for best practices in "Successfully Implementing Knowledge Management" and also in "Building and Sustaining Communities of Practice." Xerox was also selected by APQC as a best practice partner in two prior knowledge management studies, "Managing Competitive Intelligence Knowledge in a Global Economy" in 1998 and "Emerging Best Practices in KM" in 1996.

Xerox Global Services addresses the rapidly growing service market by helping clients improve their work and business processes to achieve better results. It offers consulting, systems design and implementation, strategic outsourcing, and process management services in disciplines such as knowledge and work practice management, content management, and publishing and output management.

A member-based nonprofit serving more than 500 organizations around the world, APQC is a recognized leader in benchmarking, knowledge management, measurement, and quality programs. APQC helps organizations adapt to rapidly changing environments, build new and better ways to work, and succeed in a competitive marketplace.

Customer Contact: For more information on Xerox Global Services, visit www.xerox.com/globalservices

NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information on APQC, visit www.apqc.org. For more information on Xerox, visit www.xerox.com/news.

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