Following in the footsteps of the 'freeconomics' business model, Atlas Performance Solutions offers free professional software product for conducting 360 degree business leadership surveys.

PRESS DISPENSARY - Thursday, Apr 29, 2010 - Atlas Performance Solutions Ltd (http://www.atlasperformance.net ) is offering companies a free professional software product for conducting 360 degree leadership surveys. Following in the footsteps of the 'freeconomics' business model favoured by the likes of Google, Mozilla and Zynga, the survey is free to many users as it's paid for by the few who want customisations or support. Unlike any rival products, it can be used to conduct a complete employee study with no limitations and at no cost.

Ideal for HR departments and HR consultants, the survey is a high quality multi-rater, multi-lingual 360 degree tool. Atlas believes it's the first company to offer such a comprehensive survey entirely free of charge. Traditionally, multi-rater employee survey tools are expensive and could deplete the corporate wallet during the downturn. While some rivals have offered free limited trial versions of their products, the survey from Atlas is 100% functional with no limitations. Other websites offer free surveys but none offer multi-rater and multi-lingual surveys with a ready-to-use, tested set of questions and parameters.

Steffen Foldager, founder of Atlas Performance Solutions, says: "By using our 360 degree employee survey, companies can start performing invaluable studies of their leaders. Those who are using paid-for surveys can switch over and save a lot of money. The difference between a free trial version and what we are offering is fundamental: it's possible to conduct a complete employee survey for free using our software, and we hope that many companies will take advantage of this opportunity."

The survey features multi-lingual, easy to use, role-targeted questions and advanced skills-measurements. The ability to conduct a multi-lingual survey and collate all the results regardless of language is a key benefit of the tool. The user's data is stored safely and securely, and respondents can interrupt their submission of answers and then complete the survey whenever they choose.

Instead of charging companies to use the survey, Atlas will fund the product by selling optional support, customisations for clients' specific purposes and by licensing the survey platform to HR consultants so they can perform custom surveys for their own customers.

Steffen Foldager explains: "The business model we are using is inspired by Chris Anderson's Free*. We are taking the 'freeconomics' model to the HR industry with a view to profiting from add-on services rather than the survey itself.

"There has been a recent trend for large organisations to switch from enterprise services to their free equivalents, or enhancements of these free services, to cut costs and gain better licensing agreements. For example, the French Government's public finance department switched 130,000 desktop PCs to free Mozilla applications and open source groupware to replace software from the likes of Microsoft and Lotus. Similarly, Los Angeles City Council outsourced its email system for 30,000 users to Google, which has made its mark in the provision of free email services. The fastest growing sector of the gaming industry is free, online multi-player community games, such as Zynga Poker. And online data storage is now offered at no cost. People are increasingly expecting to encounter the 'freeconomics' model and it is proven to work."

He adds: "If we put it another way, it's a new business model where many get a free ride, paid for by the few. By pioneering this model in the employee survey field, Atlas can help many companies manage their human resources without also having to manage high survey costs. It's a model we're committed to and we'll be launching further surveys on the same basis in the coming months."

Notes for editors

Atlas Performance Solutions Ltd was founded by Steffen Foldager, a Dane resident in Switzerland, in 2009. The company provides employee surveys and has an integrated partnership with Danish consulting firm, LederSkaberne.

* Please see: http://www.wired.com/techbiz/it/magazine/16-03/ff_free