LRA Worldwide Hires Alan MacFarland as Vice President of Human Resources

HORSHAM, Pennsylvania – LRA Worldwide, Inc., a leading consulting firm in the growing sector of Customer Experience Management (CEM), has hired Alan MacFarland as Vice President of Human Resources. MacFarland brings 25 years of experience in Human Resource management to LRA, boasting a proven track record of maximizing the “human capital” within an organization via innovative hiring, recruiting, retention, compensation and benefits planning.

MacFarland’s hiring was triggered by LRA’s rapid growth in the past four years, as well as the growth of CEM as a consulting discipline in general. LRA has more than doubled its business during the aforementioned time period, making the identification, recruitment and hiring of dynamic new consultants and analysts an ongoing process.

“This is a very exciting addition for LRA, as it indicates that we are in a period of unprecedented growth,” said Rob Rush, Chief Executive Officer of LRA Worldwide, and one of the firm’s founding partners. “Alan brings an expertise in helping companies manage this type of growth in a streamlined and cost-effective way by - first and foremost – making sure that we identify the best possible candidates who understand customer experience management, our corporate values and can bring the greatest insights to our clients.”

Prior to joining LRA, MacFarland spent six years as the Director of Human Resources for Ecometry Corporation, an international software company providing multi-channel CRM and ERP software solutions out of Delray Beach, FL. At Ecometry, MacFarland helped reduce employee turnover by 31-percent and cost of hire by 65-percent, while overall company revenues grew from $20 million to $80 million. Before his tenure with Ecometry, MacFarland filled similar HR leadership positions with Davel Telecommunications and Wachovia Bank.

"This is a great opportunity to build a state-of-the-art Human Resources function at a company from the ground up and have a real impact on continued growth and success,” explained MacFarland. “Kudos to LRA’s leadership for recognizing the opportune time to take this leap, ensuring that Human Resources will not act as an anchor for continued growth, but as a catalyst instead.”

MacFarland earned his B.S. from North Carolina State University and is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management. A native of Drexel Hill, PA, MacFarland currently resides in King of Prussia, PA.

About LRA Worldwide:
LRA Worldwide, Inc. is a leading consulting, organizational development and research company that specializes in Customer Experience Management (CEM). LRA helps companies and brands design and deliver the optimal customer experience across all key touch points using an integrated suite of services that measure and improve service quality, customer satisfaction, employee performance, loyalty, customer advocacy and profitability. LRA specializes in “operationalizing the brand” – turning brand promise and customer strategy into operational reality. LRA’s CEM practice areas include Customer Experience Strategy Design, Standards Development & Content Management, Organizational Development & Training, Research and Quality Assurance & Mystery Shopping; these are either deployed together in a strategic manner to continually monitor and improve the customer experience or deployed individually to address a specific tactical client need.

LRA’s clients include some of the world’s leading companies and brands, including Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Hard Rock Hotels and Casinos, the PGA TOUR, Albertsons Supermarkets, the NBA and First Niagara Financial Group. For more information, visit the company’s Web site at www.LRAworldwide.com.

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