Since this past week we've seen massive flooding caused by rains in California, which then turned into Winter Blizzards across the United States. Most of the New York City region has been paralized due to the blizzard that pulmeted the region with approximately 30 inches of snow, and winds gushing to 55 mph. Public Transit haulted, roads have been impassable, and airlines and railways closed. Everything came to dead stop. Everything but companies who are ahead of their peers and telecommute!
Why is it in times of evolution, the majority of companies INSIST that they see their employees faces in person every morning at 9:00 AM? Simply put, management is egotistical. There is NO REASON why most office workers (unless they deal face to face with the public from their desk) need to be commuting into work.
Most Management is aware of and utilizing contact management software that not only organizes an employee's contact database but also generates reports on the efficiency level of managing those contacts. Case in point is SalesForce. It's highly adaptable to a company's needs. It can integrate with a sales dialer, keep an individual employee's contact database, generate leads, templates, call reports which can be broken down into time spent on each call, breaks the employee took, etc.
Computer tracking software is currently being utilized by many companies. The software can review every website that is visited, and see what is done while on the website. It can capture and review all instant messages delivered by both sides. It can track every email sent and received, including web-based emails. It can capture every single keystroke typed, including usernames and passwords. It can get the exact time and date everything is typed. It will also see everything an employee does on MySpace and Facebook and see every picture posted, every file downloaded, and will quickly find what they are searching for on google, yahoo, aol, etc.
These different type of software provide the necessary flexibility for companies to not need as many managers for employees, while continuiing to have a tighter grasp on an employee's productivity and time management. Most employees are completely unaware of how much "Big Brother" is watching.
Despite these recent software advances that most companies have set in motion, few if any allow telecomuting. Most company management believe that if they are not visually seeing their employees work, employees will not value their employment or position. I equate it to the start-up funding scenario. Employers want to know how much "skin" an employee have "in the game". In other words, "as an employee, if you value my company, you'll come into my headquarters and spend your money commuting to me, and giving up 8 hours daily of your life to me, because I am worth that much. I have the beautiful corner office, you work on the floor with all the other busy beavers." Ego.
JetBlue is an United States airline company that continuously posts profits for it's investors. JetBlue is a low cost airline that offers its passengers nice amenities like DirectTV movies, and Satellite radio. One of JetBlue's cost cutting overhead features lies in its Customer Service department. JetBlue's Customer Services department is entirely telecommuted. Every Customer Service rep works from the comfort of their own home. This greatly reduces JetBlue's overhead costs. In this day and age when so many airlines are showing losses on their balance sheets, JetBlue is again producing profits! This example shows how innovative corporate minds work to produce more profits for their investors and why telecommuting works.
Telecommuting offers companies the ability to significantly lower their overhead costs, increase employee productivity, and raise profits. It is a complete win-win opportunity. It is not for every business. There are some retail establishments, personal care businesses, and some government operations must be handled in person. But the majority of businesses worldwide can take advantage of software capabilities that would enhance their bottom line.
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