What your competition is doing.

Nation needs a workplace rethink

Publication Date：11/21/2008       Section：Commentary
By Steven Crook

Taiwan has a small army of self-employed designers, programmers, and translators who work from home. Most of these individuals receive assignments and deliver finished work via the Internet. They do not waste time commuting to an office, nor do they have to dress smartly for work.

Despite a very high rate of Internet access and an economy that is increasingly white-collar, few nine-to-five employees have joined the ranks of Taiwan's e-commuters. Across the island, working from home is still very much the exception. While there are no reliable statistics as to the number of people who work in this manner, it is certain that compared to their counterparts in the United States and Japan, Taiwan's large companies have been slow to adopt telecommuting.

This is unfortunate for those in Taiwan who would like to e-commute so they can spend more time with their families. And it means employers are missing an excellent chance to boost productivity and cut costs.

Nurses, construction workers and others doing jobs that could not possibly be done through the Internet should also be concerned, because telecommuting benefits society as a whole. Rush hours become less hectic and thus safer. Working from home is undeniably good for the environment: Fewer car and motorcycle journeys mean lower greenhouse-gas emissions and healthier air.

The obstacles that stand in the way of Taiwan enjoying the maximum environmental, social and economic benefits of telecommuting are more cultural than physical. The hardware--high-speed, reliable Internet access--is already in place. It is management attitudes that need to change.

Many Taiwanese employers believe in "management by surveillance." In other words, they make sure employees do the work assigned to them by watching them continually or paying a supervisor to do so.

If e-commuting arrangements are to be successful, "management by surveillance" has to be replaced by something akin to what Peter Drucker calls "management by objectives"--a process whereby managers and workers agree upon objectives and deadlines, which the latter then tackle without constant monitoring. While it is difficult for any government to effect cultural changes, it would be easy to create conditions that would hasten any shift in this direction.

Starting with large, high-tech companies--because they tend to be very receptive to new ideas--the government should require employers to devise plans allowing some part of their workforce to work from home one or two days a week. This goal is not overambitious. In 2004, the Japanese government announced a target of 20 percent of the country's labor force regularly working from home by 2010.

Successful telecommuting programs should be publicized and rewarded in an effort to win over skeptical employers. If IBM Corp. can cut costs by US$8,000 per year for each worker moved out of an office and into his or her home, it should be possible for companies with Taipei offices to save substantial sums. Moreover, some studies suggest that, because they are removed from the distractions of an office, teleworkers are up to 40 percent more productive than their cubicle-bound counterparts.

Just as it subsidizes the installation of green technology, the government should offer incentives to companies that allow e-commuting. Workers who lack the necessary hardware at home--not just a computer with high-speed Internet, but also ergonomic furniture that prevents injuries--should not have to buy their own.

Internet security is an issue, but not an insoluble one. Companies like Ericsson have made their computer systems so secure that employees are permitted to work wherever there is an Internet connection. Employers should be given help in this regard, just as they already get government assistance for industrial upgrading.

How much would this cost the country? In net terms, likely nothing at all. Growth in telecommuting would lead to major savings elsewhere. Less driving would mean fewer traffic accidents, which in turn would reduce police and medical costs. Better air quality would lead to fewer cases of respiratory disease.

According to a 1995 study by Yen Jin-ru, a professor in the Department of Shipping and Transportation Management at National Taiwan Ocean University, Taipei City Government would save between US$75.3 million and US$271.4 million per year on road construction if just 5.9 percent of rush hour trips were replaced by e-commuting.

It has been said that, even if employers can be won over, few Taiwanese workers would opt to telecommute. People who live alone or in cramped apartments are not especially fond of staying home. And there are certainly some for whom power dressing, and the prestige of working in Taipei's swankier areas, are important.

However, those who are married with children typically have different priorities, and are likely to embrace a practice that makes balancing family and career much easier. A government that encourages telecommuting may even find, some years on, an uptick in Taiwan's precariously low birth rate.

--Steven Crook is a free-lance writer based in Tainan.

These views are the author's and not necessarily those of the TJ.

Copyright ?2008 by Steven Crook

High travel costs increase use of meeting technology

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 Loading ... Posted on: November 19th, 2008 by Peter Headley

The high cost of business travel is leading to a change in how businesses communicate and meet, according to a new survey sponsored by Plantronics, Inc.

In the study it was found that many companies have already reduced business travel significantly due to the high cost of fuel, and that more employees are working from home, at least one day per week. It also found that increasing numbers of knowledge workers are spending more time on the phone in order to maintain effective levels of communication.

The study was conducted by the research firm TNS, and showed that during the past year, 42 per cent of knowledge workers responding saw a decline in corporate travel. Forty per cent of the respondents indicated that they spent more time attending teleconferences and 30 per cent increased their time spent telecommuting.

When asked about ergonomic issues, 33 per cent complained about shoulder and neck pain more than any other health-related condition. This was attributed to extended use of the computer, phone and other office equipment.

"A shift is occurring in the way businesses operate in trying economic times," noted the vice-president and general manager of Plantronics' Business Solutions, Chuck Yort. "Many corporations have worked to find cost effective ways for employees to communicate and connect with colleagues and customers, a trend that was sparked by high travel costs and has been accelerated by the uncertain financial climate. As a result, we anticipate an increased use of collaboration tools to reduce operational expenses and to help professionals work efficiently."

Thanks to www.ibtimes.com for the above quotes, for more information on this article please visit their website.

www.plantronics.com

Making Virtual Agents Feel "At Home"

By Stefania Viscusi, Assignment Desk Editor

In today's increasingly global workforce, and with the amount of new technologies being introduced, more and more people are working from around the globe and connecting virtually instead of being in the same physical location.

 

Working from a virtual location not only saves on costs and aggravation of long commutes, but also employers are finding benefit in the ability to choose from a larger pool of candidates and lower overhead costs since they don't have to provide a work space for those employees.

As more businesses put their trust in telecommuting, the need to develop new processes that will continue to promote success, is necessary.

In call centers, a virtual agent can be located anywhere in the world to take calls and perform functions just as those located on site. This industry is however most reluctant to develop work-at-home strategies because their success is so dependent on agent productivity.

To gain a better understanding of the benefits of work-at-home initiatives and how to change processes to promote success, a free Webinar is being offered byTMC ( News - Alert) and IEX, "Make Virtual Agents Feel Right at Home."

 

The Webinar, which will be held on Thursday, November 20, 2008 at 1:00pm ET / 10:00am PT, will feature Amy Wolf, Senior Solutions Engineer, IEX Corporation, a NICE Systems company and BrendanB ( News - Alert). Read, Senior Contributing Editor, Customer Inter@ction Solutions.

 

Discussion topics will include: how companies can manage their at-home agents, equipment requirements and quantitative advantages to a work-at-home program.  The Webinar will also include a live Q&A session.

 

REGISTER NOW!

Stefania Viscusi is an assignment editor for TMCnet, covering VoIP, CRM, call center and wireless technologies. To read more of Stefania's articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Stefania Viscusi

Google Adds Voice, Video Chat to Gmail, Apps

11.11.08

  Total posts: 1

by Chloe Albanesius

Fearful that the tone of your instant messages is sometimes lost in translation? Google on Tuesday announced that it is integrating a voice and video plug-in for it Gmail Chat offering that lets you see or hear the friend with which you are chatting.

Users will need to download and install a plug-in, and have access to a Webcam for video purposes. Google has partnered with Logitech and Buy.com to offer discounts of up to 30 percent on several cameras, as well as free shipping, until November 30.

A $99.99 Logitech QuickCam Pro for Notebooks, for example, is available for $69.99, while a $49 Logitech QuickCam Communicate MP is now $39.99.

"I'm a big user of Gmail chat. Being able to switch from email to chat as needed, all within the same app, is really great for productivity," Justin Uberti, a Google software engineer, wrote in a blog post. "But people can only type so fast, and even with our new emoticons, there are still some things that just can't be expressed in a chat message."

Once installed, click the "video & more" link inside the chat window and select "start video chat" or "start voice chat." The friend you are trying to contact will hear a ring and be given the option to accept or ignore the call. Users can then chat within the Gmail tab or pop it out into a separate window and expand or decrease its size.

Voice and video chat is available on Macs running Mac OS X v10.4 or later and PCs running Windows XP or higher. A link to download the offering will be rolled out to all Gmail and Google Apps accounts in the coming days, but it is also available directly at http://mail.google.com/videochat.

The video function was designed via open standards, "which means that third-party applications and networks can choose to interoperate with Gmail voice and video chat," Uberti wrote.

The offering was developed by Google teams in the U.S. and Sweden "so collaborating across continents and time zones is a fact of life for us, and it sure is easier (and greener) to click 'Start video chat' than to get on a plane!" he said.

IT Networking in a Downturn

Telecommuting beating the credit crunch

Posted:

15:30 07 Nov 2008

Despite the economic downturn, businesses cannot afford to stop investing in technology, in particular in IT security. Such investments are of strategic importance for companies in order that they stay competitive and innovative. But more than ever, choosing IT security investments wisely, and ensuring quick ROI, is vital.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, technology products which allow companies to operate more efficiently, and increase productivity will survive the economic slowdown. A key component in ensuring success is the clever use of flexible communications tools that support remote working and can allow organisations to meet economic challenges head on, ensuring a productive, efficient and secure working environment.

We believe that there are ten social trends and technology advancements which are spurring companies to implement 'telecommuting' strategies. These factors demonstrate that the technology, and timing, is now right to make telecommuting a viable option for business.

Considering these elements will allow firms to assess how, and when, they capitalise on the trends and technologies available in order to increase productivity, and make efficiencies across their business.

Technology #1: Broadband connectivity tops 50%

As the number of homes with broadband Internet access grows, working from home becomes more viable than ever before. Teleworkers can work more effectively with broadband connections. Enterprise applications run closer to real-time when accessed over a fast connection instead of dial-up - making accessing and working on company documents more speedy than ever. Broadband also makes VoIP (voice over IP or Internet phone) and other bandwidth-hungry new applications more viable.

Technology #2: Collaborative applications emerge: Web 2.0, Web meetings, VoIP

Today, web meetings have become commonplace within companies that have distributed workforces, whether in remote offices or home offices. Applications such as wikis and VoIP are key enablers of online collaboration. For telecommuters, remote collaboration can lead to huge productivity gains.

In terms of office culture, outsourcing and extended supply chains have given many organisations new lessons in real-time collaboration—online or by phone—with suppliers, partners and outsourcers. Now employees can apply those skills to collaborate with each other remotely.

Technology #3: Smartphones and PDAs abound

The proliferation of smartphones and PDAs, together with laptop and mobile computers, has given millions or workers the tools to work while commuting or otherwise work remotely or from home.

But mobility also challenges corporate IT departments in terms of the security of the devices and wireless networks they utilise. If looking at enterprise mobility, companies must ensure adequate security and device management policies are in place.

Trend #4: Put money back in employees' pockets to keep them loyal and productive

Economic conditions are affecting many workers. Working from home can trim commute costs in a family budget and allow for greater flexibility. Telecommuting is such a prized job perk that recent research from Sonic Wall carried out by the FactPoint group shows that just over a third (37%) of IT workers say they'd accept up to a 10 per cent lower salary to work full-time from home.

Trend #5: Save on operations and real estate

In the big picture, telecommuters also help companies lower their operating costs. When telecommuters use their own space, power and cooling to work from home, savvy employers adjust their facilities practices to pocket that savings.

Trend #6: Carbon footprint

A company's carbon footprint has become a key indicator of its environmental record, so companies keen to be "green" do measure their carbon footprints.

The growing use of web meetings and other virtual events makes cutting travel less painful and more cost-effective.

Trend #7: Boost business continuity and bounce back from disasters

Telecommuting dovetails nicely with another key corporate objective—Continuity of Operations, also called disaster recovery or business continuity. Telecommuting by definition distributes employees away from central offices that may be knocked out through power outages, weather, traffic jams or localised disturbances.

Trend #8: Regulatory compliance

The number of regulatory compliance issues has multiplied in recent years. Telecommuters are not excluded from these compliance mandates, so the viability of a telework program requires having technology in place that closely monitor teleworkers and onsite employee

Such technology must be able to:

• Identify who requires access to the data
• Enforce access to sensitive information
• Segregate users, resources and communications between the two
• Verify the processes are being followed, and audit processes for compliance

 

Trend #9: Bad guys are getting better

SSL VPNs, the basic security requirement for secure telecommuting, address the growing sophistication of hacker attacks and the organisations behind them. Telecommuting, which on the surface might seem to open new security vulnerabilities, should not if enterprises insist on effective remote access technology security.

Technology #10: Telework prerequisite: Secure remote access technology

Secure remote access and virtual private networks (VPNs) are essential for sending critical information over the Internet. VPNs essentially drill a "secure tunnel" through the Internet from the corporate data center to a remote location or mobile worker so sensitive data can pass over the Internet safely. With telecommuting and transit-based Wi-Fi, VPNs are no longer a "nice to have" but a key requirement. Modern VPNs, meaning those called SSL VPNs after the SSL protocol they utilise, can detect the identity of remote users, their network, location, and endpoint device and its security state.

Conclusion:

These trends and technologies put telecommuting on the cusp of a period of rapid growth. Two general categories are stronger today than they have been anytime in the last five years: financial drivers and enabling technologies.

The technology enablers of telecommuting work include reliable secure remote access, wider access to broadband Internet, new collaborative applications, and the popularity of PDAs and smartphones. Add to this a heightened public awareness of global warming and the original push from employees seeking better balance between their work and family lives. This time, teleworking will actually work.

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5 Additional Contacts Every Web Worker Should Have

November 4th, 2008 (12:00pm) Celine Roque No Comments

In a previous post here at WWD, I gave a list of four essential contacts for web workers. The list included a mentor, a newbie, the walking social network, and the non-techie. While those contacts will help you enrich your career, there are other contacts you'll need if you want to have more opportunities, or if you need help in establishing the businesses side of your web working practice.

The lawyer. Contracts and legal documents are part of every web worker's life. We often need to sign non-disclosure agreements, independent contractor documents, and telecommuting agreements. Having a lawyer as a contact can be handy, especially if you want to start a business, translate legalese, or draft your own contracts when templates just won't do.

The financial expert. Whether it's managing your own money, finding stable investments, or computing yoru home office as a tax deduction, you'll need a go-to person for your financial questions. This could be a hired accountant, financial advisor, or simply a friend who is wise about money. Even if they might not be able to answer all your questions, they can certainly point you to the resources and experts you need.

The website network owner. This contact is probably more important to freelancers than telecommuting employees. Basically, this person owns or manages several websites and blogs. Having a contact like this can prove to be useful, whether you're a designer, writer, SEO practitioner, or programmer. The most obvious reason is that there's a good chance that this contact will give you extra opportunities for work, since she has several web projects that need maintenance and updates. Also, if she really likes your work, you might be tapped for any new projects that come along.

The colleague. Web working is like a rat race where you don't get to meet the other rats. No matter how much you love solitude and independence, you'll need to network with others who are doing the kind of work that you do. Why is this important? First of all, it's always good to have someone who faces the same challenges as you do. You get to exchange ideas and help each other out when facing problems that are unique to teleworking. Also, it allows for opportunities to collaborate in the future.

For telecommuting employees, you can establish rapport with other telecommuters in your department. For freelancers, you could get in touch with the people you work with on a regular basis, or hang out in online communities where freelancers talk about the issues that matter to them.

The popular blogger. Blogs are fast becoming one of the most common resources that people turn to for current events and expert opinions. Their position gives bloggers some amount of authority when recommending a product or service. This makes it good to have blogger contacts from a marketing perspective, especially if you work with them and they blog about how happy they are with your work. I think that kind of recommendation beats a regular testimonial.

While having these five contacts is beneficial to your career, you shouldn't depend on them for everything. After all, the quality of your work is still up to you. These contacts will just add to the work, opportunities, and know how that you already have.