Nurturing Global Workplace Connections

Managing a workforce spread out from Milan to Montreal, Milwaukee to Manila, is a tough job that requires special skills. That goes for companies of all sizes, whether the task is telling employees about internal developments or conveying a change in corporate strategy, training salespeople about product updates, or just helping employees feel connected to the organization.

Some companies are a lot better at it than others. There are those that look to outsourcers for expertise and to gain efficiencies when dealing with operational systems in distant locales and handling internal systems such as benefits administration and payroll. Others prefer to keep operations and administration in-house no matter how geographically dispersed the workforce. Many turn to technology.

A Web site can create a sense of connection and help distant employees exchange information. But organizations still have to be sure that employees have computers with Internet connections, and should recognize that it takes more than an e-mail to connect with employees, says Gary Parker, senior vice president and practice chairman of international compensation for Chicago-based Aon Corporation, one of the world's largest insurance brokerage and consulting firms. "You and I can read the written word, but we might not understand it the same way," Parker says. "That written word has to be reinforced with the living word and it also has to be reinforced by action." Aon has about 51,000 employees in more than 550 offices in 120 countries. Yet managers are still expected to deliver messages to field operations. At some point, there has to be face-to-face communication, Parker says. "You can't do everything by e-mail."

Here's a look at how three different-sized companies deal with their own uniquely spread-out workforces.

Despite his company's demographics, Jim Bodenbender decided not to rely on outsourcers to meet his company's primary employee-management needs. He is president of Chicago-based Madison Information Technologies, a private provider of customer data integration that helps hospitals and physicians eliminate duplication of patient medical records.

The virtual company has 82 employees located in 16 states. About half of them work at home. Even the CEO works out of a home office in Atlanta.

Keeping everyone connected and working together as a team is a tall order. Even though the company is small, Bodenbender didn't want to outsource, he says, because providers offered rigid restrictions and limited options that didn't fit Madison's corporate culture. As long as their work is completed on budget and on time, the company gives employees plenty of freedom. Bodenbender also wanted greater control over HR functions than is possible with outsourcing. "I wasn't willing to have somebody transplant onto me his or her way of managing HR."

For Bodenbender, keeping most everything in-house means long workdays, because employees cross several time zones. For the company, it means an expensive commitment to higher-than-average phone bills, the cost of laptops and Internet access for everyone, and the expense of company-wide meetings.

Whether a company is virtual or not, personal meeting time is essential, Bodenbender says. Any company with dispersed employees has to be willing and able to take on the overhead and the downtime that result from face-to-face meetings. "For us to have a company meeting, as small as we are, costs about $75,000 just in expenses."

Bodenbender says his biggest challenge is maintaining a sense of teamwork with employees coast to coast. He deals with it by talking with employees every chance he gets about the difficulties of establishing those connections. The company also has two physical facilities, and a third is expected to open this year. The offices provide an anchor for the company. The Chicago corporate office handles the legal and finance departments and human resources, which includes recruiting, benefit administration, policy, and procedure manuals. Bodenbender outsources payroll because he says it's less expensive than doing it in-house.

Ongoing personal and business communication with far-flung employees also is important. That may mean sending kudos or corporate updates by e-mail, making a phone call of encouragement to an employee working late, or keeping people informed with a quarterly newsletter. The publication is delivered in hard copy to differentiate it from electronic mail, which is the usual mode of business communication. Bodenbender says he's also a big fan of giving employees what he calls "trinkets and trash." These are the constant reminders that an employee is part of the company. It might be a T-shirt, a portfolio with the company's name on it, a rubber ducky, or a birthday card.

Madison overcomes geographic barriers to employee training by hiring only experienced people, and by using a mentoring system. A new employee is teamed with another more experienced person in the same general location for two to four weeks to learn the ropes.

Beyond the training aspect, ongoing mentoring programs also can be a good way to help distant employees feel connected, Parker notes. The in-the-field or long-distance employee is linked with someone at company headquarters.

Managing a workforce that is spread out is all about communication, Parker says, and it's not something most companies are good at. He knows firsthand what it's like to be on the other side of the world from corporate headquarters, because he spent several years abroad working for various other corporations. "On all my assignments, I felt like I was a little forgotten body in the wilderness." Van Walbridge, president and CEO of Mobile Tool International, Inc., a Westminster, Colorado, manufacturer of telecommunications, CATV, electrical utility, and contractor construction equipment, agrees that communication is and always has been the biggest issue for any geographically dispersed workforce.

The company has close to 900 workers at six facilities from Maryland to California. Operations span different time zones, employee and union contracts vary by region, and staff members who interact every day don't get enough face-to-face time, Walbridge says. It's much more difficult than running a business in a single location or in a place where people see each other and can interact and develop relationships, he says.

That's where technology solutions like the Internet can provide a tool to help keep a company connected and employees informed. But just putting the technology out there won't necessarily solve a problem, says Mike Christie, a consultant specializing in operational and technology issues at Hewitt Associates in Lincolnshire, Illinois. Expectations have to be aligned and cultural issues addressed.

At Mobile Tool, this is accomplished mainly because individual plant supervisors are good communicators and run consistent operations. They follow the same corporate guidelines in areas such as attendance, rewards for outstanding performance, and disciplinary actions, Walbridge says. But they handle day-to-day operations themselves. Corporate managers serve as resources and work with plants on performance goals.

Open communication also is the norm at Mobile Tool. That means sharing company financials with employees and explaining regional differences in salaries or even workforce reductions. If employees truly understand what's going on, they don't have to focus on spin, rumors, and innuendo, Walbridge says.

Companies also have to understand that different people prefer different forms of communication, he says. "Some of them like to read it, some of them like to hear it, some of them like to experience it." As a result, Mobile Tool communicates in a variety of ways, such as the written word, video, e-mail, and, of course, telephone.

The company is employee-owned. Employees hold 76 percent of the stock and constitute a majority on the board of directors. Walbridge insists that any company can and should be open with its employees. "I know of no downside to that, to providing some of the basic financial information so that the employees can know where they have an effect on the company."

Company-wide profit-sharing further works to turn Mobile Tool's dispersed workers into a cohesive workforce, he says. Employees have to count on each other to perform and generate profits.

A workforce, no matter how widely dispersed, absolutely must understand company strategies, know it has an opportunity to provide input, and be connected to the company's mission and direction, says Per-Olof Loof, Sensormatic Electronics Corporation CEO and president. When they are informed, workers, in turn, will do their jobs better. Clients expect a workforce to behave and treat them the same whether they are in Singapore, Munich, or Miami, and that's a real challenge for any global company, he says.

Technology can help open the doors of communication and information transfer, but a company has to use whatever means possible, Loof says. Sensormatic once relied on telephone lines, after-the-fact videotapes, and discussions, whereas now it uses live broadcasts, real-time webcasts via the Internet, and company intranet to keep its employees informed and in touch.

Loof spends more than 50 percent of his time on the road meeting with employees and customers because he thinks it is important that management be visible and personally connected.

A big part of Loof's communication strategy involves town hail meetings. They are held immediately after each quarterly earnings call in a different Sensormatic location. The meeting is broadcast live to the company's dozen biggest sites and is webcast to others. For those employees without Internet access, it's available by telephone. The session also is taped for those who can't participate live.

It's not a gripe session, but an overview of what happened in the quarter and what's ahead. It includes a question-and-answer session that deals with pertinent topics. Since logistics prevent live, from-the-audience questions, Loof asks the questions based on his sense of what the issues are, and provides straightforward answers. Last quarter, the main topic was the company's recent layoffs and whether more were expected. "The objective is to be very open and very honest and address those questions that people wouldn't want to or wouldn't feel that they could ask."

Sensormatic also counts on its intranet to communicate with workers. It has bulletin boards and electronic newsletters. "People want to stay connected, and this is a way for us to be able to talk about that." Loof even has a personal bulletin board called "Ask Per," where employees can ask him questions directly. In a little more than six months, Loof has received-and answered-146 questions on everything from strategic corporate issues to mileage compensation.

When it comes to training, Loof admits it's tough to keep a worldwide workforce informed about product updates. "Training people across the globe is an issue where you are never happy." Sensormatic uses its intranet and the Internet, but primarily counts on more conventional classroom methods of training.

However a company decides to deal with its dispersed workforce, Loof offers this advice: Overcommunicate with your employees, especially in uncertain economic times like now. A personal connection is great if it's possible, though company size can make that difficult. "But even companies like Wal-Mart have managed to connect their management to the people who work at the company," he says. "And they employ 1.2 million people."

Real Meetings and "Trinkets and Trash" Unify a Virtual Company

Name: Madison Information Technologies, Inc.

Location: Chicago, and dozens of virtual locations nationwide

Type of business: Identity management software solutions provider that works with medical companies and providers to detect duplicate records

Number of employees: 82

MEDIUM COMPANY

Open Communication, Open Books, and Profit-Sharing Connect Workers

Name: Mobile Tool International, Inc.

Location: Westminster, Colorado, and six other locations nationwide

Type of business: Employee-owned manufacturer of telecommunications, CATV, electrical utility, and contractor construction equipment

Number of employees: 870

Managing from Afar

tools

AMA/ITAC Survey on Telework

The American Management Association and the International Teleworkers Association and Council asked managers to rate the success of their telework programs. A summary of the findings is available (in PDF format) at: www.amanet.org/research/pdfs/itac_sumary.pdf

Intranet Implementation Tips

Six guidelines that helped the Mayo Clinic put its intranet in place: www.workforce.com/archive/article/001/53/76.xci?topicname=technology

The Invisible Factors of Telecommuting

This piece includes sample agreements that can be used with a dispersed, telecommuting workforce: www.workforce.com/achive/feature/00/06/92/

LARGE COMPANY "Overcommunication" Builds Bridges Across Multiple Time Zones

Name: Sensormatic Electronics Corporation

Location: Boca Raton, Florida, with operations in 113 countries

Type of business: Electronic security Number of employees: 5,200

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