Telecommute Would Save Calgary $53B

Grant's Perspective on ... telecommuting to save travel costs and improve worker productivity.

 I read with interest about the Calgary Economic Development WORKshift initiative that encourages organizations to consider telecommuting. They have a white paper that claims that $53 billion a year would be saved if workers telecommuted twice a week.

A Calgary Herald article stated that a major impediment to telecommuting was that "... managers believe that they have to see people working in the office," said (Bob) Schulz, a professor at the U of C's Haskayne School of Business."

If the organization deployed personal videoconferencing systems (we can help with that) then employees can talk and see each other as well as share computer screens. The reluctant managers could be reassured that the employees are working! Many people are already comfortable collaborating with other people who are not located at the same office. 

As the report suggests: save money, create a smaller carbon footprint and foster productive and loyal employees.

Give it a try.

Grant

$1.3 Trillion on Business Travel & Videoconferencing

Grant's Perspective on ... radio "Tough Trivia" contest reminds me that videoconferencing can save money.

I was listening to the local 92 CITI FM Winnipeg radio show this morning as I got ready to leave for the office. They have a Tough Trivia contest every weekday morning and today's question was "1.3 trillion dollars is spent on this annually." The winning answer was business travel.

This reminded me of the travel savings that videoconferencing can deliver. I encourage anyone interested in spending less time on the road and/or in the air to look at the online Videoconferencing Business Advantage Calculator to see how much money  they can save (never mind the improved family life!) by using technology.

Videoconferencing Business Advantage Calculator

 Grant

VideoChampion.com

Grant's Perspective on ...Getting Your Organization Into Videoconferencing


Many organizations discuss the idea of implementing videoconferencing. Often someone is appointed to research the technology and report back to the group. This person typically will start their research on the internet to find the pertinent information relating to videoconferencing and the associated costs. They then do a Return on Investment Calculation to see if the investment makes sense.

The report is presented and the group thinks the project should go ahead. Then either the researcher, or perhaps an IT person, is assigned with implementing a videoconference system because either they have the best understanding of it or it is believed this area falls under their profession.

This person is now the company's video champion.

TANDBERG has a website dedicated to supporting the video champion. With sections dedicated to securing executive sponsorship, getting set up, promotion, training, measuring success and more.



This leads me to two points:
1) Hats off to TANDBERG for doing this – once again they’ve demonstrated the leadership that clients I work with love.
2) All who work with video conferencing should register and use the video champion website.


Grant