利用IT小企业也能全球化经营
作者： Rhonda Abrams
责任编辑： 阚智
来源： 《电脑商情报》
时间： 2006-08-16 00:13
My company, The Planning Shop, has just opened our first “European headquarters.” At least, that's what we're calling it. How, you may wonder, can a small company like ours have an international presence?
Actually, what happened is that I have a very valuable employee, Deborah Kaye, whose fiancee was transferred to Dublin, Ireland, for a year. Rather than lose Deborah, we tried to figure out whether she could do her job from Ireland. We decided she could. During this process, I've learned how a small business can effectively have an employee work very remotely. With some careful planning, the right employee, and the use of technology, it's possible for a small business to set up an office or telecommute internationally with very little cost.
Having an employee work remotely or have an international office wouldn't work for everyone. Here's what's making it work for us:
Administrative solutions
* The right employee: Deborah is a highly motivated, highly responsible self-starter. She knows her job better than I do. This arrangement would not work with every employee.
* Task assessment: The first thing we did was determine which of Deborah's tasks she could do remotely, taking account of the time difference. She drew up a chart of all her tasks. Deborah & who is The Planning Shop's academic marketing director & already did most of her work via the Internet even when in the office.
* Enough notice: Deborah told us about the impending move months ago, so we had time to hire another employee to cover the tasks she couldn't do remotely.
* Weekly staff meeting: When everyone was in the office, we held lots of impromptu meetings. Because Deborah's not here, we've set a weekly “meeting.” We gather in the conference room around a conference-style phone, and go over tasks and company developments. This can be done cheaply because of technology.
* Work hours adjustment: When you've got an eight-hour time difference, you've got to make concessions. She works till 8 p.m. her time, and I start contacting her at 7 a.m. my time. Yes, some U.S. customers won't get a response from Deborah until the next morning, but that's not a major issue.
Technology solutions
* VOIP or “Voice over Internet protocol”: This is phone service that uses the Internet rather than regular phone lines, and it's much cheaper. We chose Skype (www.skype.com). Right now, for about $50 a year, Deborah has a phone number with our local area code that rings in Dublin. We can call her free; she can call anyone in the U.S. or Canada free until the end of 2006. Customers can call her for just the price of a call to our area code. She also bought a cordless Skype phone for about $100; otherwise she'd have to be connected to the computer when on a call. She has voice mail.
Yes, there have been problems. Skype is dependent on the quality of the Internet connection; Deborah's had to change Internet providers twice to improve service.
* Phone cards: Because VOIP is still a bit sketchy, Deborah also has a cheap phone card to use from Ireland to call the U.S. Our last one-and-a-half-hour phone meeting cost about $20.
* Instant Messenger: This allows you to have online text conversations quickly and free. We've used IM service in the office for years, so we didn't have to do anything. We use MSN, but you can also use AOL, Yahoo, or one of the other many free instant messenger services.
* Our network server. We already have a network, so we can easily share files. Otherwise, we'd e-mail them.
* Face time: With all the technology, you still need human interaction. So, we're getting two webcams & one for Deborah and one for the office. Also, I'm going to Dublin in October, and she's coming to here in January.
Hey, this gives me a great reason to finally go to Ireland!
Actually, what happened is that I have a very valuable employee, Deborah Kaye, whose fiancee was transferred to Dublin, Ireland, for a year. Rather than lose Deborah, we tried to figure out whether she could do her job from Ireland. We decided she could. During this process, I've learned how a small business can effectively have an employee work very remotely. With some careful planning, the right employee, and the use of technology, it's possible for a small business to set up an office or telecommute internationally with very little cost.
Having an employee work remotely or have an international office wouldn't work for everyone. Here's what's making it work for us:
Administrative solutions
* The right employee: Deborah is a highly motivated, highly responsible self-starter. She knows her job better than I do. This arrangement would not work with every employee.
* Task assessment: The first thing we did was determine which of Deborah's tasks she could do remotely, taking account of the time difference. She drew up a chart of all her tasks. Deborah & who is The Planning Shop's academic marketing director & already did most of her work via the Internet even when in the office.
* Enough notice: Deborah told us about the impending move months ago, so we had time to hire another employee to cover the tasks she couldn't do remotely.
* Weekly staff meeting: When everyone was in the office, we held lots of impromptu meetings. Because Deborah's not here, we've set a weekly “meeting.” We gather in the conference room around a conference-style phone, and go over tasks and company developments. This can be done cheaply because of technology.
* Work hours adjustment: When you've got an eight-hour time difference, you've got to make concessions. She works till 8 p.m. her time, and I start contacting her at 7 a.m. my time. Yes, some U.S. customers won't get a response from Deborah until the next morning, but that's not a major issue.
Technology solutions
* VOIP or “Voice over Internet protocol”: This is phone service that uses the Internet rather than regular phone lines, and it's much cheaper. We chose Skype (www.skype.com). Right now, for about $50 a year, Deborah has a phone number with our local area code that rings in Dublin. We can call her free; she can call anyone in the U.S. or Canada free until the end of 2006. Customers can call her for just the price of a call to our area code. She also bought a cordless Skype phone for about $100; otherwise she'd have to be connected to the computer when on a call. She has voice mail.
Yes, there have been problems. Skype is dependent on the quality of the Internet connection; Deborah's had to change Internet providers twice to improve service.
* Phone cards: Because VOIP is still a bit sketchy, Deborah also has a cheap phone card to use from Ireland to call the U.S. Our last one-and-a-half-hour phone meeting cost about $20.
* Instant Messenger: This allows you to have online text conversations quickly and free. We've used IM service in the office for years, so we didn't have to do anything. We use MSN, but you can also use AOL, Yahoo, or one of the other many free instant messenger services.
* Our network server. We already have a network, so we can easily share files. Otherwise, we'd e-mail them.
* Face time: With all the technology, you still need human interaction. So, we're getting two webcams & one for Deborah and one for the office. Also, I'm going to Dublin in October, and she's coming to here in January.
Hey, this gives me a great reason to finally go to Ireland!
