Answer Question in APA style. 1. What challenges should Montgomery anticipate in the transition to hot-desking, and w

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Answer Question in APA style.
1. What challenges should Montgomery anticipate in
the transition to hot-desking, and what can be done to ensure
success of the project?
2. What support should HR provide to help
transition supervisors from managing traditional employees to
managing mobile ones?
Thompson Technology: A Case Study in controlling labor
costs
Scenario C: hot-Desking
Players:
Scott Montgomery, CHRO
Jack Albright, COO
Rick Stephens, facility manager
Vickie Carothers, employee
Dianne Sturgis, employee
Thompson Technology has changed since the hiring freeze was
implemented in 2008. The sales numbers are up slightly, and costs
have been saved because staff levels are down about 5 percent
overall. It has been difficult for some departments; reduction by
attrition doesn’t ensure that it will occur in the appropriate
areas. Some departments lost a significant number of employees, and
others experienced little to no employee attrition. Montgomery has
worked with the managers to reconfigure departments and reassign
staff to balance the workload.
The most significant change occurred when the company moved to
flexible scheduling and telecommuting. For nonexempt employees, the
standard 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. shift was scrapped in favor of a 12-hour
flex time day from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., with core business hours
between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. when all employees should be on-site. In
addition, a number of exempt employees shifted their work off-site
and began telecommuting two or three days each week. That resolved
most of the persistent absentee problems because flexible
scheduling allowed employees the flexibility needed to manage work
and family responsibilities.
Now, several months into the new schedule, it is clear that
employees love flexible scheduling, but the managers don’t. Most of
Thompson’s managers had never supervised off-site employees or
employees with time flexibility, and many were resistant to the
change. Montgomery had anticipated that it would be a difficult
change for some, but he hadn’t expected all the grumbling about the
difficulty of managing “invisible” employees. He has been working
one-on-one with supervisors who can’t seem to let go of the time
clock mentality, and he hopes that with time most managers will
realize the value of the new schedule.
At least absenteeism is no longer an issue, and morale and
productivity are finally improving. “After all,” thought Montgomery
as he reached to answer his phone, “our employees have been through
a lot in the past few years with the hiring freeze and
reorganization. It’s about time something made them feel
better.”
The call was from the COO Jack Albright. “Good morning, Jack,” said
Montgomery.
“Scott,” said Albright, “we need to sit down and figure out where
we’re going from here. I’m looking at maximizing facility use for
cost savings, and it’s going to affect people. Let’s talk about how
we can do this to benefit both our areas.”
“Fine, Jack,” said Montgomery. “I’ll stop by your office tomorrow
morning.” The next morning, Albright got right to what was on
his mind. “Scott, I think flextime and telecommuting is a huge
success. It really changed the nature of work
round here. Have you walked through the customer service area or
the marketing department lately? There are empty desks everywhere,
especially early morning and late afternoon.”
“Yes, I’m very pleased with the results,” said Montgomery. “Our
productivity numbers are up, absenteeism is down, and employees
seem to be more content.
It’s taken a bit for supervisors to get used to the idea, but I
think most of them are coming around. I’ve still got a few
old-style managers who think they have to police an employee’s
time. But if I can get them to let that go, it’s a lot easier for
everyone when an employee can take their child to the orthodontist
or go to a ballgame without a lot of hassle over scheduling.”
“Well that may be,” said Albright, “but I’m looking at all those
empty desks. Have you tracked employees’ new work patterns? Do we
have any solid information on which hours employees are here and
how many employees are actually here at the same time?”
“We’ve been tracking work hours and productivity levels since the
beginning. Most employees are here during the core hours of 10 a.m.
and 2 p.m.,” said Montgomery. “And some people work off-site two or
three days a week. We don’t have long-term data yet because this is
a new process, but we’ve got good numbers so far, and there are
definitely patterns and trends emerging that we should
consider.”
“Great,” said Albright. “Let’s meet again. I’d like to have a look
at your numbers. I’m interested in a better use of our space. I see
a lot of empty desks throughout this building, and it seems to me
that if we consolidate some of that space, we could save costs and
even generate revenue by leasing out what we’re not using.”
“I’ve been thinking the same thing,” said Montgomery. “I’ve already
talked
with some colleagues in other companies where they use hot-desking
for mobile employees.”
“What’s that?” asked Albright. “I’ve never heard of it.”
“It’s a process where mobile employees have no assigned work space.
They don’t need a designated space in the office because they do
most of their work off-site. On days they work in the office, they
use whatever desk is available. They simply find an empty desk, sit
down, turn on the computer and go to work. It’s working well in
other companies, and I don’t see any reason it wouldn’t work for
us,” replied Montgomery.
“I like it,” said Albright. “Let’s go over those numbers and get
it going right away.”
Montgomery sent the attendance and productivity data to Albright
later that afternoon. He also scheduled a meeting with the facility
manager, Rick Stephens, for the next morning. From there, things
moved quickly. They identified two floors that could be
consolidated into one floor of hot-desk areas. It was decided to
proceed with the plan. A project team was formed and an
implementation schedule was devised. Stephens’ staff would work
with the IT department to make the physical changes during the
final weekend of the conversion to reduce business disruption.
Approximately 30 days before the change, Montgomery sent the
following e-mail to employees:
All Staff:
I am pleased to report that our flexible scheduling and
telecommuting programs have been very successful; a number of
employees have taken advantage of the programs. We encourage all
employees whose job duties can accommodate flexible scheduling or
telecommuting to take advantage of the programs.
Since the programs began, you may have noticed the increased number
of empty desks because employees are working different hours and in
various locations. Keeping empty desks open for employees working
off-site is a significant cost to Thompson Technology. To reduce
costs and to better use our physical space, individual desk areas
will be eliminated from floors three and four. The fourth floor
will remain available for other purposes, and the third floor will
be converted to hot-desk areas for staff use when working
on-site.
The conversion will take place at the end of the month. All staff
members currently on the third and fourth floors are asked to
remove all personal effects by the Friday before the conversion.
Our IT department and facility staff will make the conversion over
the weekend to avoid as much downtime as possible.
As always, your cooperation and support is appreciated.
Scott Montgomery
Chief Human Resource Officer
Later That Day
Vickie Carothers stomped into the cluttered fourth-floor cubicle
occupied by her friend Dianne Sturgis. “Did you see the e-mail from
HR?” she asked.
“No, I’m really rushed today,” said Dianne. “I’ve got to get this
project to marketing by 3:00 this afternoon, and I’m way behind. I
haven’t had time to look at anything. What is it?”
“Well, it’s another announcement from HR,” replied Vickie.
“What are you talking about?” asked Dianne. “What do they want
now?”
As Vickie read the e-mail aloud, Dianne stopped working and turned
toward her.
“Are you kidding me?” she asked incredulously.
“No, it’s for real. You’ve got to haul all this stuff out of here
by the end of the month,” Vickie replied, punctuating her comment
with a wave toward the artwork by Dianne’s six-year-old twins
adorning the cubicle wall.
“And then what?” Dianne asked. “I’ve been in this cubicle for five
years. How does anyone work at a shared hot-desk?”
“I don’t know, but it looks like we’re going to find out.”
Montgomery realizes that hot-desking will affect not only the
physical work space in the company, but also how managers supervise
employees. Many of these managers have no experience in managing
mobile employees, and he has promised them support in making the
transition. He has asked your team to design a plan to help the
supervisors transition from traditional management to managing
mobile employees. He is meeting with your team this afternoon.
Please provide him with answers to the following questions: