Bell South Restructuration - Essay Example

Bell South provides phone, broadband, VOIP and direct TV services throughout the southeastern United s. It has served the south for decades as a phone service provider. In 2004 the company introduced Ethernet or broadband and VPN(Virtual Private Network) services. Bell South not only makes such services available to customers, but also to other phone and broadband services providers as well. The company is also using “multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) to mix multiple types of access on a network” (IT Business Edge). This is necessary if companies choose to offer various broadband packages and dial up services. In order to prepare for the new service offerings, Bell South laid off 1,500 managers in 2005. Early in 2006 it merged with AT&T and began realignment of its corporate structure. Positions included in the layoff were in staff support functions. Typically this might include human resource, technical and other ‘behind the scenes’ positions. The company states that the layoff was necessary for it to compete in the broadband market, claiming “the workforce reductions to save the company $175 million annually” (Duffy, 2005). With roughly 2.5% fewer employees, managers might have been required to reassign those tasks to other employees. Options might be to add one or two additional tasks to full time employees or to increase part time employee hours a bit. An entirely different approach would be to require employees to perform tasks for themselves that support personnel previously performed. Performing support tasks for oneself could require special training. It might also require current services to be streamlined. Bell South has reorganized its corporate structure by separating Residential Markets and Business Markets. Residential markets include small business and residential customers. Customer service, marketing, sales and product development within each unit now work together to provide customer oriented service more quickly. Bell South maintains that such restructuring should “streamline the process for delivering customer solutions” (PR Newswire, 2006). While this type of structure does expedite many processes for the customer, it also keeps sales and customer service employees up to date on the newest offerings. This enables them to answer customers’ questions and offer the most appropriate solutions. Managers in each department within the unit must also ensure that those they oversee not only perform their jobs efficiently, but also obtain the most up to date information on new product or service offerings. Managers must also keep abreast of current developments within other departments. Knowledge is key to providing the best possible service at Bell South. Knowledge must be shared quickly and accurately from one department to another. Assuming that all departments communicate with each other regularly at least daily, the challenge is in adopting the best method of communication to share knowledge. Email is efficient as long as every employee takes the time to read their messages often. Message boards or old fashioned bulletin boards within each department may also work. Employees may bypass the bulletin board containing the latest updates. As managers must ensure that employees within their respective departments receive the latest updates, it would make more sense to update managers and employees of other departments at the same time. Suppose Bell South development teams have accessed additional bandwidth that was recently acquired to upgrade broadband services. The marketing department has prepared written, online and other media content for current and future customers, promoting broadband services. Dates have been set for introduction of the new services. Sales and customer service departments need to be informed of the services, how they will be marketed and how they affect current and new customers. The most efficient methods to convey the upcoming changes are those that inform everyone at the same time. This can be done through conferences where developers and marketers are on hand to answer any questions the other departments may have. In such instances, managers of each department should be informed in advance to determine the most optimal times for conferences. Some managers may not be able to pull all staff away from their workstations and tasks at the same time. This means that development and marketing staff, as well as department managers must be available for multiple conference sessions. What might work better is a uniform presentation sent to all departments through the corporate intranet. Nearly all employees use computers at their workstations, signing in at the beginning of their shift. Updates on new prodcucts or services, new processes and other knowledge related to Bell South can be disseminated quickly and efficiently. Presentations must begin upon login and must provide needed information in a logical Format. Differences in the learning curve suggest that all employees will not be able to Acquire knowledge at the same speed. Some will understand the entire presentation right away. Others will have several questions. Eliminating those who grasp the new information right away will cut down on the need for multiple conferences. Bell South has the technology at hand in the current intranet and communications systems to present the information to all employees. Because knowledge is acquired at different rates for each employee, further training or explanation should be provided to those who need it. Using the company intranet upon login, self administered quizzes or tests can be implemented after the presentation to let managers know which employees need additional training. Development or marketing staff can provide the additional training on an individual basis or with one or two short group sessions. This reduces down time for employees and provides a more confidential or private environment for employees to learn without embarrassment. Technology that Bell South utilizes to provide its services requires extensive networking and technical expertise. Lineman and repairmen are needed when storms knock out phone lines. Wireless systems can be affected by power outages as well. Cellular services will not be affected unless towers are damaged. Management of the upkeep and repair of technology requires hiring of dedicated and knowledgeable service technicians. Some will have broad general knowledge of all services, such as phone, Ethernet and direct TV. Others will have limited experience in one area. As technicians might be called to a site for more than one problem, it would benefit Bell South to cross train service technicians. Cross training makes sense not only from a productivity standpoint, but also from a customer service perspective. Those who order phone, broadband and direct TV services will greatly appreciate one service call to set up all three. Bell South can offer varying pay scales, based upon the new technicians current abilities or ability to learn new processes. Managers must provide proper training for technicians who need to learn new processes They must also ensure that new pay rates are applied upon mastering new technical skills. Another approach in implementing new services within one call is to take a team approach. One technician can install or inspect the phone services, while the other installs Ethernet cards and loads the drivers and software needed for broadband services. This is more costly for Bell South, as two technicians are arriving for one service call. Such a set up may be needed only when new technicians need additional training to Install the other services they are unfamiliar with. Phone, broadband and direct TV services create a greater workload for technicians. Of course those who have mastered all of them for some time will work more quickly. Managers must find a system that compensates everyone doing the same work with the same wage, while providing a bonus or commission system based on productivity. New technicians need some sort of incentive to learn and become proficient with all Technologies. Of course even seasoned technicians will run into problems on occasion. Managers should have standard protocols in place for those occasions. A customer may have Faulty computer equipment which creates difficulty in installing network cards or drivers. a new phone customer may not know where phone lines are located or may have mistakenly though lines were already installed. Technicians should be able to call in to inform managers of difficult situations and to be advised of further actions required. Managers can also help to reduce hostility or negativity from customers who may not understand why they cannot have the services they want immediately. Call in requirements for such technical issues helps Bell South understand the physical conditions of structures, in terms of current lines and networks already in place. It also helps managers identify those technicians who may need additional training. References Duffy, J. (2005). Bell South to Lay Off 1,500 Managers. Network World. Retrieved August 26, 2007 from http:ww.networkworld.com/newsletters/ viewedge/2005/1219edge2.html. IT Business Edge. (2006). Bell South Offers Metro Ethernet in Southeast. Retrieved August 26, 2007 from http:www.itbusinessedge.com/. PR Newswire. (2005). Bell South Restructures. Retrieved August 27, 2007 from http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp. Read More