LifestyleWhether it's traversing the relatively cosmopolitan “urban free-for-all” that is Bangkok, with its trendy malls, urban wellness centers and posh fitness centers, or perhaps traversing the wild trails outside city limits, explore activities to suit your lifestyle.
“[Stock] investors’ confidence towards the [Thai] economy is declining and they are now selling shares to reduce their exposure to risk. Many large corporations are having to lay off thousands of employees in a bid to ensure they survive the economic crisis,” a news reporter says in a voice expressing a grave air of concern.
On hearing such news, some people could easily get concerned that their own company might be the next to downsize. That said, no company wishes to lay staff off in light of the severance packages they would have to pay, along with the loss of confidence this would possibly cause among consumers.
In light of such circumstances, many offices tend to either roll out a cost reduction project, or try to generate other ideas aimed at keeping costs down. Both small businesses and large corporations now understand that it's necessary to tighten their belts. But after the tough decision of cutting annual bonuses, executives often need to do something positive to brighten things up for the workforce.
A 'hoteling' solution
Companies can often find themselves short of office space due to a excessive sense of ‘ownership’ of space by individual members of staff, who sometimes may not even be full-time employees. Such a situation can sometimes make newer recruits nervous about utilizing various appliances or devices around the office. Far from being productive, such a situation is clearly detrimental.
Credit and debit card issuer KTC encountered a similar scenario, and the company decided to renovate its premises in the hope of making staff feel more comfortable, while also looking to reduce costs. Thanks to its efforts in this regard, the firm was awarded the Happy Workplace Award from the Thai Health Promotion Foundation.
On entering the company's offices, you’ll see modern style décor, which is similar to KTC’s boutique branches, located within leading department stores. On closer inspection, you'll spot an employee scanning a monitor to find some free office space in order to use a computer.
“Every morning, every employee will go to the computer to pick out a suitable working space,” according to Dusit Rachatasatanunt, KTC's senior vice-president for human resources. The monitor displays a floor plan of the offices, while red and green dots signify whether or not a particular area is available.
“We often discovered that our office resources were not being used properly, and this would result in a good deal of waste throughout the enterprise,” Dusit said. “While tables should be occupied throughout the day, we found that many were just used for three hours or so. Paper would be stacked up here and there, while staff would often use drawers to store food in rather than documents.”
“In general, only shift workers needed to log in and out, so other employees found it easier to work from remote locations,” Dusit said. “When going out to visit a customer, though, other staff would not be able to access the office space since the previous occupant would leave their stuff lying around the place.”
Dusit said the human resources department was responsible for setting up a team for trying to solve this problem. One of the first tasks they set about was purchasing tables without drawers, along with a number of lockers in which to store their belongings. Every member of the workforce is equipped with a notebook, as well as a company bag. In western countries, this practice is known as 'hoteling'. It is similar to 'hot desking', although the latter has no reservation-type system, whereas the former does.
The idea of hoteling is that employees are considered to be 'guests' in the 'hotel' (meaning office), where they will be provided with the necessary space and equipment required to carry out their duties. Each guest needs to book his or her space in advance.
While KTC has had to invest a large sum of money in the renovation and technology required to enable this system, they certainly ought to benefit over the long term, according to studies.
Dusit said that while the company's workforce expands every year, there's no need to buy any more furniture thanks to this efficient new system. Easy ways to save
You don't have to invest a huge amount of money to become more self-sufficient and minimize waste. Here are a few tips that just about anyone can do to keep their costs in check.
- Print on both sides of your paper and tidy up your desk and office area on a regular basis. If you find paper that has only been used once, return it to the recycling box. Such steps can result in a 25% reduction.
- Another way of minimizing paper waste is to reduce the width of the margin, which will ensure you can squeeze more copy (content) on to the page.
- Use reusable paper clips rather than staples.
A recent study on the UK revealed that if every person of working age replaced a staple for a paper clip, the country could save up to 120 tons of metal.
The emergence of the 'home office'
“You can make money by working from home.”
This doesn't have to be a gimmicky sounding initiative, since the development has certainly brought about a win-win cost reduction strategy within many companies. Not only does this reduce the company's operating costs, it can also reduce the cost of commuting.
Employees can benefit from having more free time,
allowing them to work in a more relaxing environment. Many companies in
the kingdom are also allowing their staff to work from home at least
one day a week.
The idea was actually dreamed up about 20 years ago by American
industrialists, and was later adopted by both Korean and Japanese
firms. One calculation suggests that if every employee worked from home
one day a week, the company could save up to 20% in energy costs per
month. But it's not just in Thailand that such energy
saving initiatives are making headway – in Japan, it is estimated that
20% of the work force will be working from home by 2010. - Translated
into English and republished with the kind permission of Mars magazine.
Story written by Supanee Kessadayurat, photos by Suwit Kittitien.
'Fail to prepare, prepare to fail'
While a Work at Home program might not be suitable for every company,
it will certainly become a 'hit' among firms that have the wherewithal
to make the most of it, both in terms of necessary technology and
skilled and responsible personnel.
It's hard to imagine that employees who do not have the required level
of computer skills to be able to communicate efficiently with their
company from home, or handle the fairly common 'day-to-day' computer
problems associated with remote working.
Persons in some roles, such as a customer relation officer, for
example, might find it rather hard or impractical to work from home.
Down with the barriers
Typically, partitions in an office space can prevent one employee from
chatting all the time with another. By removing these partitions,
everyone can see what's going on and communicate more effectively. This
reduces the amount of energy required (from walking from one area to
another), while reducing any kind of communication gap. A relaxing rub
This small room is equipped with two massage chairs, which await the
company's employees. Members of staff can also bring a notebook with
them to finish up their work while gradually relaxing. Ping pong and pool
While table tennis and pool require very little physical strength, they
offer a good deal of fun, while allowing a relatively large number of
people to participate. While these activities can promote better
teamwork, it also teaches members of staff how to manage their work and
leisure time more effectively. Room with a view
Finally, we'd like to point out the corner room, which many employees
say is the best possible location to be when they're not working since
they can enjoy an impressive panoramic view of the area from there. Translated into English and republished with the kind permission of Mars magazine.Story by Supanee Kessadayurat, photos by Suwit Kitittien.
Lifestyle
Whether it's traversing the relatively cosmopolitan “urban free-for-all” that is Bangkok, with its trendy malls, urban wellness centers and posh fitness centers, or perhaps traversing the wild trails outside city limits, explore activities to suit your lifestyle.
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