It's a matter of trust
IBM Business Partner Lialis rely on IBM Sametime and Lotus Domino
Lialis is a special IBM Business Partner. Founders and owners Berry Peters and Marten Vosmer started the company in 2005. At the time they didn't know that hiring their first employee would be determining the entire constitution of their company. Although the first employee had all qualities they were looking for, she wasn't able to be at the office from nine till five. The founders therefore decided to hire her and let her work from her home environment. As a result of this the idea came to them to specialize in working from home with remote access to the company network. Now each Lialis employee work from their home environment.
"When an employee is physical not able to work on the office, you have to find ways to communicate. Of course there is telephone, but in no time I decided to extend this with IBM Sametime" tells Vosmer. "It didn't remain by that one employee. Soon we hired more people, and now we are with eight" With IBM Sametime all the Lialis employees can communicate with each other easily, for example by using Instant Messaging, video chat and web conferences. This simplifies working from home.
HR
Vosmer is specific looking for new employees who can work from home or from a far location. During the selection procedure other things are taken in consideration than a regular HR-manager. Lialis is looking for people with the right motivation, combined with a legit reason to work from home. Vorsmer tells "It's a matter of trust, when you hire people who work from a distance. There are different reasons why people want to work from their home. Some employees live in outlying districts and can't find a job in the neighborhood that suites them, while they are a topper in what they do. Others are less mobile or are often in a foreign country. Working from a distance is for these people the ideal solution".
Customer is king
At many companies the service stops at 17.00 o'clock and on Fridays afternoon. The Lialis employees determine their own working hours for performing their activities. For the customer this has as advantage that urgent incident can be solved before the start of the working day and modifications can be performed after working hours. This way Lialis is flexible to her employees and to her customers. The company is unique with this concept in the ICT-branch.
Enneagram
The Lialis employees need more than Sametime to be able to perform their activities from their home environment or other location. Therefore Vosmer developed a Lotus Notes Time Registration application and a document database. Each employee has access to this database, no matter where he or she logs in. Besides these databases Lialis works with a very detailed schedule system. With this tool the organization is able to manage projects carefully. For Human Resources Lialis developed together with HR specialist an application for enneagram tests. These are personal profiles, with shows what type of person the employee is. The profile test is part of the Lialis application procedure. By use of a questionnaire the personality of the candidate becomes clear. Vosmer: "The results of the enneagram are used by determining if the person suites the Lialis unique way of working. While communication is not face-to-face daily, I need to know what the person type. This way, even from distance, I can better manage the person and estimate who people will react to certain situations".
Custom made from Lialis
What does the Lialis employees do with thechnique for working from a distance? A good example of the possibilities is the solution developed, build and implemented by PR Sella. PR Sella is a company who is devoted to people in a wheelchair. People with a spinal cord lesion aren't able to determine if they sit correctly in their chair. PR Sella thought-out a pressure measurement-analyze method for back and bottom that measure pressure points in the chair. With the results of the measurement therapists can optimize the sit position of their clients. This preventive improvement of the sit position can prevent decubitus and prevent hospitalization. Lialis developed a system to make this solution commercial. Lialis build an internet application with a Lotus Domino web server in the back. Therapists can for example enter client information on the website and store measurement information. Thanks to Lialis it is also possible to watch sitting pressure pictures in real-time on the website. The pictures can be 'freezed', after which the application analyzes the measurement and shows information.
The advantages for Lialis of remote working, exceed the disadvantages. Vosmer tells; "We offer our customers high quality for a lower tariff. In the end we do not need expensive facilities like office space and lease cars. We see each other twice a year. It struck me each time that everyone talks with each other as if they see each other every day. In the future we remain how we can create the perfect situation for ourselves and our customers, small and middle companies, in combination with IBM solutions. With IBM as partner I am convinced this will be successful".