While some managers worry that productivity suffers when employeessurf the Web at work, a local company is tapping the power of the Webto help boost worker output and loyalty.
Craig Muller is the founder and chief executive of MotivationOnline, an upstart Hoffman Estates-based company that developedsoftware that companies use to motivate, reward and train employees.Among its first customers is Delta Air Lines Inc.
The company, started last year with $3 million in seed and angelfunding, launched its software last month and expects to wrap up $15million in new venture capital next week.
"The No. 1 reason people leave a company isn't because they aren'tgetting paid enough. It's because they don't feel appreciated," saidMuller, speaking from 30 years of experience in the incentivesbusiness.
Motivation Online can help employers address that, said Muller, aco-founder of online consumer incentive company MyPoints.com, whichwent public a year ago. Motivation Online designs software programsthrough which clients' employees are automatically awarded points orrecognition for their performance, including such activities asachieving sales goals, completing training programs, following safetyprocedures or implementing new sales techniques. The software keepstrack of the points and immediately notifies employees through theWeb of points awarded and the actions that earned them.
Its technology allows employers to measure the effectiveness ofincentive programs and lets their employees keep track of their awardpoints via the Web. Using direct links with online retailers such asthe Sharper Image, Spiegel and Eddie Bauer, employees can easilyselect and quickly obtain their rewards, eliminating paperwork,Muller said. The company has 59 retailers on board.
It plans to target businesses with large sales forces or callcenters.
Earlier this year Motivation Online was hired by a majortelecommunications company to improve customer service performance atone of its customer care centers. Customer service representativeswere trained to cross-sell the telecommunications company's services.Three months after putting the rewards program in place, the callcenter reported a 40 percent rise in overall customer satisfactionand a 20 percent increase in orders, Muller said.
Industry analyst Nancy Jamison of Jamison Consulting calls thesoftware "a great tool" that could help reduce employee turnover atcall centers.
Muller, who left MyPoints .com to target the business-to-businessmarket, says unlike some new dot-com companies, Motivation Online isnot entering unknown territory. Indeed, 85 percent of the largestU.S. companies use recognition programs, according to a ConferenceBoard study.
"This is an old tried and true business," Muller said.
TODAY'S E-FACT
Whos hitting who?
Researchers at Media Metrix, New York, say 78.9 millionunduplicated visitors hit the World Wide Web in June. Media Metrixdoesn't report hits on individual adult-content sites. Here's how thetop sites ranked:
Rank Property Visitors:
(millions)
1 AOL Network 59,124
2 Microsoft Sites 49,834
3 Yahoo Sites 48,421
4 Lycos 31,286
5 Excite@Home 27,118
6 Go Network 21,907
7 About.com Sites 16,449
8 AltaVista Network 15,561
9 NBC Internet 15,279
10 Amazon 15,022
11 Time Warner Online 14,646
12 Real.com Network 13,886
13 Go2Net Network 12,398
14 eBay 12,242
15 Ask Jeeves 11,838
16 Viacom Online 11,756
17 LookSmart 11,651
18 eUniverse Network 11,291
19 CNET Networks 10,215
20 ZDNet Sites 9,637
21 IWON.COM 8,461
22 JUNO/JUNO.COM 8,057
23 Infospace Impressions 7,880
24 GoTo 7,847
25 Earthlink 7,835
26 Snowball 7,214
27 FortuneCity Network 7,196
28 American Greetings 7,179
29 The Weather Channel 7,172
30 CitySearch-TickerMaster Online 7,158
31 AT&T Web Sites 7,088
32 Network Commerce Inc. 7,055
33 iVillage.com: The Womens Network 6,615
34 Travelocity 6,584
35 The Women.com Networks 6,117
36 FREELOTTO.com 5,890
37 News Corp. Online 5,834
38 The Uproar Network 5,785
39 MAPQUEST.COM 5,669
40 LIFEMINDERS.COM 5,497
41 MyPoints Sites 5,424
42 OnHealth 5,399
43 COOLSAVINGS.COM 5,253
44 Promotions.com Sites 5,207
45 Priceline 5,147
46 Homestead Sites 5,002
47 Shockwave 4,955
48 PASSTHISON.COM 4,926
49 Flipside Sites 4,849
50 SONY ONLINE 4,732
Source: Media Metrix, New York.
Комментариев нет:
Отправить комментарий