B2E: the future looks rosy

In the current climate, businesses are struggling to justify investment in long-term IT initiatives.

The arguments for implementing customer relationship management (CRM) may be strong, for instance, but organisations are beginning to question the wisdom of investing heavily in such solutions without the means accurately to measure performance and return on investment.

Conversely, those IT applications that provide a clear short-term business benefit are holding up well.

The relatively new (to Europe, at least) area of business-to-employee (B2E) applications looks set to boost the take-up of solutions that may be able to provide businesses with tangible performance and profit gains.

The potential advantages of successfully implemented B2E strategies are clear. The systems promise to move companies away from paper-based internal communications and to realise substantial cost savings while ensuring that employees remain informed and involved at local, national and global levels.

Recent reports estimate that five to 15 per cent of company revenue is spent on mail and communications. In turn, the Killen Report estimates that $400 is spent per employee per year for internal communications.

Pitney Bowes docSense has recently completed a survey of the UK B2E scene, carried out among a sample of the UK's top 500 companies.

The questions were directed at decision makers from human resources, IT and corporate communications departments. The research reveals that B2E applications are still at a basic level.

The majority of UK B2E solutions take the form of an intranet, with functionality added as business needs dictate. Understandably, companies have focused early efforts on improving efficiency and attempting to reduce the costs associated with the creation and distribution of paper-based information.

Efficiency, loyalty, development
Many analysts recognise this increased efficiency as merely the starting-point for B2E. The most successful solutions, they argue, offer a combination of efficiency and applications that improve employee loyalty and development, the so-called 'soft benefits'.

Soft-benefit applications might include retirement planning, training, performance appraisals, payroll functions, human resources policies, health and recreation, and career planning.

These will not be applicable to every industry, but the training and development of white-collar professionals, for example, is time consuming and costly, meaning that companies will have made more of an investment in these people and be keener to retain them.

B2E may be able to play a key role in ensuring that staff feel valued and remain motivated, while having the information and tools to offer an efficient and productive service.

Early adopters
When asked to express their opinions on the general business advantages associated with B2E applications, some 59 per cent of early adopters see employee efficiency as the most potent. Respondents believe that employees are better able to do their jobs if information can be easily accessed and shared throughout the organisation.

A further 36 per cent saw productivity advantages for their company as a whole. Here, the ability to automate the distribution and retrieval of information that is important, yet peripheral (corporate policy documents, health and safety regulations etc) should prove crucial. Employees are kept aware of company developments yet are free to concentrate on their core business functions.

Perhaps the most interesting finding is the 11 per cent of respondents who nominated employee loyalty as the most important business advantage. It is becoming increasingly difficult for businesses to retain staff, with the notion of a 'job for life' consigned to the annals of history.

Future development
Respondents were also asked to state which applications they intended to develop and/or implement over the next two years. Here, 21 per cent of respondents nominated 'general B2E portal development'.

With the technology still relatively new to the UK market, this suggests that businesses are aware of the need to successfully develop the underlying B2E infrastructure (e.g. developing a consistent user interface, and ensuring the portal is accessible to all staff) before adding further sophistication.

A significant proportion of companies (13 per cent) are also looking to add product information to their B2E systems.

This will allow relevant personnel to have detailed information to hand on product specifications, availability, upgrades and so on. Clearly this is a useful tool for general staff awareness, but may prove increasingly important for customer-facing personnel.

Growth in applications related to training (11 per cent), personal data (three per cent), payroll (two per cent) and company information (three per cent) can all be attributed to the general trend towards enhancing staff loyalty.

These are all applications which focus on employee welfare. Companies are learning to become more transparent in their dealings, both with customers (a key consideration of any self-respecting CRM programme) and, latterly, with employees.

Payroll and personal data related applications may enable staff to access information on themselves at any time, creating a culture of openness and trust with all its obvious loyalty-building benefits.

Looking ahead
Clearly, B2E can offer important business advantages to companies across all sectors. It is vital for companies to assess fully their needs and to establish exactly what they require from their B2E investment.

Ultimately, this strategic blueprint must evaluate whether B2E is to be used simply as a cost-cutting, efficiency driver or at a more advanced level, incorporating staff development and loyalty and even extending to applicants, contractors and former employees.

The indications are that, though still in its infancy, the UK B2E market is primed for significant growth over the next two years. For IT sales and marketing professionals, it seems likely to represent a considerable opportunity.

Ian Dunford is product manager at Pitney Bowes docSense.

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