September 18, 2000

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Portals Offer Conveniences To Workers

Workplace portals let employers provide additional services inside and outside the office

By Diane Rezendes Khirallah

More on employee portals:

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fter reviewing the results of Stride Rite Corp.'s employee surveys and focus groups, VP of human resources Janet DePiero found that online concierge services were a leading request among staffers. The maker of children's shoes takes its first steps to offer those services this month when it begins phasing in a workplace portal developed by Worklinks Inc.

Workplace Web portals can vary widely, offering standard company fare such as 401(k) information or concierge-type services such as discounted concert tickets and housecleaning. A survey of HR professionals from 350 companies released this month by the Hunter Group found that technology companies are early adopters of employee portals, with 71% of such companies reporting they have a strategy in place. But they're ahead of the curve: six in 10 companies surveyed don't have a workplace portal strategy.

Stride Rite, in Lexington, Mass., was a beta site for Windows 2000 and is taking the same early-adoption approach as one of Worklinks' first customers for portals (Worklinks also offers E-learning and HR management services). Worklinks develops portals that incorporate three areas: work, learning, and life outside work.

One of the biggest challenges facing Worklinks is ferreting out the best vendors for participation in workplace portals, says Ann Gildea, Worklinks' executive VP of sales and marketing. Customer service and product availability are obvious considerations, but the litmus test is online connectivity, Gildea says. "We'll be going global in 2002; our vendors must be able to do that, too," she says.

Worklinks' client fees are based on an annual subscription model and the number of employees. It also earns revenue from vendors' commissions and advertising. Employees usually pay for requested services and products.

Although workplace portals might imply that employees should focus more on work and less on personal issues--by providing access to pet sitters, for example--DePiero says most workers appreciate the idea. "They don't view it as a ball-and-chain," she says, "but more as a convenience."

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