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Who Needs A Headquarters?

The management and IT consulting firm operates without a headquarters. "Technology helps keep a virtual company on track," according to a report in The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) Monday. "Every day, Accenture employees log on to the company's internal Web site to record where they are working. When [CEO Bill] Green needs a desk in Shanghai, London, or New York, he sets up shop in Accenture's office there just like any other employee on the move, finds a cubicle, logs on to his laptop and gets access to his files, e-mail and phone messages. Clients who call him at his Boston number are patched through and often don't realize he is several time zones away. He shares documents and financial data with other executives through Accenture's internal Web site. And when he wants to see, as well as hear, other executives, he conducts a videoconference."

I can attest that a virtual organization functions well. About 40% of InformationWeek magazine editors and reporters work in our Long Island headquarters. More than one-third of us (including me) work in home offices. The rest can be found in bureaus. Many of our office-bound colleagues work from home or on the road several times a week. We're constantly in touch via e-mail, IM, and telephone. Even The News Show, our daily news Webcast, is anchored, edited, and produced remotely.

Is the virtual organization perfect? Of course not. "Employees can't pop into colleagues' offices for impromptu meetings," The Journal says about Accenture. "With participants scattered across time zones, scheduling phone conferences can trigger conflicts over whose sleep will be interrupted. And some matters, especially sensitive personnel issues, require a personal visit--no matter the distance."

And I miss the water-cooler chats, the face time with colleagues. Yet many of my talented colleagues wouldn't be working for InformationWeek if they had to uproot themselves and their families and relocate to our headquarters or bureaus as a condition of employment.

For companies whose primary asset is the knowledge worker and the ability to hire the best person regardless of where he or she is based, the value of a virtual organization outweighs any drawbacks.

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