HP needs 'all hands on deck' to boost turnaround effort

Shawn Knight

Posts: 15,306   +193
Staff member

hp telecommuting

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer caught a lot of flak earlier this year for her decision to end the company’s work from home policy. Now it seems other are following in their footsteps as Hewlett-Packard is actively discouraging the practice at their offices.

As we understand it, it’s not a direct order from the CEO – at least, not yet. Unlike Yahoo, HP is starting small as several employees are being told by bosses that if they can work at the office, they should. The reason, according to a question-and-answer memo obtained by All Things D, is that HP wants to create a culture shift that will help create a more connected workforce and drive greater collaboration and innovation.

The memo goes on to point out that during the critical turnaround period, they need all hands on deck. Despite the fact that they may have asked some people to work from home previously for various reasons, the more employees they are able to get into the office now, the better the company will be.

It’s all reportedly part of a larger turnaround effort under CEO Meg Whitman. She is expected to give a status update on the turnaround during an analyst meeting schedule for Wednesday in San Jose.

Exactly how many employees may be affected is unclear as we don’t know how many currently work from home. At last check, HP had 331,000 employees worldwide although they were to have eliminated 29,000 by the end of the 2013 fiscal year which ends later this month.

Permalink to story.

 
As a retired HP person, I remember when the whole telecommute started. It was done to save real estate costs. I liked the flexibility to work at home, but over time it became apparent that day to day contact with my peers had an impact on my effectiveness. Sometimes ideas or solutions pop into your head during coffee breaks with your associates or during lunch. Something said may click in your brain, even if is not directly related to your problem.
 
As a retired HP person, I remember when the whole telecommute started. It was done to save real estate costs. I liked the flexibility to work at home, but over time it became apparent that day to day contact with my peers had an impact on my effectiveness. Sometimes ideas or solutions pop into your head during coffee breaks with your associates or during lunch. Something said may click in your brain, even if is not directly related to your problem.
I work in an office in which the majority of the space is devoted to hot desking. The assumption is that there is 70% occupancy. The problem we have is that my department is frequently 100% manned. I don't mind going to the office every day because I have a season ticket for my rail travel and I like to get value for my money. If I had to drive in go work I would be tempted to work from home on a regular basis.
 
I guess we'll have to agree to disagree because I've never had any problem with the 3 HP's I've had.
And I will agree with you. Out of all the printers and computers I've had dealings with, they were all great products. The computers were bloated with unnecessary software but that is a different topic.
 
Real wise idea when you look at the new fall car prices (skyrocketing). Gas prices are lower, but there is to be a shortage of gas in 2015 due to people not allowing refineries to be built. Finally, this is the nail in the coffin for those of us who wanted to work in silicon valley from, say, Illinois. Probably can't surveil these people enough from home.
 
Back