Corporate IT solutions and packages have shaken things up.
Too often in Ukraine, having an office job is synonymous with spending much of one’s day in a gimcrack building playing solitaire on an aging desktop computer that remembers Leonid Kuchma’s presidency and answering a stationary phone that dates back to Leonid Kravchuk’s rule.
Yet numerous corporate IT solutions and packages exist that could shake things up. Though many are still more expensive than in the West, the quality of corporate solution offers from IT firms is set to improve.
For a start companies can move past the ever-present stationary phones. While companies often still see landlines as their main connection to the world, the nature of modern business places an ever greater emphasis on mobility.
Often this problem is resolved by passing on the responsibility of owning a mobile to the worker. Yet comprehensive solutions for entire companies can be cheaper, in addition to providing further advantages. For instance, a company of 50 employees with significant communication needs can spend from Hr 5,000 to Hr 10,000 per month on fixed lines, without counting the additional Internet fees.
Asked what solutions would best suit such a company, MTS, a national mobile operator, suggested either a 500-minute or a 1,000-minute deal, both with free calls within the network and preferential international tariffs.
These would bring overall monthly costs to Hr 7,500 and Hr 15,000, respectively, plus international calls. However, MTS added, with a two-year contract workers would also receive a mobile phone, albeit a simple one. In contrast, in the West, mobile providers offer the newest gadgets, such as the iPhone 4S, when individuals or companies sign on to two-year contracts.
While this solution is not always cost-efficient, the global trend of increasing customization and cheaper phone services suggests option in Ukraine should be better suited to local needs. Bargaining tougher with domestic carriers for better deals could help customers get there sooner.
A more comprehensive solution currently being used by such international companies as PwC, an auditor, is the so-called hot-desk system, which entails full mobility of the individual workplace within the office.
The system is based on having fewer places than workers, with each person having a laptop and mobile bundle that travels with them. This reduces the number of spaces needed, and ensures that workers are reachable even on the go. It also has the additional advantage of forcing a certain discipline, as people can no longer have sprawling stacks of files on their desks.
One of the quirkiest, yet surprisingly successful ideas, is the workplace recovery center, essentially an emergency backup office. Such offices, which cost $500-$1,000 per year in the U.S., were initially created in the early 1990s for investment bankers who needed to keep trading even if their main office suffered from a natural cataclysm or terrorist attack, but have since gained broader popularity.
A twist on this model is the so-called co-working office, which is gaining popularity among certain professions and freelancers. Rather than working from home, many people prefer the social and organizational perks of being able to work from an office, especially one they can customize.
The prices of a fully furnished office, from coffee to printing paper, start from Hr 700-Hr 900 per month for economy class to more than Hr 7,000 for the full amenities, including a private room. Hourly rates are also available, set at Hr 80, but are rarely far from daily ones.
Virtual offices are arguably the hottest new things, in which almost all auxiliary functions are outsourced – accounting, reception, managing correspondence etc. Ironically, the development of virtual offices was spurred on by the economic crisis, which forced people to find new and cheaper solutions.
While the offers in Ukraine are still rudimentary compared to advanced economies, outsourced accounting, which sets you back from Hr 250 for single-tax physical persons to Hr 1,500 for legal entities, has already gained popularity among smaller businesses.
Yet with tough economic times ahead, such services as live “virtual” receptionists, which can cost 10 times less than having one’s receptionist in the office, may also find a market in Ukraine.
Kyiv Post staff writer Jakub Parusinski can be reached at [email protected].
