AT&T charts new route for telecommuters; Remote Agent Call Routing creates workplace alternative, new United Airlines jobs in smaller communities.BASKING RIDGE, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 9, 1995--For the past two years, C.B. Bryant had a nightmarish commute TO COMMUTE. To substitute one punishment in the place of another. For example, if a man be sentenced to be hung, the executive may, in some states, commute his punishment to that of imprisonment. . She drove 75 miles to and from work each day from her home near Moreno Valley Moreno Valley (mərē`nō), city (1990 pop. 118,779), Riverside co., S Calif., inc. 1984. In 1990, Moreno Valley was California's fastest-growing city, with a population increase of more than 300% between 1980 and 1990, but major reductions , Calif. to United Airlines' reservation center at Los Angeles International airport “LAX” redirects here. For other uses, see LAX (disambiguation). “KLAX” redirects here. For other uses, see KLAX (disambiguation). Los Angeles International Airport (IATA: LAX, ICAO: KLAX, FAA LID: LAX . On nights when she was too tired to drive all the way home, she napped on the side of the freeway, or in a shopping center shopping center, a concentration of retail, service, and entertainment enterprises designed to serve the surrounding region. The modern shopping center differs from its antecedents—bazaars and marketplaces—in that the shops are usually amalgamated into parking lot. Today, a new technology developed by AT&T has helped United turn C.B.'s nightmarish commute into a pleasant 20-minute drive to what is called a neighborhood satellite office (NSO NSO National Symphony Orchestra NSO National Statistics Office (Philippines) NSO National Solar Observatory NSO New Student Orientation NSO National Statistical Office NSO Nevada Site Office NSO Nonqualified Stock Option ). While the traditional definition of telecommuting telecommuting, an arrangement by which people work at home using a computer and telephone, transmitting work material to a business office by means of a modem and telephone lines; it is also known as telework. is working from home, NSOs enable companies to explore new ways of allowing employees to work closer to home. NSOs are a workplace alternative that maintains an office setting while shortening workers' commute time, reducing air pollution and even creating jobs outside of major cities. "AT&T has unique solutions that can help companies break through traditional office walls," said Kathy Marsico, marketing vice president for AT&T. "Whether it is telecommuting from the home, remote locations or the road, AT&T can find a solution that gives employees greater flexibility while improving productivity for their employer," Marsico said. United turned to the NSO concept as a benefit for agents at its nationwide reservation centers and as a way to recruit new agents. Using AT&T's new Remote Agent technology, United recently opened NSOs outside of Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. , San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden , Chicago and Indianapolis, allowing agents assigned to reservation centers in these cities to work closer to home. Remote Agent, which is part of AT&T's family of services called AT&T Alternative WorkPlace Solutions (SM), combines call routing capabilities based on the AT&T network with custom call routing commands from a business's on-site telephone switch. United uses Remote Agent capability to identify reservation agents across multiple offices who are free to take a call. Customers dialing United's toll-free number from anywhere in North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. are automatically routed to the first available agent, no matter where the agent is located. Remote Agent can monitor the reservation agents' activity and distribute calls evenly across call centers or offices so no one agent is overloaded and customers receive quicker service. For instance, when United's West Coast reservations centers are extremely busy -- usually between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. -- calls are routed to the East Coast during the slower 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. period. AT&T's intelligent network monitors the volume of calls so the switches occur automatically. "New telephone technology developed by AT&T and customized by United has made satellite reservation centers a cost-effective option for United," said Sue Fullman, director of distribution at United. "It has enabled us to make the concept of neighborhood satellite offices a reality." Telecommuting Benefits of Neighborhood Satellite Offices Commute Time Some United employees, particularly in the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas were traveling more than 150 miles to and from work each day. Some workers would leave their homes at 3 a.m. for a 7 a.m. shift simply to beat traffic that would add an hour or two to their already long commute. Now, the shortened commute has made it easier for employees to get to work. Some say it even makes them more pleasant when dealing with customers because they aren't as irritable irritable /ir·ri·ta·ble/ (ir´i-tah-b'l) 1. capable of reacting to a stimulus. 2. abnormally sensitive to stimuli. 3. prone to excessive anger, annoyance, or impatience. and tired. Less time commuting also results in more free time greatly improving the quality of their lives out of the office, they report. Further, the shortened commutes are resulting in lower attrition rates Noun 1. attrition rate - the rate of shrinkage in size or number rate of attrition rate - a magnitude or frequency relative to a time unit; "they traveled at a rate of 55 miles per hour"; "the rate of change was faster than expected" , according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Fullman. Air Quality In large cities where traffic is heavy, air quality is often a concern. NSOs also can play a role in the reduction of air pollution. "For instance, United's site outside of Los Angeles in Moreno Valley will eliminate 4,800 vehicle miles a day in the Los Angeles area and cut almost eight tons of pollution a year," said Catherine Wasikowski, director of transportation programs for the South Coast Air Quality Management District The South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD), formed in 1976, is the air pollution agency responsible mainly for regulating stationary sources of air pollution for most of Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside County, and all of Orange county. . Creation of Jobs United's use of AT&T Remote Agent has helped bring new jobs to all four communities that are homes to the NSOs. In addition to the Moreno Valley NSO, other locations include Suisun City, Calif. (near San Francisco), Rockford, Ill. (near Chicago) and Indianapolis, Ind. "Without AT&T Remote Agent, which allows calls to be routed to agents here, the 90 new positions created in our Indianapolis neighborhood satellite office probably would not exist," said Cathy Page, manager of United's Indianapolis Reservation Office. "It's a great system." -0- A digital black and white photograph of C.B. Bryant working in the neighborhood satellite office is available by calling the Wieck photo database at 214-392-0888 CONTACT: AT&T Mike Lordi, 908/221-6382 (office) 610/559-7765(home) or Mona Williams, 908/221-4355 (office) 908/647-8191(home) |
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