Sphere
#35
2014
15
>>
Ms Jennifer Tan, HGC’s Managing Director,
told
Sphere
, “At first glance, people may
simply think that the concierge service
acts just like a receptionist, helping callers
put through video calls. But it is more than
that. Many video-conferences have to be
arranged at short notice and scheduling is
quite challenging work.”
The cross-functional team completed
the first phase, from room refurbishment
to hardware installations for Hong Kong
and London, in only three months. For
other companies, it normally takes
six to nine months. “Unlike any other
project, quality is literally in your face;
it either works amazingly or you are
hugely disappointed. Of course we were
delighted to come online and deliver a
truly amazing experience. I am told that
we did all this in record time, so everyone
involved should feel extremely proud,”
David added.
Good business, green planet
In the old days, executives spent
days traveling globally to take part in
meetings and conferences. Even though
teleconferencing existed for some
years, quality varied. The high-quality
Telepresence system has become a
vital communication tool for executives
in the HWL Group. Telepresence saves
travel time and cost, and maintains
the benefits of face-to-face meetings.
David said the new technology is
especially important for those business
cases where the distances are long,
interactions are frequent and many
people are involved.
Earlier generation systems also contribute.
Ms Ann-Christin Larsson, Executive
Assistant to
3
Sweden’s CEO, has benefited
from the convenience brought by the
systems. “Using the HWL concierge
service to schedule multiple partner
meetings is an easy task due to the booking
portal. For meetings between
3
Sweden
and
3
Denmark we have a pre-set, making
setting up a meeting as simple as pressing
three buttons,” she said.
Mr Nicholas Högberg, CEO of
3
Sweden,
says the system not only saves time and
money, but also elevates the efficiency of
its business. “With our Telepresence room,
we have increased our productivity. It also
gives us the opportunity to schedule board
meetings at short notice without having to
first check the availability of flights.”
He stressed that Telepresence promotes
one of the HWL Group’s objectives – to be
environmentally friendly. “Our customers
are evaluating us more and more on our
environmental initiatives.” He is a huge
advocate of the carbon footprint reduction
benefits. The estimated carbon emission
reduction through Telepresence for the
Group in 2013 was 4,275 tonnes.
Coming soon,
to a theatre near you
“We hope the systemwill spread among the
business units, especially our retail business
in Asia Pacific, whose buyers and suppliers
are scattered around Europe,” saidMichael
Ho. In the near future, Michael expects there
will be one or two more locations installing
the immersive Telepresence systems. He
welcomes enquiries fromHWL business units
considering how the technology can benefit
them. The upfront cost is more than made up
by the efficiency and environmental gains.
Nicholas says it best – “Using Telepresence
simply makes sense.”
HGC, At Your Service
Providing the new concierge
service to executives around
the globe is no easy task, but
HGC has a handle on it after
one year of operation. Jennifer
finds the service has benefited
the Group as a whole. “We keep
running costs down. Instead of
paying a third party, we provide it
ourselves. I believe the payback
period of this will be short, and it
will continue to benefit the Group
in terms of travel time and cost
saving.”
Having gained experience within
its own family, HGC plans to
offer the concierge service to
outside parties. “We started with
the HWL Group, and this was a
very good learning experience.
The Group has operations in
different countries, sophisticated
demand and high expectations of
this service. Being able to serve
the Group well means that we
are well-prepared and equipped
to extend our services to other
corporate customers.”
flights saved
516
CO
2
reduction
4
,
275
t
<<
