Kemble, Will Intel buy Dell Computer's? There should be enough leverage for Dell to get Intel's business... :)Leigh
abcnews.go.com
Wooing With PCs
Are More and More Firms Trying to Buy Employee Loyalty?
Technology experts say the giveaways help keep employees up-to-date on the latest technology. Some also consider it a ploy to get employees to take work home.
By Cliff Edwards
The Associated Press
S A N J O S E, Calif., March 10 -Where's my new PC?" could become the mantra of the new millennium as corporate America increasingly bestows the perk on employees in a tight labor market.
Computer-chip maker Intel joined Ford Motor Co., Delta and American Airlines Tuesday in offering workers home PCs, printers and free or discounted hookups to the Internet.
Technology experts say the giveaways help keep employees up-to-date on the latest technology. Some also consider it a ploy to get employees to take work home.
Martin Marshall, director of research at technology-watch firm Zona Research Inc., agrees with both points.
Companies have been struggling to find and keep skilled labor and are betting the Internet will be a key means of training and conducting paperless communication in coming years, Marshall said.
"One of the single-largest costs is employee training and retention, and this is a cost-effective way of addressing those issues. The good-karma image they may get as a result of the program is entirely a side benefit.?
A New Trend in Perks
Companies for years have offered employees the option of buying castoff computers at a discount. Other perks such as free dry cleaning, massages, lunch discounts and gym memberships have fallen in and out of fashion as ways to spread good feelings about the boss.
Free PC programs have been offered in Scandinavian countries for several years. Analyst Rob Enderle at research firm Giga Information Group said data from the those programs found employees are more likely to train themselves on PC applications at home, check e-mails and do other tasks they did not have time to do at work.
"There's literally no bad news here for the company; it creates a more productive employee and actually results in savings to the company's bottom line," Enderle said.
Big Chip Company Enters This Arena
Intel, the world's leading computer-chip maker, said Tuesday that beginning in July its 70,000 full- and part-time employees will get an entire computer-Internet package for free, with regular technology upgrades.
In so doing, the company will have to buy computers from the very manufacturers to whom it sold the chips that run the machines.
Intel is taking bids on computers with its own Pentium III chips along with large hard drives and memory, computer networking equipment and 17-inch monitors, said spokesman Chuck Mulloy. An Intel computer camera and games will also be offered, and in areas where it's available, high-speed Internet connections.
"This system belongs to the employee," Mulloy said. "They get to keep it, and are free to do with it as they want."
Marilyn Guldan, an administrative assistant who helps create Web pages for Intel's legal department, doesn't care if the company wants her to do more work at home.
"This is an opportunity. For me, I'm doing Web design, and there's a fine line between work and play. What it means for me is I get to play at home."
A Carmaker Leads the Way
Ford became the first big U.S. company to extend the free PC offer early last month.
The automaker is offering its 360,000-strong work force a computer, color printer and Internet access for $5 a month. Delta Air Lines quickly offered its employees a similar package for $12 a month for 36 months, and American Airlines last week said it would do the same.
PeoplePC Inc., a San Francisco-based company that offers deeply discounted PCs, is coordinating the program for both Ford and Delta and is in talks with other companies to provide similar services, said chief executive Nick Grouf.
"What this represents is an opportunity to get faster and deeper penetration of technology and the Internet and really help integrate it into the fabric of everyone's life," Grouf said. "When you think about it, a factory worker, a flight attendant, a pilot, these are people whose job does not require them to sit in front of the computer."
Copyright 2000 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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