Forget second life technology as a cost saving tool, remote working is still the best way to provide cost savings and great customer service.
As you may have read recently, Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council spent £36,000 on a virtual town hall in the online portal known as second life. I admire their forward thinking approach to using technology in a bid to provide an attractive customer service which can also cost cuts, however organisations must do their return on investment studies before jumping head first into the latest trend.
At the end of the day technology is developed in order to help people connect with other people quickly, efficiently and with tangible feedback and results. All aspects of life revolve around relationship building, least of all business and public services. Second life proved a flop because in my opinion it is based more on fantasy rather than reality, allowing users to have an alternative experience to that which they would normally have by walking into a shop or business.
In order to bridge the gap between providing best customer service at lowest cost the answer is using technology to enable employees to undertake their job more cheaply. In the case of the services provided by a local council many of these can surely be provided online with ‘click to talk’ or instant messaging with helpdesk employees who can work from home?
