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Forget business-to-consumer or business-to-business. Business-to-employee is all the rage with the U.S. auto makers. General Motors Corp. and DaimlerChrysler Corp. announced on Nov. 2 that they'll team up in the U.S. to offer America Online access to all their employees at reduced prices. The deal, which offers AOL either through a home PC, TV set-top box, or DirectTV satellite Internet hookup, follows Ford Motor Co.'s decision in 1999 to give all its employees free PCs and low-cost Net access.
The key difference with the GM/DaimlerChrysler initiative is the decision to opt for Internet access without giving away PCs. At least 75% of the employees at the two companies already have PCs in their homes, says Rick Wagoner, GM president and CEO. And almost all have televisions. So rather than give them technology they don't need, the companies opted for content, Wagoner says.
Only about a third of the companies' employees are currently connected to the Internet. The carmakers figure that's too low, since the industry has decided that only Net connectivity can provide a business model flexible enough to keep up with the pace of future product design, development, and sales. "It's absolutely necessary that all our employees have access to the Internet," says DaimlerChrysler CEO and President James P. Holden. The deal also gives the auto makers a cheap and quick way to interact with their workforces. And the United Auto Workers has welcomed the move.
CONTENT KING. GM has about 200,000 employees eligible for the program, and about 150,000 at DaimlerChrysler will have the chance to participate. The two companies will start with U.S. workers only, though they expect to add Canada relatively quickly. The rest of their global employees will likely be included once the initial bugs are worked out, the two CEOs say. Taking it slowly isn't a bad idea. Ford's PC program was delayed outside of the U.S. because of unforeseen tax issues that had to be addressed.
The new services should start to roll out early in 2001, with the AOL TV and DirectTV components more likely available in the second quarter. The auto makers wouldn't discuss the cost of the program, but it is clearly heavily subsidized.
The program further extends the reach of AOL, the unrivaled Internet content king. Basic AOL service for auto workers who already have computers will cost $3 a month, vs. the $21.95 a month the rest of AOL's subscribers pay for unlimited service. AOL TV, which will include the set-top box and wireless keyboard, is $5 a month. For employees who opt for a satellite connection from GM subsidiary DirectTV, the cost will be $31.95 a month, vs. the $50 or more a month that regular subscribers pay.
PRIVATE PORTALS. As a second part of the program, GM and DaimlerChrysler have teamed up with Workscape Inc. to provide their employees with new Internet-based human-resource information portals, also hosted by AOL. GM and DaimlerChrysler each will offer their employees separate but similar information on benefits and the ability to offer self-assessments on in-house training programs.
The portals, available both at work and at home through the new Net services, will be an extension of the companies' human-resources departments. They'll also allow access to work e-mail from home. Portal access will be password-restricted and secure, Holden says. The companies hope to have the portals running by mid-2001. For these carmakers, the road to increased productivity seems to be merging onto the Info Highway.
Copyright 2000, by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.
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