Business travel and dinosaur orgs

[MadImmortalMan]

The amount of travel going on at my work is diminishing dramatically and videoconferencing is going up a lot. Mostly due to economic pressure. The videoconferencing kit was all good to go back in 2008, but it didn't get the use back then. See, the top-level oldsters where I work watch Mad Men and think it's a new-fangled hipster office environment. But even they must eventually succumb to economic reality. My job before this one was at a company that was very new and extremely focused on cost savings. When I first came here, I was appalled at the amount of cash they blew on travel. At the last place, people would get fired if they pulled the kind of shit the senior executives here expect of people (and enforce!).

Has the New Reality(R) affected your work like that too?

[Barrister]

In Alberta all the prisoners are kept inside their jail and make all but trial and bail appearances via videoconferencing.  I gather there's also a much bigger willingness to have witness in trials appear by videoconferencing.  I gather this saves the system a huge sum in transportation costs.

In Yukon the travel distances are vastly greater.  Yet every prisoner is personally escorted out to make every single appearance in court.  I could never get judges to agree to video conferencing (except the one time my witness was quadrapalegic) because they wanted to see the whites of their eyes.  It was stupid to be honest.  But so much government money was floating around that no one raised a fuss over it.

Oh, also in Yukon, you would routinely have about 4 separate vehicles travelling out to circuit court: 1 defence counsel, 1 Crown, 1 probation officer, and the court party (judge, clerk, sheriff).  And no, nobody was allowed to double up or give rides to people in different departments.

[Ideologue]

Oh, also in Yukon, you would routinely have about 4 separate vehicles travelling out to circuit court: 1 defence counsel, 1 Crown, 1 probation officer, and the court party (judge, clerk, sheriff).  And no, nobody was allowed to double up or give rides to people in different departments.

Why is this a bad policy?

[Capetan Mihali]

Oh, also in Yukon, you would routinely have about 4 separate vehicles travelling out to circuit court: 1 defence counsel, 1 Crown, 1 probation officer, and the court party (judge, clerk, sheriff).  And no, nobody was allowed to double up or give rides to people in different departments.

Why is this a bad policy?

Yeah, I ain't riding with the Crown.

[Admiral Yi]

Defence is the only one that will let you bring the bong.

[Ed Anger]

If they all piled into one van, the entire province's judicial system may have been taken out in a car crash.

[MadImmortalMan]

If they all piled into one van, the entire province's judicial system may have be taken out in a car crash.

FREEBARRISTER!!!!!!111

[Baron von Schtinkenbutt]

We make extensive use of videoconferencing, but I work with plenty of people who feel that VTCs can't replace face-to-face meetings, because they feel too many side discussions will go on that they won't know about.  I personally think its an overly paranoid position, but I can see how they might arrive at that conclusion.

[Caliga]

We don't seem to do much videoconferencing at the new place, but plenty of conference calls, GTMs, and shit like that.  We're making our ERP client relationship guy come out here from California for a week at the end of July.

I'll have to go to Chicago every couple of months or more, and probably out to California where we did a huge acquisition in Newport Beach.  Also, it's likely I'll visit our ERP vendor too... they're in Santa Barbara.

[Capetan Mihali]

In Alberta all the prisoners are kept inside their jail and make all but trial and bail appearances via videoconferencing.

They use "The Skype" for arraignments here as well.

[Grey Fox]

For anyone not dealing with the Asian market, travel has been replace by conference calls, shared dev environment & skype.

Those that deal with the Asian market are fucked & travel alot. It's probably more of timezone issue then anything else tho. Unless the Chinese really hate Videoconferencing.

I don't know the little things about travelling tho. Except visitors that come here expect free lunches(and get it).

[OttoVonBismarck]

I travel all the fucking time for Uncle Sam and I personally spend 15% of my week filling out all the paper work to get all my travel expenses reimbursed. We have massive amounts of video conferencing capability but an almost unbelievable aversion to utilizing it.

[Barrister]

Oh, also in Yukon, you would routinely have about 4 separate vehicles travelling out to circuit court: 1 defence counsel, 1 Crown, 1 probation officer, and the court party (judge, clerk, sheriff).  And no, nobody was allowed to double up or give rides to people in different departments.

Why is this a bad policy?

Pretty fucking huge waste of money?

Oh - I mist-spoke, because on anything further than 2 hours from Whitehorse, the court party would charter an airplane to fly in and out, while defence, Crown, probations and the like would drive.  Yeah, judge, your time is hardly that valuable that you need a private aircraft to avoid a 5 hour drive...

[Pedrito]

Has the New Reality(R) affected your work like that too?

Italian companies have still difficulties to adjust to the Old Reality, go figure to the New One...

L.

[Brazen]

I've only ever videconferenced for a job interview. I do have very regular teleconferences, and nearly all my interviews are carried over the phone. However, to get unique stories, I really have to travel and see stuff, and talk to people I wouldn't normally approach to find breaking news.