Director of e-business development: Duncan Hopper
The secrets of the internet are being unlocked for time-strapped senior managers by younger employees who give up a few hours a week to trawl the web searching for nuggets of information.
The initiative at Pearl Assurance, part of the AMP Group, was sparked after a speaker at a company conference joked that if the chairman of the board wanted to know what was happening on the net they should bring their seven-year-old sons and daughters into the boardroom to show them whats what.
Duncan Hopper, director of e-business, developed the idea and, within months, the e-possum scheme, whereby younger members of staff from all disciplines act as the eyes and ears of the internet for older senior managers, was born.
Initially, those interested were interviewed and matched with a general manager depending on their skills and level of experience. Possums and their mentees are from different departments so that should a mentor be promoted, there is no danger that their manager will be accused of favouritism. It was set up as a pilot scheme last year and proved so successful that it is now live and being introduced to other parts of AMP Group.
During lunch breaks and after work, e-possums scour the internet researching the latest sites to find information or generate ideas that they can take back to their mentees. Sometimes they are given homework to do if more information is required.
Its become very valuable, says Hopper. They call themselves the e-posse and have developed into a think-tank which runs itself. They do it voluntarily and the main benefit is that senior managers are saying, This is the way customers will think in the future.
They put in two or three hours a week of their own time. They get a sense of achievement out of it, availability with senior managers and feel that they are contributing to the growth and development of the business.
One thing from an HR point of view is that we are about to thank the e-possums managers for their support. Theres a possibility that existing managers could conceivably get jealous, thinking that their staff have better access to the senior managers than they do. So far that hasnt been a problem but we need to be aware of such issues.
One of the aims is for the younger employees to get beneath the skin of management, so that they can find out what really stimulates an individuals interest by exciting them. E-possum Mark Dixon says: That means showing them how technology connects with their personal interests anything from medieval history to golf. The meetings are very important for us both.
Keith Jones, director of pensions review at Pearl, says: Id like to think that the scheme benefits both parties Im sure my e-possum has learned something about the corporate relevance of e-technology and has a greater awareness of the value of the knowledge and skills he has been developing as an amateur in the professional world.
The possums have recently been involved in an e-education week to give staff the chance to learn about the latest developments in IT and the internet.
There are 24 possums at Pearl plus a further 12 at a division of the parent company AMP. Plans are in the pipeline to roll the scheme out across other AMP companies.
