Up in the Air: To Be Virtual, or Not to Be Virtual

March 31, 2010 by jameslucas.

By Alan Blume

Up in the Air with George Clooney and Vera Farmiga is a must view, particularly for road warriors then and now. Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) works for an Omaha based Career Transition firm whose job is to help companies with corporate downsizing (firing employees no longer needed or wanted). Ryan’s job revolves around flying over 300 days of the year, in other words he essentially lives out of his suitcase. Though this would seem like a miserable job for most of us, Ryan loves it, and the frequent flyer type perks that come with it. Be it flying first class, lounging in the Admirals Club, instant check in at American Airlines or his preferred hotel, Ryan loves the life and his “Platinum Level Status”.

So where does this tie into my constant diatribe about virtual companies? The movie seemed made to order for me, as Ryan’s firm hired a young Ivy League grad named Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick), who naturally recommended that the company go virtual and fire these workers via web meeting instead of face to face, on-site. With Natalie’s business school efficiency, things were moving along rapidly toward the new virtual business methodology while Natalie learning the ropes, on the road, with Ryan.

On the road, Ryan hooks up with the beautiful and charming Alex Goran (Vera Farmiga) for the classic boy finally meets the right girl love interest slant, albeit with a twist. Meanwhile, Natalie finds the harsh reality of firing workers brutal, punishing and depressing, perhaps the type of job that does not lend itself well to web meetings. And for those of you, who have yet to see this entertaining movie, let me leave the synopsis at this point for the moment.

Did Hollywood get it right? Do we still need to do some things in person? I think the answer is yes…and no. A nebulous answer for sure - unless it happens to be a scripted Hollywood response from a Harry Potter movie. Let me clarify. For companies that are in legacy businesses, a traditional brick and mortar business, particularly those requiring large numbers of on-site staff, I would concur that something as difficult and personal as job terminations should be done in person.

But for virtual companies like mine, highly distributed work forces, companies with many work at home or telecommuting personnel, web meetings are par for the course as virtual hiring sets the stage for virtual firings. The wave of the future looks like an outsourced based, contractor oriented, telecommuting centric, work from home, distributed collaborative model. And in this brave new world, I can’t see someone like Ryan traveling house to house to terminate employees in their homes, nor do I see employees (contractors) wishing it be done this way (unless it was really George Clooney who was going to visit their home). I think Hollywood got this one right, not everything can be done virtually.

For more information, read Your Virtual Success (Career Press) or to to my web site: http://www.alanblume.com. I’d love to hear about your virtual business efforts.

Article Source: Alan Blume

Up in the Air: To Be Virtual, or Not to Be Virtual

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