Downtown Staffing Agency Holds "No Emails Day" To Encourage Employees To Use Phones
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A staffing and recruiting company downtown did something a little out of the ordinary today. It staged a "No Email Day."
LaSalle Network president Tom Gimbel tries to have No Email Days a few times a year. The goal is to get his employees to pick up the phone more often or see a client in person on days when it's not a No Email Day.
"We all are fighting this battle against technology," he says. "With technology and against technology. It's a blessing and a curse. I think most people would agree on that."
Account executive Maureen Hoersten says the No Email Days, "Foster communications and I think that's the biggest thing that companies are lacking these days."
Fellow employee Jayme Schrieffer also likes the No Email Days. She says that when a client lets her call go to voicemail, she leaves a voicemail that asks the person not to return the voicemail with an email.
"It's a great conversation starter," she says.
Tom Gimbel allows a couple of 15 minute breaks during the day when people can check their emails for emergency communications. And he doesn't for a minute think cheating doesn't go on throughout the day.
But he says, "There's no secret police jumping on it."
He's just trying to change the culture of his company and the way it does business over a number of years, no all at once.