Can Employees Help Solve The Skills Shortage Problem Themselves?

An innovative new website has been set-up with the ambitious aim of helping to solve businesses' skills shortage problem. A Fresh Pair of Eyes Ltd (www.afpoe.com) is one of a new breed of website, which aims at putting people in touch with each other - only in this case AFPoE (pronounced "afpo') have turned the spotlight solely on the plight of employees.

In its simplest form, the website is best thought of as a large online business directory, which instead of listing businesses by type, lists employees by their skills knowledge and know-how (SKK). This now means that for the first time, employees are simply able to type in work-related questions or search for particular skills they need and locate other employees online, who are willing to share their SKK with others. This concept was borne out of the premise that if you want to learn how to do something, the best (and usually the most preferred) way to do it is to go an ask those who have already done it.

Sharing SKK can take the form of an AFPoE Message, a phone call, a fax, an instant messaging session or even a personal visit. One of the problems with using the Internet to develop relationships is that it is not always possible to be sure who you are communicating with. To solve this problem, AFPoE have come up with an innovative, patented solution: Relationship Management Tools (RMTs). Intriguingly, once a contact has been made via AFPoE, no personal contact details are immediately divulged. It is only once both parties have communicated anonymously and decided to release say, their business phone number, that the website announces the fact - to both parties. Personal contact information can be stored on AFPoE but it is up to the AFPoE Member to decide when and if such information is given out. The rate at which such contact information is divulged is usually a function of how well the relationship develops.

What is also interesting is that membership to AFPoE and contact with other employees can be made for free or by paying a trivial, one-off fee to receive more "member benefits'. This instantly brings AFPoE within reach of all employees. Using AFPoE both parties can message/chat, phone, fax and meet up with each other as often as they wish.

The results of such a "meeting-of-minds' can vary from the exchange of a few emails, through to the development of a useful business contact or even a lifelong business acquaintance. However, as with all relationships, the AFPoE relationship will have to be "worked at'. The more that both parties can bring to the relationship, the more chance it will have of thriving. It is not, however, just work-related SKK which can be exchanged - swapping a few golf lessons for the inside track on the latest accounts package, is not unheard of.

So, as well as providing a new forum for the exchange of skills, knowledge and know-how, AFPoE also provides a medium which allows employees to develop important and empowering business contacts with other employees, in other organisations. The establishment of business relationships across organisational boundaries is a practise which has long been recognized but until now was often perceived as something of a "black art' and viewed as largely the preserve of "breakfast-meeting businessmen' and "pink-tied salesmen'. What AFPoE has done is to simplify this "black art' by establishing a simple, safe breeding ground for the development of business contacts - thereby bringing it to the masses. Life-changing business contacts can now be easily developed from the comfort of an employee's own PC, either at work or at home.

The effect of AFPoE on employees and employers (both large and small) is expected to be profound. For a relatively trivial fee, employees are now able to make contact with other employees, independently develop their skills, knowledge and know-how and establish their own personal contact network (PCN). Employees who do become so empowered will be able to turn in a far superior performance for their employers - and take advantage of all the benefits which arise from doing so.

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Notes to editors: AFPoE is the brainchild of Roy Crossfield who is credited by many, as being the man who developed the art of "process mapping', a technique which has revolutionised businesses across the world and a method which has been taken up by the International Standards Organisation in the latest incarnation of their Quality Management Systems Standard - ISO 9000:2000.

For further information, please contact::

Roy Crossfield (roycrossfield@afpoe.com)
Managing Director
A Fresh Pair of Eyes Limited (www.afpoe.com)
PO Box 103
Gainsborough
Lincolnshire
England DN21 5WA
Tel: +44 (0)870 744 8744