Employer Network and Worksites

[Tracy Ellis]

All of our employer worksites were pre-loaded into Drive Less Connect prior to launch.

 

Now as we are creating Networks, we also have Worksites.  That's great for some employer networks that have multiple worksites, but registered users will see both the employer network AND the worksite network.

 

This is very confusing for the users who may not know to join an employer network, because they think they are already in the network - because they see the worksite network.

 

What is the best practices for creating employer networks that may have only one worksite location? Are we just using the worksite as the network? or are we deleting the worksite and just using the employer network, or are we using both? (then trying to explain to the users that the reason they can't "see" the ERH program is because they aren't in the network?

[Mark Messinger]

I am not clear on why, when the employer has only one work location (and that location is not shared with other employers), it would be useful to establish both an Employer network and a Worksite network for that employer.

But maybe I'm missing an advantage to doing that.

True, users can become associated with a Worksite simply by selecting it as a location - the destination for a commute. With an Employer network, the association is not by location - employees must be associated using other means (email domain, import accounts, administrator approval, passcode, or proxy registration). However, the means of association for the Employer network do not seem particularly onerous. It seems to me the Worksite network type isn't better than Employer network type, on that basis.

Worksite networks, on the other hand, have certain disadvantages. For example, users can only be associated with one Worksite network. The "Show All Members" function is not available to Worksite networks. Emergency Ride Home usage reports are not available to Worksite networks.

On the other hand, a Worksite network would be useful for a location that is shared by more than one employer.

What are the reasons network administrators might want to create a Worksite network as a child to an Employer network, when the employer has only one work location and that location is not shared with any other employers?

[Tracy Ellis]

I was questioning the worksite/employer network need to create both question too. However, my question was about why create the organization network, when yours seems to be why create the worksite.

I disagree. I know our commuters and users. I believe that the instructions that they must be part of the network in order to receive ERH benefits, when they SEE that they are part of the workplace network can be confusing. IN a nutshell, IF IT IS NOT EASY, THEY WILL NOT DO IT. (That is a big downside of the entire iCarpool platform - IMHO) Plus, that little tidbit has not been inserted into any of my collateral.

I have set up the Emergency Ride Home at the regional level and am enabling employers over as we go through orientation. We did NOT set up ERH at each individual employer network. Because users will NOT be able to access the ERH Program unless they are part of the employer network, I have also enabling ERH for the worksites.

ERH usage and reports will be at the regional level. This is as it should be.

I am not configuring ERH at the employer level. That would be an insane amount of repetition, and would make reporting impossible.

[Mark Messinger]

Worksite networks and Employer/Organization networks differ in a number of respects. One way in which these are different is how users become associated with them. You are correct; the Worksite network is easiest to be associated with, since all a user has to do is select the Worksite as their work location and they are in that network. Employer/Organization networks control the users that can be associated with the network (only email domain, import accounts, administrator approval, passcode, or proxy registration). If one of your high priorities is for a network type that is very easy for a user to join, given the choice between Worksite and Employer/Organization, you are correct to choose Worksite.

Having created a Worksite network, particularly for an employer with only one work location, as you have discovered, it can be confusing to then create a parent Employer/Organization network.

Drive Less Connect was created, I think, with the idea the Employer/Organization network type would be used for employers with only one work location.

As you have discovered, it's possible to create instead a Worksite network.

One of the advantages of a Worksite network is that it can be associated with more than one parent Employer/Organization network. However, it looks to me as though iCarpool expected that users would first be associated with their Employer's network, and then would select the Worksite as their work location. This seems a different process than what you are seeking, within the point2point region.

Tracy, do I understand this correctly? You have found, if you create an Emergency Ride Home program at the Regional Network level, and make the Employer/Organization networks in your region eligible for that ERH program, users in those employer networks cannot "see" the ERH program? I must be missing a detail. I thought, once a user was associated with the employer network, that user could see the ERH program, even if there was only one ERH set up at the regional network level.

[Tracy Ellis]

The users cannot "see" the ERH program unless they are associated with the employer network.  This is another level of complexity.  Some view the worksite in their network lists and believe that they are already in the network. Also it adds yet another step for them to do.  Many folks will just give up.

To enroll in ERH the steps are as follows.

1. register at DLC

2. complete your profile

3. join your employer network

4. enroll in the ERH program.

 

I didn't include instructions on joining the employer network in my ERH collaterals.  Obviously an overside.  Until any changes are made, I'm just enabling the ERH program all the way down to the worksite level.

[Scott Turnoy]

Have you associated individual worksites with multiple employers? I am looking to do a similar worksite network for a building in Hood River that has multiple employers, but not every employer necessarily wants to manage an employer network. If we can have one ETC for the whole building, that could be useful, but I'm open to suggestions. I spoke with Mark and Alexis from FLT this morning about the same issue and they are going to provide some suggestions, including a reference to a worksite in Bellevue.

[Tracy Ellis]

No I have not. This has not ever been an issue.  I'm not sure what the work around would be.  Is it essential to set up an employer network? Can multiple worksites be created? eg. 123 Main St #2, 123 Main St #4....? I don't know what the right answer to this would be.