Is your company one of them? Every year in conjunction with Earth Day, which takes place on April 22, we reach out and survey our customers in regards to their environmental management progress. 

Our findings this year shows a significant increase in attention to Green behaviors. “Think and Act Green” is clearly on the rise. 

More than half of respondents (56%) believe that their company has taken meaningful steps toward more Green behavior since last Earth Day. And this is good news – since a full 70% of respondents believe that companies, rather than employees, should take the lead in executing and promoting Green behaviors in the workplace. 

Reducing unnecessary travel also continues to be a primary Green tactic – 62% of respondents say that their employers have either issued companywide policies to reduce travel or asked managers to monitor travel needs more closely. 

A full 87% of workplace meetings held with others outside the office now are conducted virtually, by phone and web conference. “Acting virtual” is now becoming such a habit that 40% of meetings with people inside their own office are conducted virtually, by phone and web conference. 

It’s clear that the most effective Green behaviors are those that provide benefits to the people doing them as well as to the environment. When it comes to virtual meetings, people have embraced them as a way to manage both their work and personal life. This trend will grow and make for a more balanced work and life even as it produces a cleaner environment.

Denise Persson - EVP, Global Marketing

Has your company already deployed VoIP across your internal network? Can you further leverage the investment you have already made in deploying IP PBXs and IP network?  Are you looking for an easy and cost effective way to add a full IP collaboration capability to your VoIP solution?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then Genesys’ new Enterprise VoIP is the solution for you!  Genesys is once again leading the way with new and exciting innovations with the introduction of Genesys Meeting Center 4.5!  Genesys has found a great way for its customers to save money and leverage infrastructure that they have already invested in. 

This new solution allows customers to connect their existing corporate IP backbone directly with the Genesys Service platform.  There are many advantages to customers with this solution, including significant cost savings, elimination of long distance carrier charges and new feature realization.

Genesys Meeting Center 4.5 is already winning rave reviews from customers and industry analysts.  For more details and a great comment from a customer, check out our recent Press Release announcement. (provide link to release).

Tony Terranova - VP Global Product Marketing

When we were in New Orleans for the sales kickoff I won an award from my boss for having OCD.  Just because a guy keeps all the change in his car heads up, the volume on any electronic device can never be left on 13 and he has to count to ten in four languages before he gets out of the shower every morning doesn’t make him crazy does it?  Ok, maybe a little, but it all seems to be working out for me, so why rock the boat.  “OCD, easy as 1-2-3, do-re-mi, OCD, baby you and me girl…”

Another aspect of my OCD is how I work.  My desktop has 6 icons on it, that’s right I said 6 icons.  In an OCD world everything has a place and everything is organized in tiered levels from the top down, which is why I appreciate Genesys Meeting Center.  I can schedule and start all of my meetings from my Outlook calendar.  I don’t have any messy icons on my desktop, just a launcher tool down in my task bar where it belongs. 

My Outlook e-mail inbox has one item in it. That’s right I said one item.  Since I manage my meetings from the Outlook calendar, I don’t have to bother with a bunch of e-mail notifications and reminders, keeping my inbox nice and clean. Also, the number 3 is big with me.  I tap my leg 3 times whenever I think about a cop when I’m driving, so that I don’t get a ticket.  I rub a figurine on my desk 3 times before I start my day and I can schedule a meeting via the Outlook calendar in 3 easy steps.  “You down with OCD?  Yeah you know me!”

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, approximately 2.2 million American adults age 18 and older, or about 1.0 percent of adults in a given year, have OCD.  OCD folks, I know you’re out there and living among the adults who don’t have to quote the Comedy Central show South Park every time they see an Acura on the road, or wear their hat a certain way when their favorite sports team is on offense or defense.  To you I say, check out Genesys Meeting Center, the top choice for people with OCD or people who just like things that are organized and easy to use. 

Erik Crawford – Web Marketing Manager

The annual Sales Kickoff was in the “Big Easy” this year, and the agenda did not disappoint.  Every year Genesys gathers the sales and marketing teams together to assess where we’ve been, where we are and where we are going. 

 
Day 1
Driving in from the airport it was hard to tell what areas had been affected by Katrina, because I had never been to New Orleans before.  When you got downtown there were pockets of damage and while the French Quarter and touristy areas had recovered nicely, the remnants of the past were still evident.

 
The day’s agenda was chalked full of speeches from the company’s executives, and the news was positive.  We had a record year for sales and growth and if the dollar doesn’t totally tank in 2008, it should be another good year for the company. 

 
After the speeches it was time for some dinner in the French Quarter.  Everyone was buzzing from being in a new city, seeing old friends from other Genesys locations and getting the good news from the executives.  Regardless of how many times management warns us to take it easy on night one and we’ll do the real celebrating on night two, it never really works out that way.  A live band was cranking out the Zydeco music as we were enjoying some tradition Cajun food and watching the few tourists who braved the cold temperatures and ventured out on a weeknight.  After a few hurricanes and a few awards it was time to call it a night.  The speeches started early the next morning, and the guest speaker was sure to be a highlight of the trip.

 
Day 2
Sir Edmund Hillary’s son Peter was on hand to deliver a speech about both he and his father’s accomplishments in mountaineering and exploration.  Despite his father’s passing just a few days prior, Hillary entertained us with his tales of climbing Everest twice and of his 84 day trek across Antarctica.  I know it was supposed to be inspiring, but I felt like a worthless underachiever after hearing his stories.  I am disappointed when the escalator at the mall isn’t working; I can’t even imagine climbing the mountains that he has conquered.

  
After Hillary finished it was time for our CEO Francois Legros to deliver his state of the company address.  Like his executives before him, he painted a rosy picture of the past year and outlined what we need to do as a company in 2008 to keep this momentum going.

 
Night two started mysteriously as the marketing team went all “Eyes Wide Shut” on us.  We waited in our rooms, dressed to the nines and wearing masks.  A colorfully dressed individual then led us back into the French Quarter where a Dixieland band was playing.  After receiving several beads and colorful boas the band then led everyone out into the street, where we became a Mardi Gras parade complete with a police escort.  The locals didn’t even bat an eye at us, but the tourists watched us through amazed, yet confused expressions.

 
Finally, we finished the night with the traditional dinner and an awards banquet.  Top achievers were recognized and the DJ had the dance floor packed for most of the evening.  A big thank you goes out to the marketing team for providing both an informative and entertaining few days in the crescent city.

 
Erik Crawford – Web Marketing Manager