Arizona Business Gazette from Phoenix, Arizona • BG3

ABGNEWS.COM THURSDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2019 3BG Business News The traditional setting is quick- ly transforming, leaving employers with the task of adapting to new ways of management. One of the most popular changes noticing in the workplace is employees requesting to work remotely. In the past years, opportunities to work from home have increased by more than This challenges em- ployers all over the world to come up with ways to manage who are based away from the The good news is that with a few strategic tactics and communication, managing remote employees much than managing your team. One of the biggest challenges I see with remote is the versus mindset that sometimes devel- ops in the To change your mindset, consider changing your words. Rather than using the term em- try referring to these employ- ees as your virtual employees or team- mates.

This can help create a more co- hesive team and prevent members from feeling divided. Those working remotely might also feel disconnected from the cul- ture. Be sure to include everyone in af- ter-hours events such as happy hours and other social events. If employees are physically located in another city or state, suggest they get involved in the planning process so their perspective and ideas can be recognized, or oth- er ways to help them get involved such as pairing them with an part- ner who can video them into work events. workers must uphold certain expectations and no for those working from another location.

Establish expectations with your virtual early on. I suggest employers schedule routine meetings, whether in person or on the phone, to discuss job responsibilities, goals and expecta- tions. Then, set an agreement on how work will get done, similar to the way you would manage an em- ployee. Discuss details such as whether it is acceptable for the employ- ee to work from anywhere or if security, and other concerns limit remote work to a home Covering what is acceptable and un- acceptable upfront can help avoid un- met expectations and frustrations later on. When you see team members physically on a daily or regular basis, much can be lost or easily misinterpret- ed.

Take the time to talk openly about expectations from both the and perspective. This can be a valuable way to set up the relationship for ongoing success. Engaging employees who work re- motely can also be a challenge. The dai- ly hallway conversations that develop into meaningful strategy sessions and impromptu discussions are lost, along with opportunities to casually stop by a to discuss new ideas. Knowing that employees who work away from the are missing out on these opportunities, a smart idea to put in extra to help them stay in- volved.

Encourage your em- ployees to include their virtual team- mates in meaningful discussions, either in person, through video chats, phone calls, online messaging or by sending over a short summary of a conversation they may have missed. Every individual in the needs to remember that em- ployees working away from the are critical to the team and having their feedback and input is crucial for the workplace to be I encourage you to make it a top priority to ensure that every employee, including those who are working out of the have a voice on team meetings, projects, and events. As more employees go remote, it is essential for employers to be open to adapting their management style. Con- sistent communication, creative tech- niques, and the involvement of the en- tire guarantee that, regardless of location, your team can achieve maxi- mum in an environment where all employees feel valued, includ- ed, and supported. Karen is the Arizona presi- dent of the Council.

Strategies for managing your virtual Your Turn Karen Stafford Guest columnist statement. the meantime, data security is one of our highest priorities and we con- tinue to work diligently to protect the sensitive information of our patients and The cyber attack at Banner was the largest health care data breach of 2016, according to HIPAA Journal. Banner Health announced on Aug. 3, 2016 that it had sent letters to 3.7 million people, informing them that cyber crim- inals may have gained unauthorized ac- cess to personal information, including names, birth dates, addresses, physi- cian names and possibly health insur- ance information and Social Security numbers if they were provided to Ban- ner Health. Among those were patients, health plan members and food and beverage customers, physi- cians and health care providers.

When the breach occurred, Banner initially gave those a year of free credit monitoring. The credit monitoring part of the settlement includes: Real-time authentication alerts when someone attempts to make a change to a personal account information. Alerts based on searches of pay- day-loan providers and court records. Monitoring of top institu- tions for attempted or fraudulent use of information. Dark Web monitoring to alert vic- tims whose personal information shows up on the Dark Web.

Friedman, the lawyer, said he knows of no egregious losses due to the data breach and that vol- untary provision of a free year of credit monitoring after the attack may have helped prevent such losses. Reach the reporter at 602-444-8369 or Stephanie.Innes@gannett.com. Fol- low her on Twitter Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today. Banner Continued from Page 1 tonomous and the majority of them are in Arizona, according to the company, which runs the cars in a area covering parts of Chandler, Mesa, Tempe, Gilbert and Ahwatukee.

Waymo, formerly known as the Goo- gle Self-Driving Car Project, has tested in Arizona since 2016. The fully driverless rides in Chrysler hybrid minivans are only of- fered to people in the Early Rider pro- gram. The vehicles only operate in a portion of the Waymo service area. Waymo spokeswoman Julianne McGoldrick said the area is about 50 square miles, or about the size of San Francisco. The fully driverless rides only are available to Early Riders, who have signed nondisclosure agreements.

The Waymo One commercial service allows customers to bring friends or family along who have not signed non- disclosure agreements. The driverless Waymo pulls out of the hotel parking lot and onto a surface street with almost no hesitation. A 4-mile, 10-minute ride from the El- ement Chandler Fashion Center hotel to the Mountainside Fitness at Germann Towne Center cost $8.43 on the Waymo One smartphone app. The app let riders select a des- tination outside the service area. Waymo continuously improves its autonomous technology, and appar- ent.

The vehicles today drive more as- sertively, with less hesitation. A year ago, The Arizona Republic rode in a Waymo demonstration. The van in that ride operated with extreme caution. So did many Waymos The Re- public followed around town to observe their capabilities. But last week, the car shuttling be- tween the hotel and shopping center was more assertive than the test a year ago.

At one point, the driverless Waymo appeared to speed up slightly to make a left turn from Alma School Road onto Pecos Road, before distant cars ap- proached. At a four-way stop, the Way- mo yielded to another car that reached the intersection but closely fol- lowed it once it cleared the intersection, showing no sign of delay or hesitation. Waymo said the improve- ments are genuine, and that the Waymo technology is constantly updat- ed to lessons from 10 million road miles put on its autonomous cars, and billions more from virtual simulations. He said feedback from riders so far has overwhelmingly been positive. While Waymos have been involved in accidents caused by other drivers, the company has not had any Waymo- caused accidents in Arizona.

The same be said for its compet- itor Uber, which was involved in the pedestrian fatality by a self-driving car in 2018. Uber pulled its autonomous op- erations out of Arizona after that crash. Panigrahi said much of the customer feedback from the test program shows an improved experience for riders, who will comment on minutia including how well the cars slow for speed bumps. The Waymos still use caution and yield to others. At one point, the Waymo yielded to a pedestrian walking a bicycle on West Willis Road as the Waymo wait- ed to turn.

Also, the Waymo hesitated to pull up to a pick-up spot in a parking lot when a photographer was crouching be- hind another parked car, in position to take video of the van. The Waymo ap- peared to recognize the moving photog- rapher and waited until he backed up before the Waymo would approach. To help riders understand why a Waymo is stopped, the seatback screens inside the car show what the car is yielding to when it is done for a single vehicle or person, said Ryan Powell, Waymo head of user experience, design and research. know from that middle row in the as you look forward, even though the car can see 360 degrees, you from that middle Powell said. If a Waymo runs into a problem on the road and determine what to do, it will the team, who will as- sess the situation through the onboard cameras, McGoldrick said.

But navigating the situation is entire- ly up to the car. remote control the cars at she said. must start and com- plete trips all on their Last demonstration made the trip to and from the shopping center without needing assistance. When a person in the Early Rider pro- gram is paired for the time with a fully driverless car, Waymo will speak to the passenger over an in-car communi- cation system, Powell said. He said while customers appreciate the outreach, they want that level of interaction every ride.

There are two places in the car and a button on the phone app where passengers can call a real person in rider support. Waymo also has in-car cameras so that a real person can check the vehicle after passengers get out to ensure the vehicle is clean and nothing was left be- hind. Powell said Waymo does not use the system to view or listen to passen- gers unless they calls for support. One of the biggest challenges for the company is the preferred pick- up and spots for customers, ac- cording to all three Waymo in- terviewed for this story. Not having a human driver to tell to pull to a less crowded curb in a shopping center for drop or to pull two houses down the block for a pick up, is some- times clunky.

Riders can adjust the spots where the cars stop in the app or by calling for sup- port, but Waymo constantly is where the cars stop. This is a challenge because not only do customer preferences vary, but the same customer being dropped in a shopping center might also have ent preferences at times of day when and crowds are heavier. The Waymos have even been pro- grammed to honk the horn in limited sit- uations. cars can honk in certain situa- tions where another driver might have done something abruptly and they just want to let them know, hey, McGoldrick said. driver is a pretty polite driver so they do that super An example of when a Waymo would use its horn is if another car is backing out of a parking spot quickly into the path of the Waymo, she said.

A new development also allows rid- ers to request Waymos to honk while stopped to pick up passengers, to help people their car if they are having trouble in a crowded parking lot, she said. The company has expanded in other ways on the one-year anniversary of its Waymo One launch. Recently, a single, new electric Jaguar I-Pace equipped with sen- sors arrived in Arizona to begin testing. The new sensor set up will help the vehicles better navigate in inclement weather, Panigrahi said. Waymo put in an order for 20,000 of the cars last year to begin incorporating them into the The company also placed orders for 62,000 more Chrys- lers.

Waymo announced recently the launch of an app for Apple phones. The Android app launched in April. Even though any iPhone user can download the app, they must go on a wait list to use the service. If they get accepted to the Waymo One service, they can hail rides within the service area. Most rid- ers will still be invited to the service through the Early Rider program.

Reach reporter Ryan Randazzo at ryan.randazzo@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4331. Follow him on Twitter Waymo Continued from Page 1 With the steering wheel turning let, the passenger gets this view from inside a Waymo self-driving car. PHOTOS BY NICK REPUBLIC might violate the state constitution. An local government has 30 days to change its policies if the at- torney general it is running afoul of constitution, or the state can cut funding. Known as an SB 1487 investigation, the process has been used to quash lo- cal regulations of vacation rentals, plastic bags and Barto a complaint under the process on Thursday.

City says fee is for use of curb City Attorney Cris Meyer has argued that the fee increase is constitutional, contending it is a fee for accessing municipal property in this case, the curb of the airport. constitution does not bar mu- nicipalities from charging a fee to ac- cess and use municipal-owned prop- he said. companies, from ground transportation to concessions, pay fees to conduct commercial business that provide services to customers at the City have argued that the fee is not a tax but merely the price of using the curb at the airport. complaint did not come as a surprise. Barto, who is running for state Sen- ate, had said she would such a complaint after the council initially voted on the fee increase during an Oct.

16 meeting. The council had to to vote again this month due to a technical problem. The Attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Contact reporter Andrew Oxford at andrew.oxford@arizonarepublic.com or on Twitter at Ride fees Continued from Page 1.