Remote Management of a Province-Wide Youth Employment Program Using Internet Technologies

Abstract

A province-wide network of Community Access Internet sites was supported during the summers of 1996 and 1997 by Wire Nova Scotia (WiNS), a government funded program to provide staffing, training and technical support for these centers. The program was managed remotely from an office in Sydney, Nova Scotia (Canada) using a variety of Internet-based technologies, including e-mail, a Web site, conference boards, real-time chat, and mailing lists. Remote management enabled the efficient and low-cost operation of a program involving 67 sites with field placements, plus six regional coordinators and the technical and administrative staff at the hub in Sydney. Effectiveness of remote management was enhanced when employees participated in an initial face-to-face regional training workshop. This training not only familiarized the employees with the communications technologies, but, perhaps more importantly, put a human face and personality to the messages that later came electronically over the Intranet.