Jamba Juice store managers in Hawaii love the flexibility of their schedules, says Dean McPhail, chief executive and owner of JJC Hawaii LLC, the smoothie chain’s Honolulu-based franchisee. That got McPhail thinking: Wouldn’t the employees in his company’s support center want that same freedom? Given that gas in Hawaii is more than $4 per gallon and rush hour traffic is often miserable, the answer from the support staff was an unequivocal yes. So McPhail is looking for a tenant to sublease the 5,868-square-foot, second-story office on Ala Moana Boulevard. Once a tenant is found, all of JJC Hawaii’s corporate employees will telecommute, including McPhail and the executive team. Employees have begun working a few days a week from home, and so far the response has been positive, McPhail said. McPhail opened his first Jamba Juice outlet in 1999 and now has 36 stores on Oahu, Maui, the Big Island and Kauai.
What departments make up the support center?
We have accounting and payroll, finance, marketing, operations, HR, facilities maintenance and IT.
How will everyone stay connected without a central office?
Everyone has a computer they can take with them, and they have remote access to the main server. We have a voice and Internet phone system. They can take their phone from their desk home and maintain the ease of internal communications. We know it’s not as easy as it sounds. There are a lot of moving pieces to this and a lot of learning on how to make is successful.
What’s been the biggest concern?
There were concerns about the process and procedures. Departments will still be able to have meetings. We have two P.F. Chang’s that don’t open up until 11 a.m. [and can be used for staff conferences].
How will you be sure people are working, and not, say, out surfing?
We’ve always looked for people who are self-directed, entrepreneurial in spirit and do not need a lot of micromanagement. We never really said you have to work from 8 to 5, Monday through Friday, but people have this feeling that is what is expected of them. But we’re interested in results and quality, not quantity. You can work from 8 to 5 or midnight to 6 a.m.