Diana Salazar
Xiomara Posada
Katheryne Arias Montenegro
Universidad Externado de Colombia
Gustavo A Yepes López
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"We are a social enterprise, we are a company with social impact supported by technology base, we use tools such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, algorithms and cloud computing and everything else, but really believes we are not a company of technology. We are a social enterprise because what we are looking for is the well-being of people and societies. so if you ask me, did you change the [business] model?, We change is the way of thinking, we stop thinking about how to be the world's best [to think about] how to become the best for the world and that of being for the world completely changes the concept of what a company is, what a society is and what a model is. We are a company that is for society." (Juan Esteban Rincon, 2018)
A little more than two years ago, Juan Esteban Rincón created the LikeU company, which is a company that provides services to other companies to manage their clients' communications, often these services are called contact centers. The novelty of LikeU is that this service is provided through a platform to which their employees can connect from their home, in a form of telework, in addition the employees work from four to six hours maximum and obtain an income from a work of time full. Taking into account that 86% of LikeU employees are women, this company offers the possibility to its employees to accompany their children in their growth, which is reflected in the improvement of school rates, health and nutrition of the children; as well as in the reduction of risks that children are exposed due to lack of attention and care. This company allows families to transform and improve the quality of life, thereby contributing to a healthy society and a better world. In turn, the teleworking mode reduces the impact on the environment of this type of industry by 65%. For all the above, we believe that LikeU contributes to the fulfillment of the following of sustainable development goals: Health and wellbeing, gender equity, decent work and economic growth, reduction of inequalities, sustainable cities and communities and responsible production and consumption.
"Originally the idea arises because Colombia is a country with many opportunities and with a huge debt [with] women, the fifth of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations is the issue of gender equity, and not for nothing, the issue of gender equity is an issue that affects both the developing countries and [the] developed countries, we are seeing that the same opportunities in education do not exist yet, the same job opportunities do not exist, the same ones do not exist equivalent income between men and women and that this is half of the population, that when we are talking about a woman we are talking about the mother, the sister, the wife, the daughter, which finally must be issues that should affect us to all." (Juan Esteban Rincon, 2018).
"LikeU is not only generating employment, LikeU works on four verticals, a vertical is the decrease in jobs between men and women, so that more women actually have access to that job, other that the income generated by that job is more worthy, ... we also work in two other fundamental areas and that is how we are changing family dynamics, what is happening when an empowered woman, a woman who understands gender equity, when a woman who is acquiring digital skills stays at home, is staying with their children and how the dynamics of those children change, how education changes, how food changes and how social risks decrease. One last point that I feel very proud of is that digitization of women, when women are no longer afraid of studying on a computer, we already have several women doing their undergraduate degrees, including postgraduate studies already online." (Juan Esteban Rincón, 2018).
Regarding the figures of economic growth that LikeU has had, Juan Esteban Rincón, CEO of Like, mentions the following: "Last year it was very easy to exceed the figure [projected of income] and now when we start 2018 in the month of March and we had sold everything we had sold last year and in October of this year we had sold twice what we had sold last year."
According to the above, LikeU is a company that has an accelerated growth partly because it provides a different service to its competitors for using state-of-the-art technology in its operation; LikeU is able to provide services from anywhere in the world, "just a click away and in real time" (https://likeu.co/). In addition to the above, Juan Esteban mentions that: "[Likeu has] a higher common purpose and when customers understand that we are doing things very well and we are also generating impact, they find it wonderful."
Said accelerated growth is due to several aspects, such as:
1. LikeU does not require investment in large facilities to support the operation of the company.
2. As part of the LikeU innovation, it contracts a high percentage of female heads of household, without generating discrimination; on the contrary, it promotes gender equity and a positive impact on society, which favors obtaining contracts and clients, as well as as its economic growth.
3. LikeU acts as an intermediary between the client companies and the workforce that provides the service, thus ensuring income.
4. Due to the use of state-of-the-art technology, LikeU has the facility to hire a workforce worldwide. Situation that helps exponential growth in coverage and customer acquisition.
5. Employees are happier and more committed to the company, positively impacting LikeU's image and reputation. Therefore, its participation in the market is increasing.
The social and environmental benefit that LikeU provides is to avoid the use of mass transportation in cities, in the same way it is digitizing the people who are part of its work team, indirectly giving an example to the children of these people to be encouraged to study, because there are many ways to educate.
"Because we believe that by focusing our efforts on people we can positively impact companies.
- 65% less carbon footprint, telework and without infrastructure
- 33 hectares of forest saved, thanks to the fact that people do not have to be transported in their vehicle, or on public transport to go to work places,
- 114% days saved in transportation on average 19 working days per year by people more than holidays "(https://likeu.co/)
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"LikeU is a platform of collaborative model that supports women so that from their homes they can work part time, so that they can work four to a maximum of five hours and that with that part time job they can earn the income equivalent to full time job to work from their homes and thus reduce the unemployment gap and income inequality that women in Latin America have especially in Colombia and Mexico." So says Juan Esteban Rincón, CEO of Likeu when he explains with great pride the positive impact that is generated in women, societies and communities, by providing the opportunity for them to provide services to companies through technological means without leaving home."
"Normally, women from the base of the pyramid, strata 2 or 3, work with us" Juan Esteban Rincón highlights when asked about the profile of the people who work at LikeU.
As part of the bet, LikeU manages clients of large companies in Colombia, even in other countries, providing BPO or Contact Center services in telework mode.
