4 Benefits of the Mobile Workforce
Digital transformation is changing the look of the traditional office space as we know it. The days of tan-colored cubicles and age-old desktop computers are long gone, replaced by a widely-distributed mobile workforce who is no longer bound to a single location for work.
Today an astounding 37% of the workforce works remotely, and that number is only going to continue to increase. But how does this transition to an army of mobile workers benefit companies and shareholders? And how do you provide your employees with a safe and seamless transition to their digital workspace while making sure they have access across all platforms and devices?
Mobile Workforce Benefits
1. Lower Cost: While you won’t be able to get rid of your office entirely, elevating your mobility to accommodate for a more mobile workforce can help you save money on rent and other office expenses like supplies, furniture, equipment, and even items like food or coffee.
And not to mention, a recent study by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) showed that American workers on average would be willing to accept an 8% pay decrease for the option to work wherever they please. It’s the best of both worlds; your employees enjoy more flexibility and your shareholders enjoy the bottom line improvement.
Just be sure that you’re enabling mobile workers by providing access to company resources while ensuring your data is kept safe and secure. Best practices include using two-factor authentication or requiring employees to create a virtual private network (VPN). Many organizations also leverage a secure app token system to allow employees to access everything they need with a one-touch mobile sign-in.
2. Increased Productivity: One of the best aspects of having mobile workers, and also one of the most surprising, is increased productivity. In a recent study conducted by the Harvard Business Review, mobile workers were found to be 13.5% more productive.
Their rationale for the increase in productivity is that when employees always work in the same space, there’s often a feeling that the team’s attention and time to work on a project is unlimited. But when teams work together from different locations, employees have to be more cognizant of the schedules and time zones of others, so the communication is often more efficient and to the point.
3. Better Communication: This may seem counterintuitive but actually, communicating with someone via phone, video, or some type of web chat is more efficient than doing so in person. How? Telecommunication removes the nuances of in-person interaction, allowing mobile employees to get right down to business, leading to less time wasted and a more productive employee.
The only trick to this is that for employees to communicate more efficiently you need to have some type of communication tool in place. And the type of tool you should utilize really just depends on what you need.
For shorter conversations or a simple status update, a web chat tool like Jabber or HipChat would be the most efficient means of communication. But since communication is often non-verbal, if you’re having a more in-depth discussion about a specific project or topic, using a communication tool with video like Skype or Cisco WebEx is much more ideal.
4. Happier Employees: The biggest benefit of today’s increased mobility is that on average, employees that are part of the mobile workforce are happier, more productive, and feel more appreciated for their work. And that isn’t surprising is it? That your employees would prefer an occasional extra hour of sleep over spending an hour in traffic?
Allowing your employees to be more mobile helps to create a balance between work life and home life, and also lets them know that you value what they do for your organization. While some may be slow to adapt to this trend, just remember that it is 2016 and that all most folks need to complete their work is the Internet!
So don’t be afraid of the digital transformation into a more mobile world: embrace mobility. Because if everything is executed properly, you’ll not only have employees that are happier, more productive, and that feel a greater sense of company loyalty, you’ll see a nice boost to your bottom line, too.
To learn more about how you can elevate your mobility game, contact us! We'd love to discuss how you can make guest access a valued resource, better utilize mobility in the workplace and even how to gather information on employee and customer consumption and utilization patterns with ease