Road-Warriors

Airports, coffee shops, hotels and trains have become extensions

of the office. We are quickly morphing into a mobile workforce but can we manage

mobility?

In today's business environment, staying connected is

essential. As mobilization becomes more mainstreame, the impact on organizations

and the work life of employees continues to evolve. For example, implementing a

mobility strategy among field and sales personnel can change the entire dynamics

of this segment of the workforce. With instant information suddenly available at

their fingertips while on the go, they no longer need to return to the office to

look for information or log an item.

However, it is not just the "road warriors" and field

employees who benefit from mobility. In fact, it is important for senior

managers to recognize and address the growing hidden mobile workforce-employees

who aren't in the field but spend considerable time away from their desks, and

use mobile phones to do their jobs. A global survey by Simpson Carpenter showed

that business decision makers estimated that 24% of their employees use mobile

phones for work, while more than 50% of their employees actually claimed to be

doing so.

New Paradigm



Accounting for user perspectives in early planning stages is an excellent
way to garner support, ensure better adoption and increase overall success for

any mobility initiative. One of the best methods is to initiate activities that

investigate and document workers' daily routines, work styles, typical work

environments, information access needs, productivity barriers, and device

constraints. Mobility expands what has traditionally been referred to as the

workplace because it divorces location from information access. This change is

creating a new paradigm where people can work practically, anywhere.

The secret lies in recognizing and supporting emerging work

practices, through providing places for collaborative and individual work, in

the office and beyond. Combining the choice of place with available technology,

mobile work policies, and team dynamics that embrace a "work anywhere"

culture, will let you begin to truly support the new mobile work paradigm.

Mobile workers will also find ways to use the tools and

technologies for their personal benefit. One can help clarify how these new work

practices will benefit the organization by adapting and evolving management

styles and performance measurement, developing a sense of trust between the boss

and subordinate in a virtual situation and identifying the best candidates for

mobile positions.

One also need to consider the change in team dynamics as

traditional teams move to mobile work patterns. What are the options for

maintaining the communication that typically happen in hallways and around the

coffee machine? How do you avoid de-motivating people who feel they could work

in a mobile way but do not have that option?

Striking a Work-life Balance



As mobile workers begin to work where and when it is convenient, it becomes
important to set expectations for what is an acceptable work day and the

parameters to avoid intruding on your workers' personal lives. How do you get

the balance right?

• Be smart about email: Increasingly, US organizations are
  
  adopting "No Email Fridays", where no one, in the company is
  
  allowed to send Internal emails. Instead, they pick up the phone or walk
  
  around in their office to talk. Managers find that meeting and talking to
  
  each other face-to-face helps solve problems and boosts morale

• Use downtime to speed up: For example, a working mother may
  
  have to pick up her child several times a week, so conference calls can be
  
  scheduled at those timings

• Take your family along: For frequent travelers, they may
  
  spend more time on planes than at home. With a camera phone, they can have
  
  dozens of pictures of their family and children everywhere they go and enjoy
  
  richer communication through pictures sent through the phone

• Don't be afraid to pull the plug: Use technology to help
  
  you and your team. Block off fixed regular periods for uninterrupted work
  
  when the phones will be off and use a helpful voice mail to redirect callers

Embedding mobility into the fabric of an organization involves

changes in the definitions of and relationships between work, worker, and

workplace. The more one understand mobility, the better one will be able to

anticipate and plan for its effects.

Chakrapani GK, country

GM, Nokia Enterprise Solutions





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