Are You Prepared for Increased Workforce Mobility?
According to a new whitepaper from analysts IDC, 75% of Western Europe’s workforce will be mobile by 2018. As technology advances, the way we work is changing and those that want to maintain and increase productivity in this changing environment will increasingly need the ability to access and process information quickly, securely and on the go. In this article, we ask: are you prepared for increased workforce mobility?
There are several factors driving the trend towards increased workforce mobility in the UK. Since the 30th June 2014, most employees with a minimum of 26 weeks’ service are entitled by law to request flexible working conditions from their employer, such as the ability to work from home some or all of the time. This legislation fits in quite nicely with the growing trend within business, whereby remote workers tend to be perceived as more efficient, productive and creative. But, perhaps, the biggest driving force behind the growing trend towards greater mobility is the rapid pace of technological advancement and the increasingly mobile-orientated direction in which it’s heading.
Being prepared for increased workforce mobility, therefore, is largely a matter of having the right technology in place. A mobile workforce is likely to be constituted by remote workers, field workers and those that divide their time between the office, the field and home. Globalisation has also meant that even smaller businesses, these days, have employees, clients and associates located in various countries oversees, all of which need to be incorporated into the communication network.
Most businesses have already embraced the basics of mobile technology already, with at least a few team members using mobile phones for business purposes. Whilst mobile devices are, undoubtedly, a great place to start if you want to embrace working mobility, they must be seen as part of the solution, as opposed to the whole. For your mobile workforce to function at optimum efficiency, a comprehensive IT and communications infrastructure is a necessity. You need technology that unifies your IT and communications platforms and integrates all of your team members into the network.
This can be achieved easily, these days, with Unified Communications (UC) and cloud-based technology such as VoIP phone systems. VoIP, for example, is ideal for companies operating across multiple sites and locations. With the benefit of a mobile app, users can connect to their company’s phone system to make and receive business calls, anywhere in the world, on the same number. Since VoIP transfers telephony to the internet, it removes the significance of location, which gives the added benefit of reducing the cost of long distance calls. UC solutions bring together all of the important business communications and IT applications, across multiple devices, to streamline working processes and enhance efficiency. These technologies can really help to keep a dispersed workforce connected and boost productivity.
One of the great things about these technologies is that they’re scalable, which also means that they needn’t cost the earth to implement initially. Often, they are available on a pay-per-user basis and can be almost instantly expanded to accommodate new users, as and when required.
Even those that can’t see their business heading towards increased mobility in the near future can still benefit from considering the technologies that facilitate this trend. We live in an age where digitisation and decentralisation are driving competition in business and this looks set to continue for the foreseeable future. If you want your business to succeed, there will likely come a point where you need to consider changing the way your company operates, to incorporate greater working mobility.
If you would like more advice about increasing your workforce mobility, please feel free to contact us online or give us a call on 0800 849 8585.