Cetrom in CIO: 19 Ways to Stay Ahead of the Needs of the Modern Mobile Workforce

This article originially appeared at CIO.com here. By David Spark, CIO, February 26, 2015

Our work lives have evolved. We're no longer fixed in time and place. In fact, according to Forrester, one-third of all employees are considered "anywhere/anytime workers." "Today, a 'modern' workforce often equates to a 'mobile' workforce," said Steven Luong (@StevenTLuong), senior product manager at CommVault. Even though we accept and often embrace the modern mobile workforce, many companies have not really sat down and thought about the needs of their employees and how they can capitalize on what is now a rather unique opportunity. This is where IT can play a strategic role. "With technology adoption and supporting processes being typically slower in the enterprise, IT must work with their line of business owner peers to implement a company-wide mobile strategy," advised Steve French (@SteveCFrench), global vice president, product management & marketing of Amdocs' OpenMarket division. How will your IT department meet these growing needs of your modern mobile workforce? Here are 19 tips to get you started. ...

7: Maintain person-to-person communications

"Because our modern, virtual staff isn't located in the same place, it is vital to preserve person-to-person communication to maintain high morale within the company and ensure clear focus on achieving goals," said Christopher Stark (@cetrom), CEO and president for Cetrom Information Technology, who believes management should have regular phone conferences with staff to maintain personal contact and better understand the status of various workloads. "Mobile and other distributed teams need to find ways to remain connected with each other and their work. One of the most successful ways to do this is through real time communication - both online and through video - so employees feel like they are constantly part of something bigger," said Natalie Lambert (@nflambert), senior director, integrated product marketing at Citrix. Andrew Storms (@st0rmz), vice president of security services at New Context, highly recommends investing in an enterprise social network for fast paced one-on-one and one-to-many communications. "DevOps teams, for example, usually require these kinds of chat and messaging systems to be effective in their fast paced world," said Storms. ...

Conclusion: Managing the modern mobile workforce requires taking some risks

There's no doubt that mobile access has disrupted the physical, communications, and operations structure of work. The days of demands and control over what employees can and can't do are long over. The new model requires offering choices, accessibility, and simplicity, with an overall ability to manage usage. "Companies have to be willing to experiment and take risks not only with new technologies and strategies, but with how they manage their workforce," said Rob Bellenfant (@Technology_Adv), CEO for TechnologyAdvice. "It's important for managers to play a leading role in creating and tracking goals, but it's just as important for them to allow their team members some freedom in how they achieve them." By providing structure and choice, business and IT can work together to empower their workforce while also meeting the needs for business and security. (Read more on the full article PDF : 2015-02-26 CIO)