Achieving productivity for the mobile workforceCarried out by occupational psychology specialists at Pearn Kandola, the study addresses five regions including the Middle East and Africa, Central and Eastern Europe, Latin American and the Caribbean, Russia and CIS and Western Europe. According to the research, companies seeking to maximize the benefits of 'mobile working' need to rapidly manage the transition to a style of management that supports people of all kinds, makes the best of their talent and maintains their identification with the organization and its goals. Companies that do not recognize the importance of these changes are in danger of missing out on the benefits offered by mobile workers through the recruitment of inappropriate personalities, poor management skills and failure to provide adequate communications resources. Mismanagement in particular can have serious implications on the success of a mobile worker - with under and over communication both having a negative impact. A lack of regular communication can lead to increased levels of stress and feelings of isolation, whereas micromanagement can undermine trust. The study reveals that employers will therefore need to adapt their management style to foster inclusion and trust, as well as understand the mental and physical stresses of mobile workers. Managers will also need to emphasize on deliverables, rather than activities, discover where each individual's challenges lie, and provide coaching and support when appropriate. On the other hand, mobile workers need to understand where their strength lies so they can drive their own personal development. Analyst firm IDC has predicted that mobile workers will represent more than one quarter of the world's population by 2009. According to Sam Alkharrat, managing director of Cisco in the Gulf and Pakistan, this phenomenon is not limited to the traditional well-established countries, with the emerging markets demonstrating significant increases in their mobile working population. Alkharrat said: "In the Middle East and Africa, where mobile penetration exceeds fixed line penetration, there is a fertile environment for leapfrogging of legacy technologies and introducing mobile working practices. The evolution of broadband devices, technologies and services, as well as the growing number of mobile technologies supporting personal communication has further urged businesses to embrace mobile working policies. This study highlights the need for businesses to address a number of issues to maximize productivity of the 'mobile workforce' and mitigate associated risks. Organizations need to focus on developing skilled managers, recruiting the right candidates and providing resources and support through adopting processes, structures, and management practices that will optimize the benefits of mobile working," continued Alkharrat. The study has further revealed that managers need to give their mobile workers the same access to communication tools as office-based workers to avoid isolation and de-motivation as well as promote the mobile workers' visibility within the organization. According to the study, instant messages, presence tools, access to intranet and video conferencing technologies, build a mobile workers' sense of inclusion and reduce feelings of separation by giving them visibility and access to the team. Mobile devices with the facilities of desk phones can also simplify the mobile working experience. Stuart Duff, occupational psychologist at Pearn Kandola commented: "As the mobile working phenomenon continues to grow, organisations must ensure that they have suitable leadership in place to manage teams of mobile workers. Managers must not fall into the trap of treating mobile workers in the same way as office-based employees. They need to be effective communicators and relationship builders with an adaptive management style that they can tailor to the personalities within their team. Organisations must also ensure that the right tools and resources are made available to mobile workers, giving them the same connectivity as office-based workers." According to the research, when recruiting mobile workers, employers need to recognize the personalities and competencies of thriving individuals, mainly adaptability, resilience and openness to experiences. The study further showed that it is vital for managers to explore the forms of communication which best suit their team members. It could be as simple as giving mobile workers access to the corporate contact directory on their mobile phones or enabling them to participate in instant messaging sessions with their office-based colleagues. As an example, Cisco's Unified Communications, which brings together presence and preference information, with text, voice and video communication can have a significant impact on the effectiveness and success of a mobile workforce. Presence and preference services allow colleagues to see when people are online and what their preferred method of communication is. This enables them to contact each other more quickly, facilitating ad-hoc conversations that improve socialization and increase productivity. Al Kharrat added: "Delivering effective and secure mobility solutions and real-time collaboration require leadership in a wide variety of technologies - IP networking, wireless LANS, unified communications and of course the security capabilities to ensure control and compliance of any application across the network. Today, Cisco is not only the leader in IP networking, but also the leader in enterprise voice with a comprehensive Unified Communications system, the leader in wireless LAN solutions and in comprehensive network and device security. Cisco's mobility solutions are designed as an integral part of the network infrastructure. This approach ensures our solutions work smoothly, for a lower total cost of ownership, simpler deployment and improved data integrity and compliance," concluded Al Kharrat. According to the Cisco study, 50 per cent of mobile workers have revealed they expect their manager to be in contact with them at least once a week, with the majority expecting face-to-face contact no less than once a quarter. Mobile workers further appreciate frequent email updates, chat and text messages. The study further revealed that the work/life balance is perceived as a major challenge for this market as boundaries between home and work life are blurred when people get in contact at inappropriate times. Therefore, managers need to address these issues and encourage their mobile workers to work sensible hours and make time for relaxation. About Cisco Systems Cisco, Cisco Systems, and the Cisco Systems logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and certain other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company. This document is Cisco Public Information. |
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