According to Roy Morgan, 2.2 million Australians, or 11 per cent of the population, travelled by air for business purposes in 2017. Experienced business travellers are hyper-connected and smart users of technology that helps make them more efficient. They have figured out that four walls and a desk are no longer the most productive way to work.
Companies from all sectors need to see this evolution as an opportunity rather than a constraint. They need to remain agile and adopt modern ways of working to enable mobile productivity—and this starts with adopting the right technology.
As technology has evolved to be more reliable, secure and portable than ever, there are now many industries in which it doesn’t matter whether employees work at the office, at home or on the move. They just need to be connected. But business travellers have become so reliant on technology that the impact of any failures or downtime has increased.
As a result, fostering a corporate mobile lifestyle is no longer about giving employees the right technology and letting them get on with it. Building a true mobile business lifestyle, and turning it into a business advantage, needs to be approached in a much more strategic manner. Here are three tips for doing just that.
1. Ensure mobile technology is protected
As we become more mobile, the risk associated with the potential of damaging mobile devices is higher, which keeps CIOs, IT managers and purchasing managers awake at night.
Kitting out employees with accessories that secure and protect technology, such as laptop cases or screen protectors, is crucial to ensure they can do their job whether in the office or on the move.
Companies can easily work out how much they spend on mobile technology and on replacing it (such as damaged mobile devices) and calculate how much they could save if all employee mobile devices were better protected.
2. Don’t let your employees down
How often have we found ourselves out of battery when we need to respond to an important email while on the move? This is more than an inconvenience: it costs companies significant amounts of money since workers can’t be productive when they’re not connected. Communications failures can also damage a company’s reputation with key customers and partner organisations.
Companies need to equip their mobile workers with reliable chargers or power packs to ensure they are reachable at any time and can continue to work productively while travelling by plane, train, car or public transport, or just in a café. In the office, we take power for granted, with a socket at every desk; we need the same mindset for business travel, with a mobile power pack or charger in every pocket. I personally use a Mophie juice pack which is thin enough to not feel cumbersome, while still giving me an extra full charge.
3. Turn your business into a mobile working environment
It’s become commonplace for companies to have more employees than workstations. This allows businesses to save office costs while some employees work remotely.
As such, the use of mobile accessories such as mobile keyboards compatible with smartphones, tablets and most smart TVs, is a good way to offer that flexibility in the office. The benefits of this approach include greater collaboration and teamwork as employees move more freely around the office, rather than being tied to the same desk in the same part of the office. This can also help to deliver other benefits such as higher satisfaction and motivation.
Employees have come to expect the same connected experiences they enjoy outside of work while on the clock. Many businesses may shy away from these three tips due to the capital expenditure, but investing in mobile technology will in fact increase efficiency and productivity. With this type of thinking, businesses can reap the benefits of mobility, including effective use of time during business travel, to gain a competitive edge.
