The B2B mobile shift and enterprise mobility solutions are enabling both flexibility and process standardization. These benefits also mean that there is no longer a defined start and end time to the typical workday. Heck, the idea of a typical workday is anything but typical. “The punch in, punch out work environment is nearly obsolete,” says virtual service provider Intelligent Office. Our culture’s shift toward mobility is effecting office life and creating an increase of employee demands. Since the emergence of smartphones, users have been optimizing available features to facilitate getting their work done outside of the office. This all goes to feeding a more on-the-go style towards productivity. This mobile shift is changing workplace culture, whether you recognize it or not.
The shift is already happening. Mobility is not only B2C in nature, it is quickly becoming the new frontier on the B2B front. Employees are the new end-users of choice and companies must look towards rolling out mobile solutions that enable process execution and give their employees the flexibility they require. Regardless of what is driving your company’s enterprise mobility strategy, the time to get started is now. With every minute that you are stalled in a state of indecision, you risk losing traction for what should be – a transformational strategy.
Think about it; most data used in the workplace can be synced or accessed on your mobile device. The next step is to elevate the quality of data available to employees while ensuring access security. Tools and technology are useless if they don’t enable things that were not previously possible. Of course there is a trade off, and whether you see it as a blessing or a curse, one could make the argument that people never truly leave the office when everything we need to do our job, is in our pockets. According to Intelligent Office’s study, more than 61% of employees desire more flexible work hours than traditional schedules, and almost 75% are already partially working from home.
BYOD policies and greater workplace flexibility are becoming more and more of a must have for job seekers. Supervisors are seeing grand adjustments being made around the definition of a “remote employee” and what new team members are looking for in terms of overall independence. Some companies, like Yahoo, have instituted a “no work from home policy” in which employees run the risk of being terminated if failing to come into the office. Recently suffering from employee productivity issues, many companies similar to Yahoo argue that staff efficiency and quality of work are compromised when working from home. They believe that some of the best business decisions are made in impromptu settings, or during brief coffee talks.
Whether you see it as positive or negative, the mobile shirt is happening. It’s up to you to maximize on its benefits and leverage it towards innovation.
Where do you see office culture heading in terms of increased employee flexibility?
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