| Mobile workforces exist in every industry today. In fact, more than 50 million U.S. workers are considered mobile because they spend more than 20 percent of their time away from their primary workspace. Your company can go mobile without compromising operations consistency and control, or buying a lot of expensive equipment. The right mobile workforce strategy can bring strong returns on investment by giving employees the information they need when they need it, and enabling just-in-time decisions. For many companies, now is the right time to invest in a mobile workforce. |
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Mobile workforce ROI potential |
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| Research indicates there are three key areas in which a business can expect a return on their investment in a mobile workforce: increased revenue, decreased costs and improved services. |
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| Source: "Notebook Computers Go Truly Mobile at the Intersection of 3G and IT," Eugene Signorini, www.yankeegroup.com, February 2007. |
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| With a mobile solution, employees can leverage real-time information and software to make smart decisions and process requests faster. This ability translates to improvements in productivity because employees can use the extra time to create more business opportunities. In addition, improvements in mobile technology have been shown to decrease costs by reducing workflow volumes and streamlining business processes. |
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Customers, too, now expect the instant service and immediate access to information that a mobile solution can provide. In addition, satisfied customers will buy more—and more often—from companies that best meet their needs. |
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Understand the mobile office |
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| When employees go mobile, managers are sometimes skeptical. Will employees really do the work they are expected to do? Will they be responsive to customers and management? |
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| There is no such thing as a typical mobile worker; mobile workforce needs vary from industry to industry and job to job. However, for the most part, a mobile worker isn't confined to four walls and a desk—he or she is on the go, serving customers and driving sales whenever and wherever opportunities surface. |
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| Whatever the role a mobile workforce plays in your company, there is one thing every mobile office requires: access to critical business information 24/7. Simple e-mail solutions are not enough; today's mobile workers need the ability to seamlessly connect to company databases and applications whether they are on the road or visiting the office for the day. |
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Manage the work, not the people |
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| In any mobile workforce, it's critical that the work take priority. If a salesperson's job is to sell, you want sales to happen whenever possible. That might mean a sale occurs at 8 p.m. instead of during the course of a standard 9 to 5 work day. |
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| Consequently, allowing mobile workers a high level of autonomy is critical to mobile workforce success. With the right mobile strategy, you and your employees can spend more time managing and expanding business opportunities and less time worrying about face-to-face employee/management contact. |
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| Next, in the Plan It section, you'll learn the steps required before launching your mobile workforce program. |
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