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In today’s digital world, it should be ‘business as usual’ when city dwellers are faced with transport turmoil. With every strike comes lots of advice on how to travel across the capital, but sadly it doesn’t stop the disruption as employees arrive late and try to head off early.
As businesses count their losses, the question remains: why don’t more employers look to mobile collaboration, instead of the traditional desk-based environment?
Historically, many employers have held doubts about mobile working due to suspicions that it reduces productivity. However this outdated viewpoint does not account for the large number of Millennials in the work place who bring with them an ‘always on’ attitude, directly the status-quo of the traditional office environment. This pattern of working illustrates that productivity can happen anywhere, at any time.
A recent survey by join.me revealed 52 per cent of under-35s hold external meetings online, rather than sitting around a table. Many of these meetings are ad-hoc and require little planning. This style of working can be expected to increase, as more and more Millennials enter the workplace. We’ll see a noticeable shift to a more collaborative and mobile work environment.
Employees today are already highly mobile and consumerised in their own lives, and expect the same standard of reliant and responsive technology in the workplace to allow them to perform their roles as seamlessly as possible. This includes flexible collaboration with all colleagues, both locally and across time zones.
The tube strike should provide employers with food for thought on whether or not their business is ready for mobile collaboration. As a starting point, here are some tips to help businesses on their way:
– Businesses must implement technologies that enable fast and reliable on-the-go work, as well as mobile meetings.
– Choose platforms which integrate with each other to provide seamless work experience which is easy to use.
– These platforms should be optimised for most smart devices – including future proofing for ones which haven’t been invented yet.
– Think beyond the regular office space to accommodate flexible schedules. Any space with WiFi is a potential work location.
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