Mobile connectivity will power the emerging mobile workforce

As the external hard drive is giving way to the cloud and the traditional desktop is being replaced by cellular devices, expect the deskbound, cubicle-tied work team to evolve into a more tech-savvy, mobile workforce. This emerging adrenaline-fuelled, performance-driven type of employee can get the job done and meet their target regardless of location or workspace being used.

Managers and executives with foresight are not fighting this trend, but are actually encouraging its evolution to provide maximum value for the company. And, not surprisingly, mobile connectivity is among the resources they are utilising to develop even further the potentials of their mobile workforce.

First of all, the numbers cannot be ignored. According to Telecom Lead, the number of employees worldwide who worked through their cellular devices, unfettered by office location, reached 1.3 billion last year, and will rise to 1.64 billion by 2020. The American mobile workforce numbered 50 million during that same time, and in effect composed 38.46 percent of the global mobile workforce in 2015. The trend will not slow down and will become the new norm.

Second, a younger generation of employees, whose first-hand experience in seeing how the Internet changed the world has made them more socially conscious, prefers a more flexible work environment that honours work-life balance. RIS reports that these Millennials are more productive precisely when they are more mobile. Old-school management demands that they endure traffic gridlock and report to the office just to file a report, or attend a non-critical meeting, can actually kill their creativity and dampen their initiative. With mobile devices that can shoot off documents and spreadsheets, those old rules are simply regarded as time-wasters at best or signs of distrust at the worst.

In its advice to senior managers how to develop their own mobile workforce, Forbes recommends creating strategies that will broaden their horizons, such as studying the international market. Another is provide resources that will make their jobs easier, such as temporary corporate housing for those who are travelling.

No more excuses for no connection

One non-negotiable piece of infrastructure, however, is constant connectivity. A mobile workforce, no matter how talented, simply cannot function if their mobile devices shut down because of low batteries or poor cell signals. Nothing can be more disruptive to an energetic team who wants to win than the failure of receiving important documents, or not understanding the valid points in an online conference meeting, simply because the nearest cell structure that can provide powerful internet strength is hundreds of miles away.

Power banks had been invented to keep smartphones from shutting down in the middle of operations. Major institutions like airports and hotels invest in Wi-Fi structures to eliminate dead spots in their area, which would have riled conference-attending executives who need constant communication with all their international offices. One disruptive piece of technology that has been hailed for overcoming all these barriers is the 5BARz network extender, a portable plug-and-play device no larger than a person’s hand, that can boost cell signals of all cell devices within a 4,000-metre radius. The network extender has gained huge traction in the U.S., Latin America, and India, since it has proven to be effective even in remote areas, mountainous resorts, or rural towns with inadequate internet infrastructure.

“Connectivity has to be constant, especially in light of the new mobile workforce,” said Gil Amelio, president of 5BARZ International Inc. (OTCQB: BARZ) . “Internet presence, speed and functionality are no longer options, but are as essential to our work life as our credit cards, smartphones and vehicles. Global communication between head offices and workers based in other countries is becoming a norm. Social media images taken of executives giving presentations in conferences and regional meetings are increasingly being required by the company’s marketing arm. Critical files that can determine a major corporate decision can be sent even while the manager owning them is still in transit.”

Aside from ensuring the transmission of data, constant connectivity also helps ensure that the creativity of individual team members and their overall functioning as a group remain high. Amelio elaborated, “New office software empowers employees who have to collaborate and yet are based in different states or countries. They keep the exchange of ideas flowing, track schedules, and keep all team members on the same page. The work gets done without a lot of back-and-forth. Everyone knows what everyone else is doing. A lot of these new software is based in the cloud, and connectivity through devices like the network extender makes them accessible and functioning.”

John Orr, SVP Retail of Ceridian HCM, would concur. He writes in RIS, “ Today, the biggest opportunity for mobile is in the workforce applications of it. Consider it an investment in the lifeblood of your organization. Productivity will improve and profitability will increase, as many independent studies by Gallup and PwC have shown.”