Mobile Workforce Blog

Why employee mobility matters (more than ever)

Most companies are talking about the need for change based on external conditions, yet they are not changing fast enough to address gaps and capitalize on opportunities.  Investing in effective employee mobility programs can show a wonderful return.  It is also an investment in your most important asset – your employees.  Fifty-one percent of the workforce is mobile on any given day, which has increased 31% since just 2006.  Investments in mobile workforce programs have also continued to rise.  Your mobile workforce programs offer a great opportunity for change, from agility to optimal business support that gets people to the right place at the right time.  In a world of change, mobility matters in organizations more than ever.  How are you taking advantage of mobility to drive change? 

 

Greg Harper

President

Runzheimer International

 

Recent Findings for Employee Mobility Spending

With the background of a challenging economic and business year, Runzheimer International® entered our 5th year of conducting our annual survey on the mobile workforce with high interest.  What would the impact be on an area that has steadily shown continued investment and growth?

 

The answer shows an interesting twist.  This year’s Total Employee Mobility® Benchmark Report illuminated two key issues.  First, employee mobility investments continue to rise and it remains an incredibly important corporate program.  The twist is, that in a year of great economic pressure corporations have not taken the control needed over costs, measurements, and risks.  The report results illustrate examples where organizational gaps exist for these high value, high cost programs.

 

Especially in this economic environment but also to sustain long-term effectiveness, now is the time for organizations to build a focused strategy around mobile workforce programs.  That strategy should emphasize centralized management that is measured, tightly structured, and optimized to fully support employees. Is your organization prepared to adopt this approach?

 

Greg Harper, President, Runzheimer International

Employee Mobility and Social Networking

Employees are continuing to be more mobile and at the same time, employees are more connected than ever while being mobile. Technology is providing great opportunities for productivity gains through the use of laptops and convergence devices. Many airlines are re-introducing web access in flight. Wi-Fi access points are very easy to come by. Coverage from the major cellular carriers continues to increase in scope and strength. These are all great steps and help us all stay connected. There is also an increase in the use of social networking and the ease of use for many sites. The line between business and personal use of all of the sites has become even more blurry. There are great reasons to use many of the social networking sites for business purposes. At the same time, companies need to make sure that security of information and safety of employees is kept in mind. We all access the web to conduct business and the policies of organizations need to stay current with trends in business. There are some great resources out there to help address the policies you need in place related to social networking. You want to get the most from these sites to help your business and at the same time make sure value is being derived. How current is your company policy in regards to access to social networking sites and applications?

Greg Harper, President, Runzheimer International

Hotel Procurement and Benchmarking

Measuring ROI in the procurement world can be treacherous. The common benchmark used for measuring savings is the level of discount received. In a recent Runzheimer International survey of hotel procurement practices, organizations with preferred hotel programs were able to achieve discounts off of standard corporate rates that ranged from 10% to 20%. The challenge for many is knowing whether, after the discount is applied, they are paying a rate that is better than what they would have paid without having any hotel contracts in place to begin with.

Here is where being able to review geographically-sensitive hotel cost information is extremely beneficial. While savings can still be measured based upon discounts received as one method of judging hotel program performance, an alternative benchmark of hotel room night costs experienced by others in your top cities can be a powerful way to prove that procurement performance is truly superior.

In what ways are you validating that your travel procurement performance is where it needs to be?   

Greg Harper, President, Runzheimer International

More Inspection with More Expectations

We have all heard the saying inspect what you expect and there is a great deal of merit in this approach. In our businesses, expectations will continue to go up for everyone this is a given. As expectations continue to rise, the need for clarity will only become more important. The clearer the expectation the stronger likelihood of attaining the desired outcome. From an employee mobility perspective, this is especially true today. Expenses related to mobility are (or should be) scrutinized more than ever. As business leaders, this means we must continue to have access to the critical information required, set the expectation, inspect the outcomes and continue to make progress. We also need to know how our performance stacks up against best practices. I continue to be asked about the best way to optimize expenses related to mobility. The first step in that process is to truly know what your expenses are. This sounds simple, but it is amazing how many organizations struggle to have access to valuable information for a variety of reasons. There are a number of ways we can help in the data gathering process. Once the data is gathered, that is where the true work begins and you can then go about learning how you stack up. This means knowing what best practices are out there for controlling your spend without decreasing the effectiveness of your company or lowering satisfaction. This generally requires change and businesses are changing now more than ever. Many out of necessity and this will lead to great ideas and innovation. The key to this effective change is clarity about expectations and then having the ability to inspect the process and results. How well are you inspecting what you expect?

Greg Harper, President, Runzheimer International

Wireless Device Expense Management

Today organizations rely more than ever on wireless devices to stay connected in a global marketplace. According to several recent surveys of CIOs, managing wireless spending is one of their top five concerns today. Many organizations are struggling to rein in their wireless spending and acknowledge there is significant room for improvement and saving opportunities in managing this aspect of mobility.

A proliferation of new and improved mobile devices, changes in carrier coverage areas, plans and features, demands for integration with CRM and proprietary applications, and the growing number of employees who carry a mobile device have created an expense that most organizations have little time and core competencies to manage. This means that while the cost per minute of wireless service continues to decline, the cost per wireless user is increasing.

Organizations with multiple field office locations are frequently inundated with separate bills for each location and bills often lack the detail needed to evaluate them. They also struggle with trying to allocate and analyze wireless expenses to the appropriate work group and cost center. Wireless bills that are received in paper format are nearly impossible to perform automated audits to ensure that employees are following policy and that bills are accurate. Industry experts estimate that by choosing to automate, standardize and centrally manage all of their wireless spend organizations can realize at least 15% to 20% in annual savings.

The saying you cant manage what you dont measure is absolutely true with regard to mobile devices. Is your organization in position to take control of your mobile device and wireless expense management?

Greg Harper, President, Runzheimer International

Mobility and Leadership

I have been traveling a great deal lately with a good mix of flying, driving and public transportation. I have been on both coasts, Canada, and various other places in-between in the last 45 days. It has been great to have met with many different organizations to talk about employee mobility. This topic can have a profound impact on our businesses. I have seen those organizations that are truly embracing this time to change. They are challenging every aspect of their business operation. While many view this as a very trying time, there are a great number of organizations that are using their situation to innovate and find new ways to run their businesses. It has been great to see many organizations truly embrace changes to their approach to employee mobility. In the past few weeks, I have witnessed many great examples of firms that have looked at their situations and realized ways to improve employee effectiveness, reduce costs and increase their customer satisfaction as a result of changes to their relocation, vehicle, travel and telework strategies. How innovative is your firm these days when it comes to mobility programs?

Greg Harper, President, Runzheimer International

Agility in a Time of Cost Reduction

It seems lately that every day the business news continues to tell the same story. Lower than planned earnings, revised projections and job reductions serve as constant reminders of the challenging times. Many prognosticators also talk of a reversal being a long way off. More than ever, companies need to change what they do internally to keep up with changes in the marketplace. The ability to effectively bring about change in an organization is also a function of agility. The pace at which change happens in an organization can also be a significant competitive advantage. Companies need to make sure they get the right employee, in the right place, at the right time to do the right thing for the customer in order to sustain and grow the business. We hear a lot about cost reduction programs (decreased travel spend, reduced relocations, less driving, etc) in the area of mobility. It is also very important to make sure these reductions are done in a way to improve overall agility. It is quite possible to improve agility and lower costs - both can be good outcomes and one does not have to come at the expense of the other. We all continue to demand the same or better service levels in these trying times. As your organization potentially considers cost reduction programs, are you also making sure you are improving your agility?

Greg Harper, President, Runzheimer International

Mobility and the Economy

There is no question the current economic conditions are forcing all of us to take a fresh look at things. It is also a great opportunity to truly affect change within a company. Many companies are facing pressures unlike they have experienced in almost a generation. From these pressures comes the opportunity to innovate and do things differently. Never has this been truer than in the area of employee mobility. This is the perfect time to evaluate and make effective change in your organization for all aspects of mobility. Effective changes to mobility management can bring about cost savings, increased employee effectiveness and communication, and great agility to serve your clients. The cost of not changing is staggering and can have an extremely detrimental impact on a business. Has your organization taken the opportunity to review all aspects of your mobility programs?

Greg Harper, President, Runzheimer International

Increases in Virtual Workers

We continue to receive many questions and inquiries related to how organizations should really address their virtual worker programs. One of our recent surveys indicated that only half of participant companies actually have a formal policy in place. Very few organizations truly had a handle on the overall costs for a virtual worker. In many cases, the costs would actually be less than a traditional office. However, the old adage you cannot improve what you do not measure still holds true. When asked what to do, our insight is very simpleunderstand your current costs. Then go about looking at ways to affect this and also see an increase in productivity and employee satisfaction. The trend is not going away any time soon and most organizations truly need to understand this topic far better than they do today. How prepared is your organization for the continued trend of virtual work? 

Greg Harper, President, Runzheimer International