Key takeaways:
- Contextual Mobility Management (CMM) software is sometimes misunderstood as a monitoring tool, so employees may be hesitant to embrace it
- There are a number of benefits CMM offers that simply need to be communicated to employees
- The keys to convincing employees to embrace CMM are education, incentives and choice
One of the best investments an organization can make to ensure the safety and productivity of its employees is a well-considered mobile device policy combined with dynamic contextual mobility management software (CMM). By managing which mobile apps and functions are available in specific work zones and situations, CMM removes the guesswork from policy enforcement while helping to reduce distractions and boost productivity.
Because CMM software is sometimes misunderstood as a monitoring tool, employees may be suspicious of the technology and hesitant to embrace it. But there are a number of benefits contextual mobility management software offers that simply need to be shared with employees.
Here are four reasons for front-line workers to embrace CMM Software:
Better Focus
We’ve all been there before: During an idle moment at work, you glance down at your phone to make sure you haven’t missed an important call or text. Before you know it, you’re down the rabbit hole – social media, an online shopping bid, a quick word game – and 10 minutes have passed. Is it the end of the world? Maybe not. But an employee can’t get that time back, and the distraction may have caused them to overlook or delay an important task.
CMM essentially clears the clutter from an employee’s device (and mind), allowing them to stay focused on the job at hand. Feedback from TRUCE customers about CMM routinely notes that workers who were initially resistant to the software soon forget that it’s there. Employees are more efficient and productive as a result, and they’ll likely be grateful for the improved focus when it comes time for promotions and raises.
More importantly, focus impacts employee wellness. Constantly switching tasks leaves a mental “residue” of former tasks on to the next set of tasks and fractures our attention, even to the point of permanently reducing our ability to concentrate. Working on limited tasks, without switching, leads to higher quality work (and arguably a sense of pride in our work because of a job well done).
Personal Safety
Personal safety is one of the most compelling reasons for employees to support CMM. At its core, CMM exists to bring employees home safely to their loved ones each day and demonstrates a company’s commitment to their employees’ wellbeing.
Contextual Mobility Management Software helps proactively address safety rather than leaving it to chance. Drivers’ self-preservation instinct may help reduce some on-road dangers, but it’s impossible for an individual to account for endless, ever-changing scenarios.
In fact, one reason companies that employ drivers often use in-cab cameras is to provide workers and the organization with an extra layer of protection, theoretically ensuring that drivers avoid impulses that could create safety risks. But in-cab monitoring isn’t a safety cure-all. Dash cams can lead to worker mistrust and dissatisfaction, and not only are they not preventative, the records they keep can cut both ways for a business.
Contextual mobility management, on the other hand, ensures the enforcement of policy that is carefully designed to protect everyone in a given work environment. It’s an active safety measure. By situationally enabling and disabling specific apps and functions, CMM prevents even the possibility of certain hazardous distractions.
Equal Management
When mobile device policies are left for managers to establish and enforce, those policies may fall short. It takes input from all departments and every level of an organization to build fair and effective policy. There may also be interdepartmental inconsistencies or conflicts if policy isn’t comprehensive and applied appropriately across a company.
And because managers are human (and typically have many other responsibilities), their enforcement of policy may be inconsistent from employee to employee. This could lead to some workers feeling resentful for being singled out, while convincing others that they won’t be held accountable for breaking a company’s mobile device policy.
CMM handles all of these issues – and takes it a step further. A transient enforcement tool, engaged only when needed, it allows employees contextual access to their devices and apps, compared to other tools that are always on or off (cameras, app blockers, etc.). By automatically and intuitively managing device access based on programmed policy, CMM takes the responsibility of enforcement off a manager’s shoulders and ensures equal and fair treatment of employees.
Workplace Culture
Employees may think of CMM software as restrictive tech designed to respond only to the needs of the company, perhaps at the expense of a worker’s independence. That’s why it’s important to help employees understand all the capabilities of CMM, including how it benefits workers. Most employees, for instance, would almost certainly welcome never again having to answer, or even be bothered by, company-specific apps, emails or notifications during their time off. CMM has that capability.
Suggestions for persuading employees to embrace CMM:
- Education: Explain what CMM is, what it isn’t and why it has been implemented. Highlight and promote the tech’s benefits to employees.
- Incentives: Reward employees for deploying the app and using it through a contest or recognition program. A contingency management approach can help change habits and mindsets quickly.
- Choice: Give employees options. But if they elect not to use CMM, there must be an iron-clad agreement on policy (e.g., no mobile devices in designated work zones) and significant repercussions for violations.
Humans are creatures of habit. We take comfort in routine. So employees are naturally resistant to change in the workplace. But a transparent mobile device policy, dynamic Contextual Mobility Management software and clear communication about how each will benefit both company and worker are the best formula to earn buy-in from your workforce.