Technology

Why the Frontline is the Best-Suited Workforce Category to Benefit From Mobility

Joe Boyle, CEO, TRUCE Software

Adoption of mobile workforce technology is booming. Look no further than news from Jamf (JAMF) that it closed out 2020 powering more than 20 million enterprise Apple devices around the world. That momentum comes as more industries - from healthcare to construction - are embracing the role mobile devices play in boosting worker productivity.

Many would assume it's the office-based knowledge workers who are the best suited workforce category to benefit from mobility. But much of that adoption is actually being led by the frontline.

IDC reports that frontline workers currently account for 57% of the workforce population in the U.S. It's long been the case that employees in industries that make up that population (like retail, transportation and manufacturing) have led the charge in embracing the benefits of mobile computing for better performance. I go into some level of detail about the evolution of devices at work and how mobile device usage came to be led by frontline workers in my previous Nasdaq article, How Mobile Devices Became a Key Enabler of Productivity For Today's Dynamic Workforce.

Why the frontline?

Frontline workers tend to have a greater variety of dynamics to their jobs than office-based employees. They may be moving throughout the day to different job sites or performing different tasks, and their mobile device that was safe to use in one location may not be in another. Employees need access to all of the functionality of their devices, but only at the right times. Companies, therefore, need a way to manage mobility for the "it depends" kind of work -- think: it depends on where the work is being done; it depends on what's going on around the employee at the time they are using the device; it depends on permissions that may be in place; it depends on work policies.

For the delivery driver, going to work can be picking up packages at a warehouse and then behind the wheel en route to drop-offs. For the retail employee, it can be behind a cash register at the checkout counter then in the back room stocking shelves. For a cable technician, it can be working on an installation in a customer's home and then outdoors installing service lines.

Not being at a desk doesn't mean these workers aren't taking cues from, or entering information into, a computer throughout each shift. It simply means they're not stationary and connected to a traditional desktop or laptop computer in many cases. But the need for that level of functionality is just the same, if not more, complex. And further, the permissions that guide their appropriate use of devices on the job must adapt as the worker's environment and mobile needs change during the shift, such as access to certain apps or content.

Work processes being pushed to mobile devices

New apps and processes are being recreated with workforce mobile usage at the forefront, transforming the way work is getting done. With this in mind, it's perhaps not all that surprising that IDC has indicated that U.S. companies have signaled their prioritization of investments in mobile-based management and security solutions. The group estimates the mobile worker population will grow from 78.5 million in 2020 to 93.5 million in 2024, so the focus becomes on how businesses can best enable this group to do their jobs at peak productivity, efficiency and safety.

The ubiquity of smartphones continues to influence the way frontline workers want to do their jobs, especially as the way we use our mobile devices personally influences how we want to use them at work. That includes things like using video chat for a service call, processing a credit card payment or updating and storing digital forms. With this, businesses are transforming workflow processes to be mobile friendly (if not mobile first) to make workers, and operations overall, more efficient. As mobile devices are replacing legacy workflows, those in frontline industries are benefiting tremendously from more advanced functionality, especially as businesses realize the benefits of allowing those advanced capabilities far exceed the downfalls.

Device functionality is best developed and implemented with the view that mobile phones and tablets aren't one-dimensional endpoints when it comes to their usage at work. Rather, they're productivity platforms that enable smarter work and more efficient operations across an enterprise. They have the potential to connect employees in the field so they can do everything that could be done in the office, down to accessing company email and client records when necessary for a job. The more we limit the functionality and permissions of mobile devices by frontline employees, the more we limit their ability to perform the full scope of a job.

Making mobility work, at work

For years, companies have either tried to overly control mobility in the workplace by relying on overarching policies to regulate behavior or deploying company-issued, single-use devices. Given the limitations of each, neither approach worked, especially as a shift began to take place where consumers became the drivers of IT innovation in the enterprise. The expectation became that the devices they used at work could offer the same functionality as the ones they used in their personal lives. Corporate-issued tools weren't cutting it. 

Truly advanced workforce mobility is achieved when the content and acceptable use of a device matches the employees' situation as it changes throughout their day. In order to meet those intricate mobile computing needs of a worker, the technology must be optimized equally to solve for the security of the company network and data, and provide the functionality workers need to flexibly do their jobs. Permissions must adjust dynamically based on where they are and how their movements change throughout a shift.

It is only when businesses adapt their mobile device policies to acknowledge the fact that workers are not static that advanced workforce mobility comes to life. We're seeing this really shine on the frontlines today where mobile policies and technology take into account who is using the device at a given time, where, when and what they are doing. I believe we're only scratching the surface for how mobile devices will continue to push the enterprise forward in delivering a new model for the modern workforce.

Joe Boyle is CEO of TRUCE Software, the first platform to offer a contextually-aware and responsive mobile management solution for businesses.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

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