Taking Advantage of Every Second: The Rise of the Always-Connected Workforce
The workday might still begin at 8am, but not at the office for many people. At 8am, one might get online and read a few emails before dialing into morning conference calls. They might make it to the office by mid-morning and spend a few hours working before dashing to a meeting and finally home – where they will log several more working hours toggling between their laptop and mobile device.
Today’s modern workforce is radically different from that of the generation before us. In the past, executives made their daily commute to the office, logging in the traditional 9-5 workday and returning home for the evening. For the most part, critical business tasks were contained to “normal” business hours.
Today, the workday has adopted the attitude of “whenever I can get it done” and employees are no longer limited to the office. In fact, in 2012 according to the U.S. Labor Bureau of Statistics 23 percent of employed persons did all or some work at home. When you factor in employees with a college degree, that number jumps to 38 percent. The so-called white-collar workforce no longer needs to “clock-in” at the office to be productive.
The Rise of Work-Related Mobile Applications
Mobile devices are our constant companions and just like in any aspect in modern life, professionals need to be able to manage their work life while on the go. Sending and reading email, scheduling appointments and browsing important news from a smart phone optimizes the workday and allows employees to be more productive, faster in response times, and more informed about their industry. Smart phones are facilitating a workforce that can be efficient on a train, plane, bus or cab and that translates into an incredibly powerful and productive staff.
While the always-connected culture of modern business means that people can and will work from just about anywhere, there is one need that still always remain: effective time tracking. Now more than ever, professionals need ways to keep track of the time they spend working, and log everything that they do. For employers, having a geographically distributed workforce means that they effectively are conducting a 24-hour workday. This sounds great, but can lead to disorganization about who is working on what, and how much time are they spending on each project.
Only an effective method of monitoring time and human resources will give organizations a thorough overview that ensures that employees are working on the appropriate task for the optimal amount of time. Accurate time tracking also ensures labor law compliance and saves organizations millions of dollars by assuring that payroll is accurate and projects stay within budget.
Replacing the traditional time card with a smart phone application for tracking time means that employees can enter their time immediately. A contract employee can go on a business trip, and enter his hours worked while sitting at the airport. His manager can review that time, and have his paycheck processed by the time his plane touches down.
Work-related mobile applications must easy-to-use to start a cultural shift where employees don’t dread entering their time, and do it in a more efficient manner. When companies invest in this kind of tool, they are not only making it easy on their employees, but they are gathering more accurate information that cuts down on disorganization, employee deceit and uncaught human error that costs millions of dollars.
Employees will try to do everything via their smart phone; it’s up to organizations to provide the right applications to allow them to do that.
Original Source: http://insights.wired.com
