Mobile Office?

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We've talked a few time about working in a mobile environment. Some people love it while others aren't as excited... regardless, being able to work in a mobile environment has become a necessity for many companies. While I could talk about how this is a great benefit for team members or how it makes a company more agile and efficient, I won't. Instead I'm writing about a couple of tips that can help in creating a mobile work environment. 

So what's needed? While I won't try to cover every possible scenario, I will go over a couple of ideas that can make this transition a little easier. At the end of the day, whether an idea is adopted often comes down to whether or not it was easy and convenient to adopt and/or how user friendly it was.

What to think about:

  • Choose the correct device for the environment. Do you need a tablet or just a phone? Depending on what you're trying to accomplish, a larger phone like the iPhone 8 Plus or X could be more than enough screen. On the other hand, if you're trying to do design work or need to have a large amount of information on one screen, then a tablet may be better suited.
  • Get the appropriate apps. Having the right apps could be the difference between this working and being completely abandoned. What needs to be considered is how to handle email, contacts (i.e. CRM), remote access to the internal server, expenses, etc. Some of the pre-installed apps may be fine to a degree, but spending a few dollars may be worth it. Many people who use Outlook for their email also use the app, which has its quirks, but is generally good. Of course, Gmail is great and with all the other tools available from Google it's possible to have all your spreadsheets, text documents, and notes in one place for the team to collaborate. Expenses? Using a site like Expensify could streamline that process because it's customizable or a simple spreadsheet can meet your needs.

I could definitely write more about the nuances surrounding why a team would choose a tablet over a smartphone or vice versa (afterall, with wifi calling you can also call on a tablet). I could also go on for awhile about many more apps, but there's simply not enough time. The point here is to do research, ask questions, to be open to new ways of operating, and to always be thinking of how you can help the team be more collaborative, efficient, and effective.