• First Reference
  • About us
  • Contact us
  • 24th Annual Ontario Employment Law Conference 📣
  • Blog Signup 📨

First Reference Talks

Discussions on Human Resources, Employment Law, Payroll and Internal Controls

  • Home
  • About
  • Archives
  • Resources
You are here: Home / Business / The mobile workforce – it’s not coming; it’s here

By Adam Gorley | 2 Minutes Read March 28, 2011

The mobile workforce – it’s not coming; it’s here

According to CIO Insight magazine:

Mobility will change the fabric of how employees interact with each other, partners, vendors and customers. If companies leave mobility unmanaged or try to manage it from a narrow focus, such as IT or HR, the likely result will be a frustrated workforce, which will reinforce generational divides among workers.

Oh no! Not the dreaded generational divide!
iphoneI think it’s fair to say that mobility—meaning laptops, smartphones, tablet computers, flexible work arrangements, telecommuting and so on—already has changed the way employees perform their jobs. Even if mobility just means an employee accessing her work email on her Blackberry outside of work hours, or another worker connecting his iPhone to the company network, it’s probably happening. It might even be you right now. And it’s not just younger workers.
But not to quibble too much, the point is clear:
Mobility is not just about technology anymore. However, chances are high that IT, specifically the chief information officer (CIO), will be responsible for any mobile initiatives within the company. So, CIOs need to take a broad view of mobility and understand the effect this technology will have on departments such as HR, sales, marketing, legal, security and facilities, as well as IT.
With that in mind, the magazine offers five tips for managing your mobile workforce. While the article gives short shrift to security, the advice is generally practical. I particularly appreciate the exhortation to “get ahead of the issue and have processes and procedures in place to accommodate this behaviour.” The most effective procedure will be recorded as part of an official mobility (or something like that) policy, but you don’t have to start there. The key is that you start somewhere. If your organization has never even considered how mobility affects your workplace and operations, you need to start thinking about it and talking it out with your employees and maybe even your clients and suppliers. Only then can you act on a policy and procedures.
First Reference publishes Information Technology PolicyPro to help you with planning and implementation, network security, training and support and user responsibilities, among many other topics.
Adam Gorley
First Reference Human Resources and Compliance Editor

  • About
  • Latest Posts
Follow me
Adam Gorley
Editor at First Reference Inc.
Adam Gorley is a copywriter, editor and researcher at First Reference. He regularly contributes to First Reference Talks, Inside Internal Controls and other First Reference publications. He writes about general HR issues, accessibility, privacy, technology in the workplace, accommodation, violence and harassment, internal controls and more.
Follow me
Latest posts by Adam Gorley (see all)
  • Can you implement a mandatory vaccine policy or ask employees if they have been vaccinated? - June 10, 2021
  • Do you know the latest on terminations? Find out at the Ontario Virtual Employment Law Conference - May 11, 2021
  • Announcing the 2021 Virtual Ontario Employment Law Conference - April 15, 2021

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Mastodon (Opens in new window)

Article by Adam Gorley / Business, Privacy / Blackberry era, chief information officer, CIO, flexible work arrangements, information technology, Information Technology PolicyPro, information technology strategy, iPhone, IT, IT strategy, ITPP, mobile workforce, mobility, smartphones, telecommuting

Get the Latest Posts in your Inbox for Free!

Electronic monitoring

About Adam Gorley

Adam Gorley is a copywriter, editor and researcher at First Reference. He regularly contributes to First Reference Talks, Inside Internal Controls and other First Reference publications. He writes about general HR issues, accessibility, privacy, technology in the workplace, accommodation, violence and harassment, internal controls and more.

About us

Established in 1995, First Reference is the leading publisher of up to date, practical and authoritative HR compliance and policy databases that are essential to ensure organizations meet their due diligence and duty of care requirements.

First Reference Talks

  • Home
  • About
  • Archives
  • Resources

Main Menu

  • About First Reference
  • Resources
  • Contact us
  • 1 800 750 8175

Stay Connected

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

We welcome your comments on our blog articles. However, we do not respond to specific legal questions in this space.
We do not provide any form of legal advice or legal opinion. Please consult a lawyer in your jurisdiction or try one of our products.


Copyright © 2009 - 2023 · First Reference Inc. · All Rights Reserved
Legal and Copyright Notices · Publisher's Disclaimer · Privacy Policy · Accessibility Policy