Page 187 - Managing the Mobile Workforce

166 � mAnAgIng the moBIle workForCe

feet moving from location to location for many purposes and needs.
In the best situations they use real-time technology to handle criti-
cal and noncritical communications. If they are lucky, they might use
Vocera voice-activated badges to communicate in real time. If they
are unlucky, they might have to scurry down a hallway or to another
building to find people or to share information.
This type of mobile worker can be tough to communicate with or
locate without a well-thought-out mobile technology and workflow
plan. Out of view for them means out of sight in five seconds flat,
even when they have urgent roles and responsibilities that require ur-
gent communications to do important work such as saving lives. Brent
pointed out that, as a manager, “you can’t always see the person you
urgently need; therefore, you have to use a real-time technology to lo-
cate, communicate, message, or call rather than yelling down the hall!”

typical profile: Corridor mobile worker
Here’s what a typical profile looks like for an average corridor mobile
worker:

` Office. Has a shared fixed office location or office to work
from but seldom is in the office
` Movement. Office to office, aisle to aisle, or building to
building, connected by corridors and/or the close proximity
of buildings
` Role types. Nurses, security, IT technicians, factory plant su-
pervisors, facility managers, plant superintendents
` Mobile technology. Push-to-talk, voice-activated handheld
mobile devices, laptops with wireless capability, cell phones,
walkie-talkies
` Tech savviness. Generally dependent on IT to manage Inter-
net connections and mobile hardware
` Delivery of Learning. Instructor-led courses, team collabora-
tion, and online