Page 194 - Managing the Mobile Workforce

hiring and preparing great mobile talent � 173

aren’t mobile. This integration plan should tie in the existing LMS,
CRM, and CDN systems and infrastructure that already exist within
the training department and the IT departments. The issue today
is how accessible the content is for all devices, wherever they might be
when a request for content is made.
If your goal is to produce content, then the question that needs to
be addressed is how accessible and searchable that content is. Today,
content is distributed primarily in the form of Word documents, Excel
documents, PDF files, MP3/MP4 audio files, and 3GP/WMV/FLV
video files, which are accepted by laptops and most mobile devices.
Blended learning occurs when different learning approaches—
traditional and distance—are mixed together. Collaborative learning
(for example, when teams or peers learn together) is a blended learn-
ing arena where mobile content and the mobile Generation Y will
merge. The baseline technology of online learning hasn’t yet moved
far away from those who are sitting within the corporate walls (office to
office) on fast broadband connections. However, learning manage-
ment systems will be requisitioned to provide mobile components to
the laptops and mobile devices of the mobile workforce.
This mobile strategy is a small game changer. Enabling laptops
and other mobile devices to have access to learning management sys-
tems will change how management thinks about, plans, and develops
policies and practices dealing with how content is accessed and dis-
tributed. For the best mobile team results, have very clear expectations
and objectives in using and accessing content. That will drive use and
increase team performance. We suggest lowering barriers to access
and providing the content that is needed regardless of the device used
when possible.
It’s not an easy task to manage training for an entire organization.
In most cases there is an unlimited amount of requests for content,
and this can be a large burden on several departments. “And now cor-
porate wants us to create a plan for training the mobile folks?” Providing
this kind of training requires more work and more responsibility, and
it creates new issues for the managers.