Page 32 - Managing the Mobile Workforce

moving to mobility � 11

technology investments to buy and how to use the latest software and
hardware are fundamental competencies just to stay in the game. But
that will not give you long-term competitive advantage.
Let’s assume you have developed a business strategy to exploit the
enormous potential of mobile technologies. Let’s assume you’ve iden-
tified ways to leverage this strategy to achieve competitive advantage.
While the strategy and the technologies are essential, technology is
nothing more than competitive parity. Your competitors have or soon
will have access to the same mobile technologies you have. So how do
you turn parity into competitive advantage? It comes only by leverag-
ing the use of technology to advance core business strategies. And,
that depends on your people. Without a companion mobile workforce
strategy, the best mobile business strategy will falter.

` whAt to CAll It?

Deciding the terminology to describe your mobile workforce is im-
portant so that your company understands whom you are talking
about. The terms “mobile workforce,” “tele-workforce,” “distributed
workforce,” and “virtual workforce” are used interchangeably on a
global basis. In this book, we refer to individuals who are not physi-
cally located within a centralized physical building and those who
move between work locations within a centralized location, and who
are able to access company resources through private networks, the
Internet, and mobile networks as “mobile workers.” More than one
mobile worker (such as a manager with several mobile workers) would
be considered a “mobile workforce.” The mobile workforce can in-
clude both employees and contractors who provide valuable services
to either not-for-profit or for-profit entities.