Page 44 - Managing the Mobile Workforce

discovering a new workforce paradigm � 23

ready following. The horse has already left the barn! Here we will share
how the new paradigm solves problems the old one couldn’t, and what
the new rules are. We’ll ask you to define the mobile workforce more
broadly than you may have ever done before. We’ll share what we’ve
learned from talking to leaders of global companies—how they have
“re-visioned” their workforces and are changing industry workforce
practices—and the industry itself.
Many companies believe they could not exist today without their
mobile teams. The business model has changed. Soon you almost cer-
tainly will be, if you aren’t already, dependent on work being com-
pleted by people you don’t see simply by walking down the hallway.
Your workers—able to choose from employers all over the world—are
already a lot less dependent on you than you may think. Working vir-
tually is a win-win relationship—it’s a new way to play the game and
win as an organization, and it can contribute to a much appreciated
work–life balance for you and your workforce.

paradigm Buster number 1: mobile technology Is Changing not Just
where we think people should work, but how the work gets done
Brent Lang is president and COO of Vocera Communications, a pro-
vider of wearable instant voice communication technology for mobile
workers in hospitals, retail stores, and hospitality locations. Now, that
1
doesn’t sound all that earthshaking until you start thinking about
what the applications might be in, say, a hospital setting. It turns out
that this technology actually redefines business processes and changes
the way work gets done. “You can think of it as a work flow tool,”
Brent told us.
In a hospital, employees are often on their feet, moving. They
use their hands a lot—interacting with patients or using special
equipment—so they need them to be free. If urgent needs come up,
they may have to move to a different part of the building very quickly.
“We call these guys and gals ‘corridor warriors,’” Brent says, “because
that is where they spend their time—in the tiled halls of the corridors
of a hospital or the carpeted hallways of a hotel or in a library.” Their