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In order for a mobility program to truly be successful, there are four things that must be in place: Permission, Trust, Choice, and Support. These things are far harder to create and deploy than the technology or the workplace.  These four things drive to the root of the culture of the organization, and they should be among the first things considered and sought after in the development of a program.  The topic of permission came up in a presentation Keith Perske and I made to the Houston CoreNet Global chapter, and given the importance of these four things, and the high level perspective we gave during our presentation, I would like to expound on each topic in turn, over the next couple of posts, starting with Permission.

The vast majority of work is conducted in a mobile fashion. Walk down the halls of most any office building and often times, half the offices are empty.  Employees are in meetings, visiting customers, collaborating at another location, doing research, on vacation, or any number of other reasons.  Whether or not there is a formal program in place employees move about internally and externally in the course of executing their tasks.   Many employees take it upon themselves to augment their tools and technology to support their work practice.  Formal IT and HR policies often exclude the very tools needed to efficiently conduct work, so work-a-rounds to procure unauthorized items are developed over time.  Purchases are often hidden in department budgets, and often born by the employee out of need.  All these things are happening under the radar because they are not “allowed”. Giving permission acknowledges that a mobile work practice exists, removes a layer of obscurity, and can bring unexpected benefits in the form of cost savings, increased security, and the gradual realigning of the technology, services and work practice with the corporate mission.

Permission is best accomplished through a formal agreement between the manager and employee.  This agreement centers around the category an employee fits into, which is a combination of the job type, work practice, interactions, and the level of autonomy the manager feels is appropriate for the employee.  The agreement should include a formalized communication plan between the manager and employee, and an affirmation of the goals and objectives that the employee is expected to meet over a set period of time as well as checkpoints or milestones for progress checks and validation.  These agreements should be reviewed annually as a part of the review process or when the employee’s role changes significantly.  

In my next post I will discuss the topic of Trust.

Click here to read Part 2 of this 4-part series.