Okay.. After two years of asylum, I decided to come back to Blogosphere ( Homeland eh?) as I was finding 140 characters were too less to communicate my thoughts. If you’ve been following me on Twitter you know I have changed roles in Microsoft and now taken up role of Technology Solutions Specialist for Mobility and Devices.
As we all know how the proliferation of devices has completely changed the way we now live our lives. I don't even remember last time I took out my work laptop just to check my mails and reply few of those which needed my immediate attention and response. I am not just saying it because I work for worlds greatest technology company, its happening to everyone and in every Industry.
As I speak to lot of employees of other organizations as a part of my day to day job, they tell me that they don't want to be tied down to their seats and their PC anymore. they’d like to work wherever they are and whatever device they have.
Gone are those days when you have to drive to office on weekends just because you have to prepare an urgent business report that your boss have asked you to prepare on Friday evening and have to be submitted on Monday. If you are not one of those consider yourself lucky, privileged and blessed
As a Modern Employee, I need the flexibility to work from anywhere anytime and still be productive and contribute effectively to my and my organisation success and at the same time take care of my personal life, be with my family and friends when they need me.
I have seen people replying emails, chatting on IMs and even on call while waiting for a doctors consultations at a clinic on a working day. ( Too bad if you couldn't get a doctor’s appointment on a weekend )
Organizations understand that this is a new trend or is more sophisticatedly called “Consumerization of IT”. Whether they like it or not it’s happening. Many organizations are now considering adopting this trend and enabling their employees to be productive on the move. This allows a better employee satisfaction as they get more flexibility to work while taking care of other important “Life” things and Organizations are able to squeeze more productivity out of an employee which otherwise may not be possible while they are on their desk for 8-9 hours.
Tip for Employers: Just blocking Facebook on your office network doesn't necessarily mean you are getting better productivity from your employees..
In the next few posts, I'll talk about how Microsoft is enabling mobile productivity for employees and as an Organization what do you really need to get best from your employees while they may not be necessarily on their desk.
Talk soon…