So you want to make your employees more “mobile”? Good idea. You probably realize this is more than buying a smartphone from the local dealer. But have you considered what your users think about mobile devices? Their thoughts and feelings go hand in hand with a successful adoption journey, and ignoring their basic needs can lead to under-utilized company investments. Let’s give you some inspiration.
The device
A uniform pool with all devices on the same platform is easy to deploy and support, but isn’t always desired by users. A list of devices to choose from, on the other hand, gives more freedom and power to users. If the company provides the hardware instead of a Bring Your Own Device approach, then that’s your “first impression moment”. Best advice: make it exciting, regardless if you define just one or several options. Nobody wants last year’s leftovers when this year’s model is the talk of the town. A wow-effect which leads to a substantial part of the entire on-boarding.
That brings us to non-work-related usage. Smartphones and tablets are part of our day to day lives, in and out of the office, so people will also use it in their private time. Therefore, it should be capable to serve private needs, just like company cars: parents amongst us will probably not be happy with a company car that is not able to take your children’s stroller in the trunk. Most users will consider it as their own device and people will take care of the devices as if it were their own, which saves on repair bills.
The enrollment process
The best manual is one that is never used, so the process should be intuitive and dummy proof, from splash screen to home screen. Zero-touch enrolments, where the device gets its configuration over the air without being touched by the IT team, are gaining popularity. And for good reason: the user gets a proper out of the box experience, will appreciate the fact that their new device is really new, and IT doesn’t need to waste time (and money) setting up devices one by one.
Make the workflow as simple as possible: limit the times the user needs to provide his credentials to… one. The reason is simple: it just feels weird providing credentials multiple times, it’s a hundred times worse than the annoyance of a 2nd factor. Entering a variable code feels secure and is usually accepted by the user, entering the same credentials again without a proper reason just feels useless.
Consider which apps you want to push to the users during enrolment, and which you want to offer in the corporate store. Your corporate email and messaging app should be installed and enforced, while an app to edit presentations will not be the daily work tool of your field engineers.
The user benefits
Mobile platforms are the best in class regarding user experience for many years now and will keep that position during the coming decade. But the experience on a mobile device isn’t only about using apps. The way it integrates into your company systems is key for user adoption. Users should feel a gain in time and efficiency, with as little compromises as possible. It doesn’t make any sense to complicate the basic tasks users are executing every day, but it makes sense to provide extra features to help the user. Entering in a virtual conference room with one click instead of the hassle of a dial-in a phone number with corresponding conference bridge number is one of the classic quick wins for every user. Calendar and contact integrations deserve your attention, as they are intensely used by office workers. Today many companies are not mastering shared calendars and meeting room bookings on mobile devices, let alone the ease of calling a contact stored in your CRM with one click or swipe.
So in a nutshell:
• Give your users the latest model of their favorite brand that they can also use for private purposes
• Choose an MDM platform with zero-touch enrolment and an easy workflow
• Remember to only push corporate apps that are essential, and offer the other apps in the company’s app store
• Always keep the user benefits in mind, especially in terms of time and efficiency
As you see, the benefits of the mobile workplace are numerous and should definitely be a top priority for every company! Want to know more about enterprise mobility? Contact our sales team on info@mob.co.