SOUTH African businesses are in danger of missing out on the benefits offered by mobile workers by recruiting inappropriate personalities, by poor management and by failing to provide adequate communication resources, according to a recent Cisco study.

Mismanagement in particular can have serious implications on the success of a mobile worker — with under- and over-communication both having a negative effect.

A lack of regular communication can lead to increased levels of stress and feelings of isolation, whereas micromanagement can undermine trust. This is important since mobile workers will account for a quarter of the world’s working population by 2009, according to the Industrial Development Corporation’s 2005 forecast and analysis report.

The Cisco study, Understanding and Managing the Mobile Workforce, carried out by occupational psychology specialists at Pearn Kandola, examines the business and interpersonal challenges of mobile workers across five regions. The study reveals the dominant personality characteristics of effective mobile workers, examines cultural influences on mobile working and highlights management best practices, addressing the specific challenges that mobile workers face.

“As the mobile working phenomenon continues to grow, organisations must ensure that they have suitable leadership in place to manage teams of mobile workers,” says Stuart Duff, occupational psychologist at Pearn Kandola and author of the report.

“Managers must not fall into the trap of treating mobile workers in the same way as office-based employees. They need to be effective communicators and relationship builders with an adaptive management style that they can tailor to the personalities within their team.

“Organisations must also ensure that the right tools and resources are made available to mobile workers, giving them the same connectivity as office-based workers,” he says in the report.

Workers who flourish and succeed within mobile roles are typically self- motivated, resilient, extrovert and independent, so when recruiting, organisations must test for these attributes.

There are several personality profiles that could be successful in a mobile working environment. These are:

nStimulation seekers — extroverted, motivated by contact with people;

nTough survivors — emotionally stable, low levels of neuroticism, resilient under pressure;

nCurious explorers — creative, open to new ideas, enjoy variety of experiences;

nIndependent decision-makers — maintain independent mind sets, appreciate being trusted to work without supervision; and

nDisciplined achievers — conscientious and self-motivated.

According to the report, successful managers need to trust their mobile teams and enable them to manage their own workload while emphasising deliverables rather than activities. Managers must also play their part in establishing a mobile work ethic within their organisation, and regular communication with mobile workers is vital.

To this end, it is imperative that managers give mobile workers the same access to communications resources as office-based workers.

To avoid isolation and demotivation, among such workers, managers need to promote the visibility of mobile workers within the organisation.

Providing forums for social interaction between colleagues is also important. For example, instant messaging and presence tools are a good way of building mobile workers’ sense of inclusion.

Video facilities can reduce feelings of separation by giving the workers visibility and access to team workers who are working remotely.

Geographically, the report addresses the following regions: western Europe, Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States; central and eastern Europe; the Middle East and Africa; and Latin America and the Caribbean.

In SA, where skills are in short supply and issues such as traffic congestion adversely affect productivity, there is ample opportunity for the concept of mobility to provide options for workers to maintain productivity and for companies to provide arrangements which support employee satisfaction, says Raymond Janse van Rensburg, senior systems engineer manager at Cisco Systems SA.

“Certainly, the technologies to enable secure mobile access to the internet and enterprise applications are readily available, particularly in urban centres where traffic congestion is becoming a major problem,” he says.

“Mobility can give people the opportunity to achieve a better work:life balance, be it a mother who needs time for her children, or people with sporting or other interests.

“However, the real issue is one of the suitability of the individual to responsibly handle the extra freedom,” says Janse van Rensburg.

“This study highlights the need for businesses to address a number of issues to make their mobile workforce as productive as possible,” he says.