Max is VP of Mobility & IoT at MetTel, where he leads mobile & IoT operations and related business development initiatives.
GETTY
Job openings reached a new high in May 2021, with 9.21 million available positions. Despite the strain of the pandemic, research indicates job seekers are taking their time. A June 2021 survey from Indeed.com revealed only around 10% of respondents were “urgently” seeking a job.
In a job seeker’s market, companies will have to go the extra mile to impress and attract their most sought-after recruits. One way to do this — and a way familiar to me and my work — is to ensure their onboarding experience is seamless and enables them to begin making an impact immediately.
Generally, it’s not an uncommon experience for new employees to spend several weeks setting up and getting trained on their devices, tools and services. But now, the day is coming when businesses can provide a complete mobile bundle on day one. Imagine your new employee starting their first day of work and turning on their mobile work phone and laptop, both of which have already been set up with their information and contain all the programs and apps that they need to start working. Not only does this create a positive impression for the new employee, but it also helps to keep the business profitable by accelerating the time to productivity. HROnboard reports onboarding for small to medium-sized businesses may cost upwards of $40,000 each year for 100 employees, not including recruitment or training costs.
Managing mobility services like phones, tablets and laptops for new and existing employees, particularly in the new hybrid work environment, can create new challenges for leadership and IT teams. With the proliferation both in the number and type of employee devices, IT teams can struggle to meet the sheer need of new device and helpdesk issues, not to mention overseeing users’ data usage, activity restrictions and security.
Empathy Is The Most Important Leadership Skill According To Research
Why U.S. Talent Shortages Are At A 10-Year High
You Probably Need More Friends—Here’s How To Make Them
It’s one reason why mobility as a service (MaaS) is emerging as a growing field. Under these types of services, third-party mobility providers are responsible for the mobility of your organization, from device staging and kitting, to replacement and protection, to managing cross-carrier access and pooling.
Similar to the growth of other “as-a-service” areas, the goal is to eliminate organizational complexity, provide access to highly trained professionals in one specialty area and pay by subscription rather than drive costly infrastructure investments. Increasingly, as customers are looking for even more support, these companies are providing new services like the previously mentioned onboarding packages to employees.
Is mobility as a service right for your organization? Here are a few questions to ask yourself:
Do mobile devices play a large role in your organization?
For instance, if your business includes delivery, mobile devices can play an integral role in enabling employees to send updates about their location, work progress and any issues they are experiencing. MaaS can help to provide the right level of connectivity for employees, no matter if they’re in the office, remote or on the road. Any specific apps used by employees can also be pre-configured, so all employees have to do is turn the device on.
Do you use a variety of different devices?
Companies that offer MaaS are often well-versed in handling complex setups, including managing a multitude of carriers, platforms and data streams. Leaving the intricate details to them may be a more effective option than trying to train your IT staff on all the devices you are using.
Is urgency a factor within your organization?
Some types of businesses, such as emergency responders, cannot function without working technology. Using a provider that offers MaaS can be faster and more efficient than waiting for in-house support to address your mobile issues. These mobile providers may be able to overnight a new device or replacement so your business doesn’t have to stop when your devices do.
Throughout the pandemic, mobility has been a key lifeline helping businesses stay afloat. As business operations have evolved during this time, so too have mobility services to help meet increasingly specialized and unique needs. As mobility as a service continues to emerge as an offering, organizations may find value in outsourcing their mobility needs so they can focus on what’s most important: their core business.
Forbes Business Development Council is an invitation-only community for sales and biz dev executives. Do I qualify?
PR Archives: Latest, By Company, By Date