Thanks to so many advances in technology, the days of 40+ hours spent in the office are coming to an end. Welcome in the era of the remote workforce. According to the market research firm International Data Corporation, by 2015, the world's mobile worker population will reach 1.3 billion, representing 37.2% of the total workforce. In light of this, managers need to understand some of the challenges that lie ahead of them in order to accommodate this rapidly growing paradigm shift.
Overcoming challenges in connecting, training, communicating and ultimately engaging with remote employees is of critical importance. How do you achieve this? Technology of course! The remote employee needs to have the proper infrastructure in place so they are enabled to succeed, and what better way to support them then through cloud-based technology.
Utilizing the cloud allows your remote workforce to be “connected” from day one and when you choose to implement a cloud-based Learning Management System (LMS) you can effectively overcome your remote workforce challenges. Once your employees connect to the internet, through your LMS, you can deploy their customized eLearning training program. Your organization immediately reaps the benefits of beginning to develop an informed workforce while actively supporting employee engagement. Professional development programs can be created that go well beyond the new hire training to encompass your employees’ overall career development needs, thus further highlighting your commitment to employee engagement.
Of equal importance to engage employees is to remove the perceived remote barrier and facilitate communication. Discussion and online interaction with employees, both remote and in the office, has never been so easy. Ideally, your LMS will have an enterprise-wide social networking capability. This powerful communication forum can be used for promoting discussions, searching for expert advice, delivering time sensitive content and initiating informal learning. Through this type of social collaboration, individual knowledge becomes organizational knowledge in a safe and secure internal environment.
Employers that implement cloud-based technology solutions to develop their remote employees can be far more successful in developing an engaged and more productive workforce. Furthermore, the cloud has no geographic boundaries; therefore whether your organization is U.S. based or global in scale, cloud-based technology solutions enable you to operate like all your employees are just down the hall.
-- Chuck Hellings, Executive Vice President, Strategic Business Development, ePath Learning, Inc.
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