As a manager supporting a mobile or home-based workforce for the
first time, what do you need to know? Alison Classe reports
The costs of flexible working are not as actively publicised as
the benefits, and many of these costs are incurred in support.
Mobile workforces add a further dimension of complexity. According
to BT almost 8% of the UK workforce is teleworking, while 75% of
organisations have some mobile workers, so it can only be a matter
of time before your support function has to grapple with the
support of remote workers, if it isn't already doing so. What can
you expect when that moment comes?
Hardware
The most obvious complications relate to hardware support.
Mobile workers can't usually carry a spare laptop, and probably
don't have either the time or expertise to carry out repairs. But
if their PCs fail, disappear or get run over - apparently a
frequent occurrence among sales people - they may be literally
unable to do their jobs. And that's before you take into account
the emotional effects.
Recent research commissioned by ICL from Benchmark suggests that
12% of respondents find being unable to access their PC for a day
more stressful than being left by their partner. An astonishing 70%
find it more stressful than spending a weekend with their
in-laws.
Hardware support in the field is often a good case for
outsourcing, because the geographical reach and levels of coverage
needed are expensive for a single organisation to tackle. John
Harrison, ICL business manager for mobile user support services,
says, "A mobile worker can put a call in to ICL at any time of the
day and night. We'll then arrange to meet them anywhere in the
country, usually the following day, and deliver a replacement piece
of equipment."
As he points out the hardware on its own is no use, so ICL will
configure the software as per the client organisation's
instructions before delivering the machine, enabling the recipient
to get back to work straight away. Different service levels can be
arranged for different individuals - the top 50 sales people might
get a four-hour service rather than next day.
Attitudes to in-the-field repairs vary. ICL uses couriers to
transport a complete replacement PC. "We can still do a limited
amount of technical work using the couriers, but in general
repairing a PC away from a proper repair centre is a nightmare,"
argues Harrison. Other services use engineers rather than couriers;
transferring a hard disc to another PC overcomes the problem of
needing to recover data to the new machine.
Data protection
There are various approaches to recreating data in the event of
laptop failure or loss, the common assumption being that end-users
don't do back-ups. The systems commonly used by mobile salesforces
tend to include an overnight (or more frequent) process in which
the data on the laptop is synchronised with a collective database
on a head office database. "You can synchronise data daily or even
hourly, and the most data you lose in the event of a crash is what
you've accumulated since the last synchronisation," says Alistair
Bremner, UK managing director of customer relationship management
(CRM) supplier Saratoga Systems. "If a user needs to switch to a
different PC, a system like ours makes it easy for them to recreate
their data for themselves."
So synchronisation addresses data recovery, in theory at least.
Simon Barker, practice director of financial services with another
CRM specialist Oxygen, says inducing the workforce to sign on
regularly can be a headache in practice. There are different
approaches to encouraging them to do so. "Some companies set the
software up so that if a field operative does not synchronise
regularly they're locked out of the system until they've contacted
a manager to explain what's happened," Barker adds.
But the carrot can work better than the stick. "E-mail can be a
good motivator, and if you can only pick up your mail by signing on
for your nightly synchronisation session, that can get people into
the habit," he says.
Similar approaches to recovery of hardware and software may be
applied to home-based workers, although for them there are
additional options. For one thing, holding spare parts, or whole
spare machines, may be more viable. Alan Denbigh, executive
director of the Telework, Telecottage and Telecentre Association
(TTTA), points out that having a desktop PC synchronised with a
laptop provides a measure of resilience. "The cost of doing that is
minor, and is offset by the advantages of homeworking such as
improved productivity and staff retention," he argues.
In future, home-based workers could be online all the time via
ADSL or similar, which should further simplify matters since data
and software will be stored centrally. If the client fails,
recovery will mainly be a matter of replacing the hardware.
Helpdesk implications
Name any current pressure on your support desk and it is likely
to be intensified by the addition of a remote workforce. First-line
support has got to go beyond message-taking: a salesperson whose PC
packs up as they're about to dash off to their next meeting is not
going to be delighted if they have to be called back later by a
technician just to give an account of the problem.
More than ever, support staff will need the communication skills
to elicit an adequate description of the problem from even an
inarticulate user, and to describe the solution in terms that an
inexperienced one can follow, since there's no possibility of
sending someone round to do the job in person. Remote control
software such as Symantec's PC Anywhere can help provided the
end-user is able to establish a communications link to HQ.
Longer hours of cover may well be required. Homeworkers are
likely to work non-standard hours, while mobile workers will
probably do their synchronisation after they've finished their
sales meetings. At BT, where they practise as well as promote
flexible working, the out-of-hours workload is quite
impressive.
Head of the workstyle consultancy group Neil McLocklin says 30%
of BT's remote access capability is used up by 8am on a weekday,
and 30% is still being used at 10pm Even at 9pm on a Sunday
evening, 25% is in use.
While 9-5 support is clearly not going to hack it in this
situation, some lateral thinking may reveal ways of achieving the
necessary flexibility without necessarily manning the support desk
24x7. One solution is to make your own support staff into
teleworkers, providing out-of-hours support from home. With
Web-based helpdesk solutions becoming available, they may even be
able to process calls using the same system that they'd use in the
office.
Training
Remote workers sometimes miss out on training, but because
they're often working in isolation from technicians and more
experienced users they arguably need more, not less.
The TTTA's Denbigh points out that even workers who are usually
home-based tend to spend some time in the office, and suggests that
these occasions should be taken as an opportunity for formal and
informal training. "Sitting next to someone experienced is one of
the main ways office-based workers learn, and it's a good idea to
give home-based workers a chance to learn face-to-face too."
On-line training can usefully complement, if not replace,
classroom training of remote workers. Dominic Keogh, marketing
director of training specialist fuel, points out that one advantage
of this style of training is particularly pertinent to the mobile
sales force.
"Salespeople often have a short attention span, as I know from
having been one, so it's helpful to give them learning material
which involves the user by getting them to click on hotspots, type
in information about themselves and so on," Keogh says.
Online training also has the advantage that it can be delivered
in short chunks, and possibly on a need-to-know basis. A support
desk faced with a recurring problem that's due to user error could
pre-empt further recurrences by directing the workforce to relevant
online training material.
Security risks
Then there are security risks to think about. Research suggests
that for every three laptops purchased this year one is likely to
be stolen. If a laptop falls into the wrong hands, would you risk
prosecution under data protection legislation?
If your mobile workers are sales people, for example selling
financial services, it's likely that sensitive data about
individuals resides on their hard discs, points out Matthew West,
senior technical support manager with Norman Data Systems.
Encryption of sensitive data is the least you can do, West
suggests. "In practice, encrypting the whole hard disc is often the
best option. You can make this part of the process of configuring a
laptop, and it doesn't cause any inconvenience to the user."
Encrypting just the part of the disc that holds the sensitive
data is an alternative, but encrypting the entire disc covers other
eventualities, like the danger than someone will use a stolen
laptop to get access to your corporate network.
As a further safeguard, West recommends configuring laptops so
that the user has to log on - and not just via the basic Windows
log-on procedure which is easily circumvented. Two-factor
authentication, involving a hardware key as well as password
log-on, is a technique gaining popularity
Home workers introduce security problems of their own. Ian
Kilpatrick, group managing director with Wick Hill Group, says,
"Home workers connecting to head office are potentially the weakest
link in any company's security plan - trojans planted on a home
worker's machine have the potential to create major security
problems.
"Authenticating their access and also securing their machines
with firewalls is, therefore, extremely important and if they're
using virtual private networking to connect to the headquarters
over the Internet it's often crucial that these communications are
encrypted," Kilpatrick adds.
Wick Hill suggests WatchGuard's SOHO firewall as means of
providing firewall and virtual private network facilities to small
offices, including home workers.
Conclusion
It does all cost money, but if businesses want to adopt flexible
working practices they have to bite the bullet. McLocklin says,
"It's typically 65% more expensive to look after someone working
outside the office than a traditional office worker, but the
savings in terms of accommodation, staff retention and recruitment
greatly outweigh those additional costs.
"The trick is to persuade the business that it has to invest the
money in support to obtain the savings," he adds.
What "road warriors" don't want to hear from their support
teams
- "Just try these 10 simple steps and phone me back later to let
me know what happened"
- "Your modem's down? Can you e-mail me a full report of the
problem?"
- "I'll pop a diagnostic disc in the post - where are you going
to be tomorrow...or it might be the day after?"
- "Sign on to the support database via the Internet - oh no, you
can't sign on can you?"
- "Have you got a screwdriver with you?"
- "Yes, we do have a spare PC - you can pick it up next time
you're in the office"
Case study: Monsanto Searle
At pharmaceutical company Monsanto Searle, sales support systems
manager Jim Dougans says the challenge of supporting the sales
force goes beyond the technical. "We address technical support in a
variety of ways. We have our own helpdesk that receives calls, does
some initial triage and takes ownership of the problem. Hardware
support is done through a third party that sends an engineer to
meet the user within four hours.
"That's the technical side, but the harder part has been to
support the business use of the application."
Monsanto Searle uses a customer relationship management system
from Oxygen, and Dougans says that while IT can provide basic
training, a system like this is so intimately linked with the
business that something more is needed. "You can split training
into the 'how' and the 'why'. The how is the easy bit, but if
there's no 'why' it will never happen."
So Monsanto Searle has instigated a business support function
alongside its IT support. Staffed by business experts rather than
IT professionals, this department supplies the "why" answers that
motivate use of the system. It works on improving the way the
system is used, and advises staff on how best to achieve business
goals with it.
"This kind of support is often left to IT, but if so it's rarely
successful. IT can handle the mechanics of keeping the system
working, but making the system deliver results for the business is
down to the business itself," Dougans says.
Tips for supporting a remote workforce
- Convince senior management that, to make mobile or home working
successful, the board needs to invest in support
- Establish service levels commensurate with each worker's
importance to the organisation and their dependence on their
PC
- Even if it costs money, try to ensure that hardware and
software used by remote workers starts out and remains uniform -
that simplifies support immensely
- Carefully rehearse any major upgrade and schedule it to
minimise disruption
- Recognise that a certain proportion of laptops will be stolen,
dropped, even run over, and plan accordingly
- Flexible working practices mean flexible hours - so home and
mobile workers are both likely to need support outside of normal
office hours
- Don't allow remote workers to become the weak link in your
security chain
- Depending on industry, mobile users (such as sales people) can
be less experienced and less enthusiastic than average about using
technology and may need extra training and support
- Mobile workers may be under intense time pressures so make sure
first-line support is skilled enough not to waste their
time
- Home workers may feel starved of human contact and therefore be
less happy to use an automated solution than other
workers.