When a company has tried using a mobile work program and did not have success, it is usually very difficult to convince them to try again. "Once bitten - twice shy" is an appropriate description for their attitude.
There are a number of reasons that mobile work programs do not succeed and we'll look at some of them. This is not an exhaustive list as there may even be situations that have occurred and were never reported or recorded. The reasons here are the most common.
The number one reason that mobile work does not succeed is that there has been a failure to prepare both those who will be working remotely and those who will be supervising the mobile workers. When people first began working remotely there was very little done in the way of "teaching how to work remotely". People were sent out of the office with equipment and expected to carry on just as though they were in the office.
Problems did arise and it was quite often the inability to solve these problems which resulted in the ending of the mobile work arrangements. Part of the blame if you want to call it that, was the level of technology. There were not enough programs or systems in place that would allow people to work seamlessly from a location other than the office.
As technology advanced and improvements made from the lessons learned from these attempts; a key development has been the education of people involved. Companies can now pay for consultants to come in and train their personnel. Some consulting companies offer seminars, some full-blown training courses and others merely set-up the program and then are no longer involved.
Each company must evaluate their individual needs and evaluate what the consultants can offer. The best match between the company's goals and what the consultant offers will help ensure a successful mobile work program.