A few months ago we touched on the ever changing nature of the workforce and over recent years one of the biggest changes we’ve seen is the introduction of the mobile worker. These employees are tech savvy gurus who welcome new gadgets and gizmos with open arms… But shockingly, even though they may be your super-connected workers, research shows that more frequently than not these members of staff are the ones left out of the employee communication loop. What’s going on?!

When they are out of the office, they are very much working on the go. They have high-expectations of what technology can achieve for them and use multiple devices – we aren’t just talking Blackberry and a laptop here. They are more collaborative and connected to the marketplace than the average worker with an entirely different set of needs, way of working and expectations. 83% are more likely to work while travelling than the average worker with 80% also more likely to work at a customer site.

But as some employers aren’t keeping up with the working needs of these employees, they are finding their own devices and apps to get their jobs done better; 62% are more likely to use social networking, 30% are more likely to utilise web conferencing and 39% can resist the ease of instant messaging. These guys ‘n’ gals  aren’t just innovators in technology but research frequently has shown, also in business strategy.

The results speak for themselves with 67% of mobile workers using their own equipment and applications saying they are more productive, 35% have noticed better collaboration with colleagues and 33% believe it enables them to better serve the customers.

However, if you don’t have an effective mobile communication strategy there can be a downside to having mobile superheros in your midst. Compromising 25% of the workforce mobile workers are turning IT departments around the country on their head through their use of personal devices to get the job done.

So what is your mobile communication strategy? Are your intranets mobile ready and work across multiple devices? Can mobile workers log-on to internal communication platforms? Do you know what your mobile workers actually want and need? If the answer is no, then nows the time to embrace the change. Instigate open communication between employer and employee to understand their devices and needs, then find the technology that can deliver their communication needs and develop a robust mobile communication strategy based on both company and employee requirements.