{"id":2863,"date":"2016-09-01T17:17:18","date_gmt":"2016-09-02T00:17:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.poly.com\/?p=2863"},"modified":"2016-09-01T17:17:18","modified_gmt":"2016-09-02T00:17:18","slug":"build-small-business-employee-engagement-mobile-first-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.poly.com\/build-small-business-employee-engagement-mobile-first-strategy\/","title":{"rendered":"Build small business employee engagement with a mobile first strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"3<\/p>\n

Finding quality labor is the most difficult aspect of small business HR\/labor management, according to a Plantronics survey<\/a>. But the challenge doesn\u2019t stop once someone comes on board. A 2015 survey<\/a> from Gallup found that only 32% of employees were engaged in their jobs. Gallup characterizes engaged employees as \u201c…involved in, enthusiastic about and committed to their work\u201d and its research shows that employee engagement is connected to productivity, profitability and customer engagement, all of which are essential to a company\u2019s financial success. The research firm estimates<\/a> that active disengagement costs the U.S. $450 to $550 billion annually in lost productivity.<\/p>\n

Mobility-first addresses engagement<\/h4>\n

To address employee engagement, some companies now are turning to a mobility first or mobile optimized working environment. A global study<\/a> conducted by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) for Aruba found that there is a measurable link between mobile first working environments and employee engagements. Specifically, companies rated by their employees as \u201cpioneers\u201d in how they support mobile technology experienced a 16% rise in productivity, an 18 % rise in creativity and a 23% increase in satisfaction compared to organizations poorly rated for supporting mobile technology.<\/p>\n

A mobile first strategy embraces more than just the use of mobile devices – provided by the company or personally owned under a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy.\u00a0 Brian Katz with Constellation research explains<\/a> that\u00a0 \u201cThe core of any mobile first strategy is understanding the users and how they process information on a mobile device.\u201d<\/p>\n

To that end, mobile first means offering a consistently positive experience to users across all devices, whenever and wherever they use them. It involves designing apps and websites to work across multiple platforms. It also enables flexibility,such as that afforded by keeping company data in the cloud. With cloud computing, users can begin an activity a smartphone or laptop while they are out of the office and complete it on their desktop later.<\/p>\n

Other mobile first trends as identified by the Aruba study that are driving higher worker engagement and performance are:<\/p>\n