At a recent conference, one of our customers said “Going mobile is a journey – one that some will be ready to take before others; but it is one we must all eventually take”. And yet, a survey of more than 200 global companies by Forrester finds that more than half (57%) don't have a mobile strategy or are in the early stages of developing one.
You know that your organization needs a mobile strategy. And you know you need it now – before the competition passes you by. But you may not know where to begin.
Mobility is not about the device. It’s about people. It is about improving the collaboration, engagement, and productivity of mobile employees. It’s about questions like:
- How can mobile devices and applications make my employees more productive?
- How can my employees access the information they need whenever and wherever they need it?
- How can my company use the transformative power of mobility to improve its business processes?
- How can my company implement the secure backbone infrastructure and platform to support cross-platform mobile applications.
For many organizations, one of the most logical first steps toward a comprehensive strategy is a mobile human resources (HR) app that can streamline workflows and engage employees.
A Popular Option
According to Bloomberg BusinessWeek, 60% of companies surveyed plan to provide employees with access to HR and HCM data through mobile devices by 2013. And according to the ADP Research Institute, 75% of HR decision makers in large companies said that workforce productivity has improved due to a mobile HR deployment.
Four Easy Steps
Companies who want to mobilize HR can’t just proceed with scattered ad hoc pilots and siloed deployments of mobile applications — HR processes are business-critical. To maximize the ROI and reduce the risks of any mobile investments, companies first need to think strategically about mobility adoption.
So how do you begin? Well, step one is to commit to achieving a quick win. That way, you’ll gain valuable experience and confidence with a minimum of time and resources.
Step two is to identify one or two mobile apps that have the potential to deliver the greatest impact for the least expense. These may include vacation and leave requests, expense reports, time and attendance tracking, pay information, or data and analytics for managers, among others. For example, many companies see time and expense among their highest priorities for mobilizing HR. Speeding these high volume business processes makes a convincing business case for mobile apps. For a list of SAP mobile apps for HR and human capital management, visit http://www.sap.com/mobile/hr.
Step three is to identify a specific group for a pilot program. For example, focus your initial effort on senior executives, business travelers, line/project managers, recruitment managers, or HR business partners.
Step four is to focus on areas of low investment and high return. To do this, ask a few questions, such as:
- Is there a large population of employees who travel frequently?
- Is a specific group attached to various client projects?
- Is your company undergoing a period of fast growth, with many new positions to fill?
Build on Your Success
Once you’ve launched a successful pilot program, you’ll start to build momentum that can lead to future mobile HR apps with more ambitious objectives, larger user bases, and enhanced functionality.
From there, you can expand into other categories of mobility – such as mobile business analytics, sales and marketing management tools, and even customer-facing apps.
The list of mobile business applications grows larger and more diverse every day. And once you’re on the playing field, you’ll discover how easy it can be to turn mobility into a game-changer for your organization.
If you want to learn more about latest trends, mobile HR strategy, and mobile implementations, join our webcast Will Mobile HR Change the Business? with Debra D’Agostino from Oxford Economics, Vanessa Sailor from SAP, and Jason Sanders from EPI-USE on December 6th, noon to 1pm EST.
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