The rapid adoption of mobile and remote access technologies is just one HR trend that will continue to redefine the face of the Australian workplace over the coming 12 months, according to a panel of industry experts who met in Sydney this week.
The panel, which included Matthew Franceschini, CEO, Entity Solutions, Craig Osborne, managing director, Sage MicrOpay, Daniel Sheahan, general manager, ComOps, and moderator, Mark Dougan, managing director of Frost & Sullivan ANZ, defined one of the top workforce challenges facing employers in 2012 as being conflict between the benefits and risks new technology provides.
Australia’s rapid take-up of smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices during 2011, plus the rise of cloud-based software that allow employees to access corporate systems via an internet connection are increasing the rate at which organisations make the shift to a more flexible, mobile workforce. However, the need to get information to and from remote employees still raises challenges.
Osborne said, “Much of the focus on mobility has been about how to get information out of the business to the employee. What hasn’t received so much attention is how organisations can best manage their remote workers and how to get employee information back into the business. For example, how do we get accurate information about the hours worked or billings of an employee working from home?” Osborne predicted that this will become a necessary focus for HR in the short to medium term.
Sheahan agreed, saying, “Technology evolves at the same rate that new laws and new work practices are coming in to place, and organisations need to be aware of what’s actually out there to allow these technologies to enable the transition to the new workplace environment quickly and painlessly.”
The panel also highlighted that in this highly connected world, employees expect to be recognised for being ‘always on’ no matter the time of day.
In particular, Generation Y want access to information at their own moment of need using their own preferred device, and they seek collaboration and look for less rigidity in terms of when and where work is performed.
To attract these younger candidates organisations will need to respond by offering greater choice in remote working and telecommuting, providing access to mobility technologies and incorporating changes to the physical workplace layout, the panel said.
