Workplace mobility: Comparing business models of early adopters in traditional businesses with consulting firms

Abstract

Technology has long been the catalyst for challenging traditional workplace practices, as its capabili-ties have the power to transform the way people live, work and communicate. Some companies recognised early on that technology would have a profound impact on their business models, productivity and cost structures, and they became the pioneers of mobile work practices. Heavily represented by the technology and consulting industries, whose business processes and work product made it easier to transition to mobile work, these early adopters still encountered the same cultural barriers faced by any company trying to im-plement a mobile work programme, regardless of industry. Today, mobility programmes are becoming more widespread, predominantly among finance, insurance and pharmaceutical companies, which are responding to a new business landscape that is driving the pursuit of mobile work. This is also fuelled by the availability of more sophisticated tools, technologies and processes that make it easier to identify real estate opportuni-ties in relation to mobility, along with tools that can prepare an organisation for a mobile work programme. In this paper, the mobile work initiatives of hoteling pioneer Ernst & Young are compared with those of more traditional companies which represent a second wave of early adopters. It not only outlines an ap-proach for successfully implementing a mobility programme, but also illustrates best current practices, and makes a business case for mobility that quantifies the benefits for both companies and employees alike.