It is the age of mobility. With the help of smartphones we’re now able stay in touch from virtually anywhere at all times. With location and time zone barriers all but knocked down, the ways in which we conduct business and interact within workplace teams have evolved immensely, corporate team building included.
Communication & Response Time
Email and texting changed the way we handle business communication and the introduction of the smartphone changed the way we think about emails.
You no longer have to sit at a computer to access your inbox – it is now in your pocket. Rarely do emails have the opportunity to pile up. Checking messages regularly has become a norm in the corporate world, and in some situations, a must.
Delivery and response times have been cut down from days to hours. The efficiency with which a team can carry out a project is magnified exponentially as team members can send and instantly receive input regardless of location or time.
Increased Telecommuting Opportunities
The need for teams to cohabitate the same physical office space no longer exists.
Every year more and more employees opt to work from outside a central workplace, meaning they perform their day-to-day operations from a location other than “the office”, be it their home, the local coffee shop or wherever their productivity flourishes most.
Even if team members work in opposite corners of the globe, smartphone and internet technology allows them to remain in touch, and in some cases, even conduct meetings and conversations in “real time”. Not only are travel costs significantly reduced, but the need for physical office space becomes a preference rather than a necessity.
With the right resources telecommuting and handling of business across any distance is easier and more efficient than ever.
Lowered Technology Costs
Not only do smartphones have the potential to reduce travel costs, but they may lower your company’s technology costs too.
In previous years equipping team members to hit the road for work-related travel sometimes spelled business expenditures in the thousands of dollars – a laptop to access email and documents, security enabled devices, and so on.
Today, the capabilities of smartphones eliminate virtually all headaches when team members want to keep in touch with the office while abroad. With the ability to open attachments and participate in meetings on the go, there’s no need to bring an extra suitcase of equipment when hitting the road. You only need your smartphone.
Enhanced Efficiency
At this point, all smartphones on the market are equipped to handle telephone, email and Wi-Fi, and are also compatible with literally thousands of available apps that are may be useful to your company and the work your employees do.
Team members can easily stay in touch with one another, technology and travel costs diminish, emergencies can be dealt with immediately, and teams experience fewer lulls in productivity as employees can continue to be productive at anytime from anywhere.
Social Networking Opportunities
In a recent survey, Pew Internet found that 65% of online adults utilize social networking sites. The company says this is the first time in its survey history that at least 50% of all adults surveyed use social networking sites.
Rather than fight the trend, more companies are moving toward harnessing this movement and implementing ways to integrate it effectively into their corporate culture.
Smartphones and Team Building
Team building activities have been far from left behind amid the technological revolution. Utilizing the right apps to complement team building exercises will not only keep your team ahead of the curve, but help team members refine their use of technology that will move business forward in the coming years.
Where business teams are concerned, this fast-paced and fiercely intelligent technology will not only save your team time, effort and money, but it will establish a wide net of new opportunities for your team to take advantage to help them achieve whatever goals may wait on the horizon.