Talking with William Tincup and Sharlyn Lauby about mobile workforce management

Last week, I spoke with our board members Sharlyn Lauby (aka the HR Bartender) and William Tincup (so many aliases, I don't know where to start) about the future of mobile workforce management.  At Kronos, we've invested in smartphone and tablet solutions that enable managers and employees to take action on common tasks like punching in and out, scheduling shifts, approving  timecards, and the like.  Frontline managers are thereby freed to "manage in the moment" while going about their daily routines, untethered from their office computers.

We're seeing rapid adoption of mobile technologies at Kronos and in the world at large.  As consumers become more wedded to the conveniences of mobile devices for communication and entertainment, they increasingly expect to experience similar conveniences in the workplace.

We talked about the following questions that are top of mind for organizations using (or thinking about using) mobile technology to extend their workforce management environment:

• What are the barriers to adoption of mobile technology?
• Is the tablet more important than the smartphone as a mobile device for workforce management?
• What issues should employers consider before they implement a mobile solution for employees?
• How do we see mobile evolving in the coming years?  (Check out this very cool, some might say space age even, view of the future from Corning Glass).

You can listen in on our discussion here:

Are you using mobile technology on the job?  What are the pros and cons?