Beyond Office Productivity

by Brian Fedorko / Dec 21

Spatial Freedom Motivates High-End IT Talent

For the professional IT administrator, be it system, database, network, or security, the ability to work wherever and whenever is an incredible perk for the professional and the client.  Most system-level administration positions require immediate expertise to quickly troubleshoot and solve problems, and there is often many lulls between breif periods of intense activity.  By unleashing your personnel from a specific geographic location, you can provide just-in-time service to many clients at many locations, really getting the best ROI out of a single asset, while enabling them to maintain a positive work-life balance.

For a good manager, freeing your personnel from a specific location is a management tool unto itself.  It is an incredible aid to get the most from your best, inherently preventing many common personnel problems:

• Lack of Challenge – Your best talent is constantly striving to sharpen their skills, and looking for new challenges.  Providing several simultaneous clients and challenges provides for an environment where telented individuals can grow and thrive.
• Scheduling Issues – The flexibility gained by the Digital Nomad’s workstyle allows your personnel to gracefully schedule and execute maintenance events during times outside of normal business hours.  Your personnel will be able to perform their work at the times of the day when they are at the top of their game, and allow them to take care of personal issues without affecting their productivity – Work can be accomplished anywhere at any time of day!  When problems arise, you can expect your team to be where you need them, as soon as you need them.
• Commuting – Hundreds of potential work-hours are lost every day through the simple ritual of commuting to the workplace.  For those personnel with especially challenging commutes, managers are often at risk of losing key people who simply want to work closer to home.  Eliminating this contributes to a more energized professional who is seeing more value for their time.  Mobile workers save on fuel costs, vehicle maintenance, and the hazards associated with inclimate weather!  For workers temporarily working at an alternate location, managers will reap enormous savings in airfare, temporary lodging, and per diem.

As any good manager knows, the path to success lies in knowing your people.  People who enjoy a fixed routine, or serial activities are best suited for a static office environment.  People who enjoy a dynamic workplace, who multitask well, and have solid time-management skills are well-suited candidates for a roaming workplace.  Of course, communication is key – Short, purposeful, and efficient daily meetings are key to maintaining your personnel, workload planning, and assessing workforce impact.

In retrospect, matching the right people with the right working environment is less of a managerial challenge, but more of a tool – A productivity advantage to be gained by the tech-saavy leader.

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