Workforce collaboration when employees are at different locations can be difficult. There are different Internet-based solutions to help employees collaborate effectively. But are there also mobile solutions available? There are ways that mobile business apps can help ease workforce collaboration.

Correlate Data

When employees are working together on a project each individual will have a portion of the data necessary to complete different reports and other deliverables. There are mobile business apps available that will allow individuals to send data to mobile devices, collect all the information into one document, and then send it to all of the different employees on the project. Mobile applications can also help employees access data that has already been compiled in order for them to complete their next phase of the project.

Social Media

Business social media sites have become a common way for employees to collaborate. They can issue what are known as “shout outs” or requests for help or information. If they have encountered an unusual situation they may post how they resolved the problem online on a social media site so that other employees will have the ability to use that same information if they encounter a similar issue. Using social media sites to create a knowledge base for employees has become common and many mobile business apps help companies create a way for this information to be compiled, sorted and searched by other members of the organization.

Help

If a team member ends up needing assistance in order to complete their portion of a project they can use mobile applications to discuss their issue with team members. If an engineer or support tech is in the field and finds they need an extra hand in order to complete a service call, they can find out who is in the area and if they are available to offer assistance. Mobile applications are also a great way to contact customer service or management if there is an issue that needs to be resolved in order to make the client happy. For example, if the customer claims that there are still six months left on their warranty and the data the service rep has says that it has expired, mobile business applications can help verify the information in the company database and notify a manager to help find a solution.

Document Sharing

When an individual completes a document or a report they can use mobile business applications to share that content with others. Those other people cannot only view this document but also make comments, add information or delete information as necessary. If there are many different people involved in completing the document, then that individual can pass their changes on to the next person in line so that they can add their information to the text. This way different people can work on the same document even if they are in different locations at the time.

Mobile technology helps close the gap when it comes to employees working across great distances. It helps to take the next step that was started with Internet collaboration by adding the ability to use devices such as smart phones and tablets. These devices don’t always work well on the standard Internet but by accessing the mobile Internet, these devices help employees to be more productive and to work with their coworkers to complete projects and presentations.

This post was written by Robert Stanley. Robert Stanley is a content producer at enterprise mobility solutions from ClickSoftware, a company which also offers a variety of resources on capacity planning and mobile business apps.