Travel is one of the most important reasons why many companies are beginning to invest in the development of mobile offices.  With employees on the move and business travel increasing, the need for effective mobile offices is becoming obvious.  While the need for creating a mobile office is becoming apparent to many, understanding how to create a mobile office, what is needed for a mobile office and how to keep employees productivity high while they are utilizing a mobile office remains a mystery to many. 

Finding the answers to these questions is critical to setting up a truly effective mobile office.  Fortunately, the answers to these questions aren’t extremely difficult and once they are answered, setting up a mobile office that is highly effective can be very beneficial to everyone involved including the employer, employees and clients.

The first step in creating a mobile office is to evaluate the needs of the mobile office.  Some employees such as those in the area of sales travel frequently to meet with clients as a part of their job description and these employees need to utilize the time when they are on the road to remain productive, have necessary files readily available for client meeting and have the capabilities of modifying files while on the go.  Other employees are working out of their home or a smaller satellite office as a means to lowering overhead costs. 

Still, other employees may have short term needs to access working files on the road.  Each of these unique scenarios may warrant different mobile office requirements.  The nature of the work may also necessitate specific needs in terms of the technology required of the mobile office.  There is no one size fits all answer to setting up a mobile office.  The technology required of the mobile office as well as the furniture, lighting and size requirements will depend on the amount of travel required, the nature of the job, the needs of the employees and the clients and any number of other factors.

The following will provide some basic needs for establishing a mobile office for an employee who travels regularly as part of his job description.  For this type of employee mobility is truly essential.  A laptop computer is certainly a high priority.  This will allow the employee to access important work related files while on the go and will also give the employee the ability to work with clients while on location to meet their needs.  If the employee is self sufficient and handles the work required for these clients on his own then access to the company server is not necessary.  However, if the employee works closely with others in the home office than the ability to access network files may be necessary.  The employee who travels often may also need other technology items such as a cell phone for staying in contact with co-workers and clients, a handheld computer for scheduling appointments and possibly even a digital camera for taking pictures while on location.  Employees that travel often need technology that is lightweight, easily transportable and also highly effective.

An employee who is working from their home or a satellite office has their own specific mobile office needs.  This smaller office would still be considered to be a mobile office because it is apart from the main office and is considered not to be a permanent setup.  However, the employee in this situation has the option of a more comfortable environment.  In addition to the technology such as a computer, telephone, fax machine, copier or other necessary equipment this mobile office will also consist of furniture and other elements such as lighting or filing and storage facilities. 

From a technological standpoint one of the main concerns is the computer that is used in this mobile office.  A laptop is not required as a PC will suffice.  However, either option may be used.  Also, decisions regarding access to the company network will also need to be established.  If the employees in the mobile office work closely with employees in the main office and collaborate on projects than access to the company network is necessary.  Conversely, if the employees in the mobile office work independently than they would only need to share files within the mobile office. 

Finally, there are some employees who travel sporadically and may have the need for a mobile office.  In this scenario specific employees may need to make brief trips out of town where they will want to have the ability to work while on the road.  These employees may not need a dedicated mobile office but may have the occasional need for working on location.  In this scenario the company may want to consider maintaining a few laptop computers that can be used by these employees.  Here the laptops are maintained by the information technology staff and files and software applications are loaded onto the laptops as needed.  This type of mobile office is ideal for a company that has a number of employees who travel at irregular intervals.  The advantages to this situation are that the company does not have to establish a mobile office for each employee and the resources are rarely idle. 

Maintaining productivity in a mobile office is critical to the success of the office.  Many employers worry that their employees who travel or are located in a mobile office may not be as productive as their employees who perform their work in a main office.  There are a number of steps that an employee can take to ensure productivity.  First providing advanced technology is very important.  Employees who work on outdated or slow running equipment will not be as productive as employees who are provided with high speed computers and other equipment that simplifies their work. 

Creating a comfortable work environment can also help to maintain productivity.  This obviously does not apply to employees who travel and do their work while on the road but for those who have a long term mobile office a comfortable work environment that contains sufficient lighting, ergonomic furniture and adequate temperature control will keep employees productive.  Finally, establishing regular performance evaluations will help to maintain productivity.  Employees who are aware that they will be evaluated regularly are much more likely to be more productive than those who do not have regularly scheduled performance evaluations.  These evaluations not only encourage the employee to perform but also give them a sense that the employer is interested in their career development.