The results are in: Four out of five college students want to choose the device they use for their jobs—further validation that the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) movement is here to stay.
Cisco surveyed college students and young professionals working around the world to determine the influence mobile device protocols, remote work opportunities, and Internet policies have on their employment decisions. It turns out that, even more than salary, flexible device and telework arrangements matter to young prospective employees. They seek organizations that embrace technologies, like telepresence, that support anywhere, anytime collaboration and, with the right set-up, can operate smoothly on personal mobile devices.
But BYOD-friendly workplaces that also support telework aren’t necessarily just perks in the eyes of young job seekers—they’re often lifelines. Digital technology offers one viable solution to the problem of youth unemployment, according to a Civil Society IT blog post by Dan Sutch. Sutch writes that digital technology (and we include telepresence in this category) can allow struggling young people to earn income from multiple employers. The home, or the mobile device itself, serves as the office, and the young worker can coordinate with and produce for several different organizations. The arrangement clearly benefits the employee by enabling him or her to earn money, but it also helps economically stressed organizations that can’t commit to full-time recruitment, Sutch said.
As millennials enter the workforce and demand and rely upon mobile collaboration tools to conduct business, mobile telepresence will play a crucial role. With telepresence and other digital communication modalities, this generation of young employees can enjoy the best of both worlds: the flexibility to work from home as needed or wanted, with access to the world in the palms of their hands. They’ll go local and global all at the same time!
Is your organization ready to support incoming mobile young employees? What challenges might you face in preparing for their arrival and attempting to attract their attention?
By Janet Lyons
