What is your company doing to accommodate remote employees? That question is becoming more common in each subsequent interview I run with our customers. Sales has always been an “outside-the-walls” position, but now that truth is being taken to new levels. From Managesmarter.com’s Get Competitive, Get Mobile (added emphasis):
The study polled more than 500 executives globally on whether or not their organizations had implemented mobility initiatives and how often those initiatives were being used. The results show that business mobility is now implemented in most companies and executives report that one fifth of their employees are mobile, spending at least one day a week working outside the office.
Reasons behind the mobility trend overwhelmingly point to retention incentives and brand reputation (75 percent). Other benefits of office mobility include:
* Competitive advantage: 36 percent
* Improved collaboration: 27 percent
* The ability to work with multiple partners/suppliers: 12 percent
This is an international poll and business practices in Europe are quite different than here. The results are still notable in that remote offices are a retention incentive for employees. That’s true. 80% of the national sales positions I am working on right now are mobile (home-office based). Salespeople working in the office environment are also looking for mobile accessibility. If you have salespeople covering a specific, local geographic territory, it is often more effective to have them base out of their home instead of the office.
In regards to hiring, the topic of mobility is now discussed in almost every interview. The savvy sales candidates want to know what tools are provided to allow them to spend their time in the field with prospects and customers as opposed to in the office. If this topic as not been addressed at your company, I strongly encourage you to start today.