Why Training Needs to Be Mobile, Even While We Work From Home

We love our phones—and it turns out we’re using them more than ever during the pandemic. New research shows that, with millions of people working and learning from home, in-home data usage is on the rise.

Here are the stats:

• Comparing the same weekdays year-over-year, mobile phone data usage grew by more than 50% in March, according to Comscore.
• 39% of survey participants say they have been relying on their phones more due to social distancing, according to Twigby.

Conventional thinking might lead to the assumption that mobile app use for work-related apps would drop off because we’re all less, well, mobile. But in spite of travel restrictions and a nearly complete shift to a WFH culture, mobile access to Allego’s platform remains fairly steady. Normally, 45% of platform access is mobile.  During lockdown, that number has only dipped by just about 5%.

Clearly, the ability to access training material, the most relevant content, and feedback from our teams via mobile is still extremely important. And productivity apps such as Allego are enabling organizations to maintain and even enhance communication and collaboration wherever and whenever it works.

“The future is work from anywhere—on the road, in an office, from home—and mobile is even more important now.” — Yuchun Lee, CEO & Co-Founder, Allego

Employees Are Adjusting to New Challenges

Today’s new work environment has changed dramatically in only a few months. According to Allego’s COVID-19 WFH Survey of 800 employees, while most respondents (60%) said their preferred work setting on an average week prior to the pandemic was the office, more than half of them (55%) confirmed they were previously permitted to WFH, and most did so one or more days per week, or at least once per month or quarter.

Interestingly, almost half of the respondents (45%) were not allowed to WFH before the pandemic, which means these employees faced a much larger adjustment in the transition to WFH full-time than those who had prior WFH experience.

Regardless of experience level, working from home can be unexpectedly challenging, especially if you’re sharing your space with others. Few have dedicated office space at home. Many are setting up on the dining room table, in a bedroom, or anywhere they can find enough space for a laptop. School-age children are trying to learn from home. And if you’re with another working adult, you may be jostling for bandwidth, quiet spaces, and elbow room.

“What does today’s new work environment look like? It’s mobile. When you work from home, you’re not chained to your desk. You’re working while you’re walking the dog.” — Yuchun Lee, CEO & Co-Founder, Allego

Most of us are in search of a second quiet space where we won’t be interrupted or have to listen in on work or school calls. These days, when no one has a landline, you need a phone or ipad to get work done. This allows you to stay connected while walking the dog, tidying up, driving to the store, or simply sitting on the back porch when your indoor space is full. That’s why we still need mobile, even though most of us are no longer on the go.

Organizations Must Support Mobile Access to Critical Capabilities

Today’s business leaders need to realize that COVID-19 has changed our reliance on technology. Since March, we’ve become more dependent on apps that allow us to work and learn from home. Other statistics show that mobile usage has increased during working hours, indicating that we’re using laptops, tablets, and smartphones as well as desktops during prime business hours. Many of us use a “second screen” while watching TV, but now we’re using that second screen to work and learn.

Since the launch of the iPhone in 2007, and the cascade of new apps that followed, we expect to find whatever we need, whenever we need it, on our phones. We watch videos on YouTube to cook a new recipe, find the fastest route from A to B using Waze, and see in real time when our favorite TV show drops a new episode on Netflix. But this same access to information has not played out in the business world.

To achieve your goals in today’s evolving climate—in which both employers and employees face unprecedented pressures—you cannot simply disseminate information using old-school tactics. Legacy approaches typically rely on platforms that were developed long before smartphones redefined how we all play, shop, bank, travel, work, and learn. They don’t allow organizations to embed learning in the daily experiences of employees, and to capitalize on micro-opportunities so employees can absorb and interact at work the way they do in their personal lives.

In a world of near constant business disruption, organizations must foster an unprecedented level of agility to remain competitive long-term. If your organization isn’t supporting mobile access to critical capabilities—including learning, coaching, and development—you’re missing out on an essential opportunity to support your workforce during the pandemic and beyond.

Learn More

Download our research report to learn more: Pandemic Perspective: What WFH Survey Findings Reveal About the Future of Work