3 Simple Solutions to Mobile Office Challenges

Mobile Office Efficiency

As technology progresses, more professions are working from a mobile office. Claim Adjusters have long been called upon to keep track of appointments, complete forms and documentation, access records and data, and communicate to the home office from the field. If you are one of these road warriors, the challenges of performing all aspects of the job efficiently and effectively on the road are very familiar. In this day of smartphones, Skype, and mobile Wi-Fi, there is an ever-evolving toolbox of aids and solutions. Surprisingly, there are also some relatively unsophisticated ways to conquer remote work hurdles.

The Library

According to Spyrestudios’ article, How to Overcome Common Office Problems, some of the most annoying issues can have relatively simple cures. For instance, how do you hold a clear conversation with a client when surrounded by loud conversations and music inside the coffee shop or street noises when sitting outside? It may be worth mapping out the locations of libraries in your territory–almost every city and town has one. They are of course very quiet inside when you need some solitude to work, but they are also almost always located in a quiet neighborhood and may even have an adjacent garden area. You can go outside and still be within range of the library Wi-Fi connection to have an interruption-free conversation.

Power Up

Adrianna Lee provides another simple solution to the mobile office population in How to Work Like a Pro on the Go: make sure to take along a “power strip.”  They don’t have to be bulky, as there as some great mini strips (which include USB ports) and accessories like the mophie. Most working travelers have multiple portable devices that run on rechargeable batteries. But not every café or other temporary public workplace will have enough outlets to accommodate everyone. With a “power strip” in hand you should have no trouble sharing scarce outlets with others.

Portability

Field professionals usually take full advantage of the room’s workspace desk, chair and Wi-Fi when they stay overnight at a hotel. In Working from your hotel room, Martin Bryant advises to anticipate the “work coma” that sometimes overtakes you when you sit down and flip open the laptop: before you know it, you may find yourself several hours later hunched over the keyboard with an aching back. Keep your data mobile on your tablet or smartphone, so you can move about as you like and access your important documents and office tools from anywhere. To help smooth the transition of data flow between your computer, tablet or smartphone, you could: 1) move all your files to a digital format and use cloud file storage so that all of your documents and information is at your fingertips, 2) ensure that your work email is set up so that it can be checked from all your devices, and 3) use apps that help you get more work done, such as the MyALE Claims Management portal, a state of the art tool for claims adjusting on the go. 

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