Facing the dilemma of company phone policies? Let's explore the pros and cons of each.
Company cell phones: Pros & cons employers need to know |
One day a business owner notices his employees using their personal phones for work-related tasks. He shares his observations on social media and asks his network for their opinion on this question: "Should employees use company owned phones or their personal devices?" The replies don't help. Half advocate for employees to continue using their personal devices but only if the employer reimburses the employee for the expense. The other half proudly states that the best policy is employer-provided devices. After running the numbers, he concludes these options are too costly and decides there's no harm in allowing employees to use their phones. Did the business owner make the right decision? As with many things in business, it depends. Before you decide to provide your employees with a company phone or reimburse their phone expenses, it's important to understand the implications of each approach. Let's delve into the pros and cons of personal phones, company cell phones, and cell phone reimbursement policies. The pros and cons of personal phones 👍 Pros: - Significant financial savings: Allowing employees to use their own devices can lead to significant cost savings for your business.
- Faster onboarding and offboarding: Employees who use their own device don't have to spend valuable work time adapting to a new device or operating system, shortening the learning curve and making them more productive in less time.
- Employee satisfaction and convenience: This policy means your employees can stick to one device only rather than lugging around multiple devices and switching them out depending on the time of day.
👎 Cons - Privacy and security risks: Since your organization doesn't own the employee devices, you have limited control over the device's usage and company information with a BYOD (bring your own device) program . This can make your organization more vulnerable to cybersecurity and privacy risks like viruses, malware, and data loss/theft.
- Financial obstacles for employees: You could unintentionally exclude people who can't afford the upfront cost of a mobile device or computer. Additionally, expecting employees to pay for bigger data plans or additional cloud storage to use their devices for work could become a point of contention.
- Lack of work-life balance: Work-life balance is more important to employees than ever, and having just one device could be a barrier in that department.
The pros and cons of company-issued cell phones 👍 Pros: - Monitor device usage: With company-owned devices, your organization can review any data on the device at any time and for any reason. This includes phone calls, voicemails, text messages, emails, GPS locations, photos, and web browsing history.
- Promote work-life balance: Providing employees with a separate mobile device for work can help promote better work-life balance.
- Save money with bulk pricing: Companies like Apple offer leases with flexible terms and two buyout options for small and medium-sized business, which can help lower monthly payments.
👎 Cons - Require more technical support: Due to their portability, cell phones often require more maintenance and repairs.
- Time and cost spent upgrading devices: Most mobile devices have a lifespan of about five years. After that, devices experience a significant reduction in productivity, have a shorter battery life, and likely won't be able to run the latest software or receive manufacturer support.
- Personal use of work phones: If you're not comfortable with your employees using work cell phones for personal use, a reimbursement or BYOD policy might be a better fit for your team.
The pros and cons of cell phone reimbursement 👍 Pros: - Preferred devices: Employees can hit the ground running in their new roles much faster when using their personal phones.
- Cost-effective: Phone reimbursement can be expensive, but it's still more affordable than purchasing work phones for your employees
- Work-life balance: Employees can use apps and smartphone features to maintain healthy work-life boundaries.
👎 Cons - Define stipend amount and policies: If you decide to go the reimbursement route, you will need to take the time to figure out which approach works best for your organization.
- Monitor and manage confidential information: Your IT department can recommend that your employees follow specific security protocols, but since the devices aren't company property, these measures can only go so far.
Whether you decide to provide company cell phones, allow employees to use their personal devices, or opt for a reimbursement policy, you can do so confidently with these pros and cons. |
OpenPhone feature spotlight |
With OpenPhone, your team can use their existing devices, whether company provided, reimbursed, or their own device. OpenPhone also keeps work and personal communications separate, even when using a personal device. It's the intuitive, collaborative phone for businesses. |
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| Get business phone numbers Easily get phone numbers for work, for both you and your team. Keep personal and professional calls separate. |
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| Port existing work numbers for free Fill out a 1-minute form and we do the rest. Continue using your phone numbers without any service interruption. |
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| Customize numbers to work for you Set business hours, create a phone menu, and configure each number separately depending on your team's needs. |
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Thoughts, comments, or questions about using OpenPhone instead of a traditional company phone? Send them our way. That's all for now ✌️ The OpenPhone Team |
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Ready to improve your team's communication? |
Join thousands of businesses already using OpenPhone to communicate better with their customers. |
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San Francisco, CA 94114-1612 |
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