When you provide your team with mobile phones for work purposes, you may want them to be used appropriately. There may be several tips that you might want to impart on your employees to help them make the most of their working day, and also use any equipment given in the way that you intended. Making it clear exactly how their business phones should be used could help to prevent issues later on, and even benefit work-life balance.
Be cautious with calls
Depending on the role your employees have, it may be understandable for them to receive calls from numbers they don’t recognise, such as new or existing clients. While you could expect a lot of mobile callers with your area code, others may not make sense. Therefore, it could be a good idea to tell the team that, should they receive a call from an 0161 area code, and they don’t live or work in that area, it may be a good idea to run a quick search on the number. This could allow your employee to avoid being scammed of money, personal information, or even information relating to your company. Making management aware of scam calls that have been received may also be a good idea.
Be open about monitoring
Your company may have the right to monitor any equipment you provide, including not only mobile phones, but also computers or tablets as well. That being said, it could be a good idea to be upfront about any monitoring you do. Giving clear instruction on what is and isn’t alright with work phones, such as the installation of apps not related to work, or the making or receiving of personal calls outside of emergencies, could be useful. This way, should you notice something that goes against these rules, you may be able to clarify it with that individual and issue disciplinary measures as set out in your policies. Being open about this monitoring could also help to deter these behaviours in the first place.
Remind employees to switch off
While having those work phones can be useful, they shouldn’t mean that an individual is on call all the time. It can be a good idea to remind each employee that, at the end of their shift or working day, the business phone should be switched off and stored safely. Should a manager need to contact them, such as to offer additional work or ask if a shift could be changed, this could then be done on the employee’s personal phone, and it would be down to their discretion if they choose to answer. Making it clear to employees that their time outside of work is their own could help with morale and even employee retention.
Usage policies for business mobile phones can help both the company and the individual. Not only can this prevent viruses or improper usage, but they could also help to separate a person’s work and personal lives.
