20 years ago it was considered a luxury if you or your business had a cellphone- now it’s an absolute rarity to come across a person who doesn’t have their personal device in their pocket.
With the popularity of modern cell phones, it can be tempting to use your own iPhone or Android device for business communications. If you are a business owner that has noticed cell phones being utilized for day to day operations, you need to read the rest of this article.
Here are 6 reasons why personal cellphones are not suitable for business calls.
Productivity
The average person spends four hours a day on their cell phone, texting, browsing social media, checking email and jumping through multiple apps. That number jumps up if they have a reason to be on their phone for work related activities.
When a business owner or employee uses their smartphone for business, they are walking around with a pocket full of potential distractions. Everytime a phone call or an email has to be answered, the bright screen of the cell phone lights up in the face of the user, tempting them to check the news or their Twitter feed. There is no denying that there are many advantages that come with cell phones but there is a time and a place for them- when it comes to work, the devices should go away. Increased productivity pays dividends to everyone involved!
Distractions to Others
We had all experienced that awkward moment when an unprofessional ringtone jolts everyone awake in a meeting. When a smartphone alert or tone goes off, everyone in the near vicinity is distracted, even if they don’t realize it. The noise of a cell phone is more distracting than a regular phone for a few reasons. One, almost everyone has a unique ringtone or message alert noise. When a unfamiliar sound enters a quiet office, for a split second, your brain will pull away from the task at hand and give its attention to the distraction. Two, smartphones have wired our brains to send a surge of dopamine through our body everytime we receive a notification– this is one of the major reasons why it is so hard to put your cellphone down! Even when we hear an alert from someone else’s device our focus will shift in that direction, seeking the reward of a new Facebook post or Instagram “like”.
Security Risk
If your employees are interacting with sensitive data in your network, then take their phones with that data out into the public, possibly joining unsecured networks, is your data safe? The answer is no. There are massive security risks involved when employees utilize smartphones for their business dealings. Just imagine what would happen if a high level executive lost her phone and all of the emails and files on the device fell into the wrong hands. Keeping your information safe and secure should be top priority! If you employees require mobile devices to conduct work outside of the office, ensure you provide them with secure devices that are company owned and controlled. If they are set up securely and the settings are regularly updated, they can be an acceptable alternative to using a personal smartphone.
Physically Dangerous
Multi-tasking is the biggest myth of the 21st century. Our brains are amazing but they can only truly focus on one task at a time. When an employee integrates their personal cell phone into their daily routines, the risk of accidents drastically increases. If you are unaware of your surroundings, you are in danger, it’s as simple as that.
This is especially important for industries that involve heavy machinery. If an employee receives a work related notification or call in their car, or around a construction site, is your business to blame? Regardless of the potential legal implications, if you want to keep your employees safer, keep their personal cell phones out of the office.
No Control and Tracking
There is an incredible amount of data that can be harvested from phone conversations. When an employee is using a personal device to interact with other employees, customers, and other entities, you have no idea how they are spending their time. If you were to utilize an in-house telecom system, you could potentially track customer service, sales, logistics, etc. You could also discover how your employees are interacting with your customers and where potential opportunities may exist. A virtually integrated system or VoIP phone system can give you the power to make every phone interaction a valuable asset for your management team!
Doesn’t Scale
Using cellphones in the workplace is not a scalable strategy. It might work today if you are a very small business, but what happens when you grow? You need to build your business around systems that can grow alongside you. If you don’t have a fully integrated phone system, how will you deal with multiple calls at all hours of the day, leaving messages for different members of your organization?
A scalable system that is tied into your data network can be an incredible asset, handling multiple voicemails and giving your employees a whole other host of options including call transfers and internal memory.
