Understanding how to balance bring-your-own-device policies to create a win-win situation that coincides with your internet phone providers
Why Would Employees Use Their Personal Phones For Work?
This is a fair enough question that every business needs to address. Superficially it comes off that employers would be asking their employees to utilize one of their most useful technological investments (their phones) just so they can save a few bucks. When you think of BYOD in this light then it doesn’t seem all that compelling, but then why would around 75% of employees use their phones at work?
Several internet phone providers have compiled data that shows around 65% of employees around the United States provide their personal phone numbers to clients, and around 75% forward their office calls to their personal phones. It may seem somewhat obvious, but the main reasoning behind so many people giving up their personal privacy is their own intuition and business instincts.
We’re all becoming more attuned to very positive customer experiences, so it’s becoming more important for businesses of all types to highly value their ways in which their employees interact with their clients on a daily basis.
The Continuous Rise of Consumer Driven Experiences
There’s no denying how the general consumer base has come to expect a lot for very little throughout recent years, and this is partly due to automated corporations like Amazon, Facebook and Google that have continuously raised the standard for quality and automation.
This trend in automation has also lead to many companies transitioning to subcontractors, freelancers and remote workers. The issue as it pertains to business phone systems with these types of employee agreements is that it’s becoming more of a necessity to add personal phones to coincide with internet phone providers so business’ can be more adaptable and on the go.
The Pros and Cons of BYOD in the Workplace
The following are some of the pros and cons associated with BYOD that you should be well aware of:
Mobility
It’s become more apparent in recent years that employees need to remain at least somewhat connected to their work tasks when they’re away from the office. Our world has become increasingly more mobile, and this trend is here to stay for the long haul.
The issue here is that most employees don’t want to have to carry around two phones with them (business and personal), so it makes implementing a collaborative BYOD business phone system that will allow for more mobility absolutely critical for any business’ future success.
Security and Privacy
One important issue that BYOD poses is the encroachment upon your employees’ privacy as it pertains to client interaction. After all if your employee gives out their personal number, they’ll inevitably be contacted via calls/texts and other communications that may seem somewhat intrusive.
This is another reason why businesses need to implement a win-win BYOD policy that works for all parties, and a high-quality business phone system is one of the best strategies to solve these increasingly widespread issues.
Good Experiences and Simplicity
All of your employees will have a great appreciation for tools and technology that are convenient and easy to use. Every employer wants their employees to be as efficient as possible, while at the same time not get stressed out in the process of completing complex tasks.
The business phone solutions provided by Data Talk do wonders in terms of providing an employee with the sense that they’re just using one of their many phone apps while connecting to the rest of your team and customers.
Personal Data Access
One of the biggest concerns that employees have about BYOD is their employer having access to personal data within their phone, which is why it’s important to know that our systems will always enforce these types of controls to favor employee privacy.
Although this type of concern is likely to persist within many different industries, placing proper controls to uphold personal data access will always be a major prerequisite that helps bolster employee peace of mind.
Paying for Personal Phone Use at Work
One big concern about BYOD in the workplace is that some employees would rather be paid to use their personal devices for work purposes, or simply don’t want to use their personal phones at work. Because everyone is different, it’s important to ensure that you’re providing options for your employees.
Only some companies (about 23%) are providing financial assistance for employee personal phone usage, but here are some ways to provide payments to employees within a BYOD policy:
- Contribute to payroll: This can be any small amount that is added to an employee’s payroll that recognizes the usage of their personal phone.
- Contribute to phone payment: Some employers will pay to have their employees upgrade their personal phone to a model that’s more adaptable for a business phone system.
- Company discounts: These discounts will typically manifest themselves in the form of a group discounted rate or assistance in purchasing high-end mobile phones that work well within business phone systems.
- Do nothing: It’s an unfortunate truth, but many employers do absolutely nothing to assist their BYOD employees, and some even make BYOD a requirement and pitch it as an employee benefit! Although this is what many employers do, we recommend that you provide more tangible benefits for employees within BYOD business phone solutions.
Data Talk Provides the Perfect Balance Between Internet Phone Providers and BYOD Policies
All of us at Data Talk fully understand how high-quality mobility, personal privacy, and user experiences are extremely important to finding the perfect balance within a business phone system and BYOD policies.
There certainly are a lot of important considerations for employers to keep in mind while implementing a successful BYOD program, so feel free to contact us online or call us at (614) 784-7100 today to speak with one of our experts and have all your questions and concerns answered!
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