A recent fishing trip reminded me of the casualties that come with our constant connection to mobile devices. A once fruitful fishing experience ended with me chasing my rod into the river – with my phone in my pocket. For the first time, I was the one needing the company to replace the device I depend on daily for business.
Mobile phones have taken over how we communicate and, in my experience, they can easily take over your business. Until last year, I managed the more than 300 devices our company provides employees. That meant everything from monitoring minutes to getting calls on the weekend about replacements.
How to effectively manage mobile device use – from cell phones to tablets – has become an increasing challenge among employers of all sizes. Employers really have three options: buy and manage mobile phones for employees, reimburse employees to use their personal devices for work or nothing.
Yes, the third is still an option. Legally, employers do not have to provide any financial compensation. The majority of companies choose to reimburse employees or become corporate liable for mobile devices. Here’s a look at the advantages of corporate liable and reimbursing employees to help you evaluate what works best for your business:
Why Choose Corporate Liable
When a company is liable for all wireless accounts, it buys the hardware, pays the monthly service fee, and has full access to all usage information. Employers can manage the accounts themselves or contract with a company, like we do now. Making this move already has saved our company $7,000 year to date, compared to a year ago, and we get detailed reports to help us make better decisions. Here’s a look at why businesses choose corporate liable:
· Receive bulk savings on hardware and service: That can stack up, considering mobile devices are one of the fastest growing expense categories in corporate America. A wireless phone with an average monthly service cost of $90 represents an annual expense of over $1,000.
· Easier to support: When you buy the devices, you can limit the models in the hands of employees and that makes it easier on IT.
· Better security: It’s easier to wipe data if a device is lost, stolen or an employee left with it. This is also possible when employers reimburse employees, but it typically requires a policy and permission by the employee.
· Retain control: The company keeps device, all data and, often more importantly, the phone number – when employees leave.
· Encourage use for business: This means you don’t have to worry about an employee not wanting to answer or make a call to save on minutes.
Why Choose to Reimburse
Employers that want to encourage employees to use their mobile devices for work, but are not interested in managing the purchase and usage of the devices often choose a monthly reimbursement. This often makes the most sense of employers with a small number of employees using phones for business. Here are some reasons why companies choose this route:
· Easier to budget: Forget the fluctuating monthly costs that come with corporate liable accounts. This allows businesses to pay a fixed cost, typically about $55 a month per employee.
· No management required: This means the company does not need to manage overages, hardware replacements and service upgrades. Employees buy the phone and plan they want.
· Freedom to talk without the strings: Personal or professional usage does not matter. With corporate liable phones, employers need to set a policy that dictates personal use and then audit each line accordingly. That takes time and can lead to uncomfortable conversations with employees who need to reimburse the company for exceeding the personal call limit.
· App it up: Unlike with corporate liable accounts, employees with reimbursed devices can download the apps they choose without restrictions. That’s a significant benefit for employees as app consumption continues to skyrocket.
· Just one phone to carry: Because employees can use the phone for personal and professional use, they do not need to worry about carrying two devices.
No matter which path businesses choose, they should create a mobile device policy that sets guidelines on employee use. Having a mobile device has become the standard in business today. Employees have recognized the benefits of having mobile device for work – and appreciate when employers provide them the resources to use it on the job.
