Cell phones drive new workplace policies

There are approximately 1.5 billion cell phones in the world as of July 2004, according to the International Telecommunications Union. That number has almost surpassed the number of landline subscribers, a feat unthinkable a few years ago: The number of land lines stands at about 1.85 billion.

In the United States, 57 percent of people have mobile phones. It’s not surprising, then, that the use of cell phones at work has become a hot topic.

Different companies deal with the cell phone issue in different ways.

Tom Montileone, chief operating officer at Barker-Phillips-Jackson Inc., said that at his company, producers – company members who actually sell insurance policies – all carry cell phones, the costs of which are partially reimbursed.

“Usually when they’re in the office they’ll use the office phones, and when they’re out in the field they’ll use cell phones,” he said. “The only policy we have is just that if you receive a personal call to try and keep the duration as short as possible.”

An office tool

Cell phones are an office necessity for many businesses, according to Matthew Snyder, Springfield Area Human Resources Association past president.

“I think what you find is it’s becoming more of a necessary tool for some positions,” said Snyder, who also is head of human resources for Great Southern Bank. “I’ve got folks that really don’t have an office other than their car, and so the cell phone is their business phone. That is their direct line of contact. It’s how they transact business. I know people who don’t even have home phones anymore, and more and more people are going that route. In work it’s just a necessary evil.”

Many larger businesses are embracing mobile phones. Snyder said Great Southern is one of many companies that provide cell phones specifically for business.

“We’re large enough now that I’ve got enough folks that truly need a cell phone for business,” he said. “We have enough accounts now that we can go to a provider and say, ‘We have X accounts that we need to open up with you. What kind of arrangement can you make with us?’”

Some Springfield city employees use city-owned cell phones, and policies are in place as to appropriate use of those phones. The policy says that the employee should use “good judgment” as to how many personal calls are acceptable.

City Director of Human Relations Sheila Maerz said those policies have been enforced in the past.

“The city has a policy that if the department approves a person to have a cell phone for business use, then the department can send it through their budget,” she said. “Any personal calls (on city-owned phones) have to reimbursed to the tune of 10 cents a minute, plus any other charges; like for roaming. For those individuals who are not approved but have a personal phone, if they bring in an itemized list that shows the work nature of the call, they’re reimbursed for the cost of the call.”

Maerz said the city has taken disciplinary action in the past against employees who violated the policy, including termination.

She added that while the city does address what is appropriate with cell phones, politeness and courtesy are another issue.

“While there’s no policy specific to cell phone etiquette, it certainly has been under discussion at several management meetings about whether you should stay in a meeting when the cell phone rings, and the appropriate way to handle phone calls when you’re in a meeting, but a specific policy, we don’t have,” she said.

Taking advantage

Snyder said there’s a distinct advantage to owning the cell phones the employees use.

“If that (employee) leaves, it’s our number, and that’s really critical,” he said. “If I have an investments representative and there’s a customer that’s used to calling this person at this number, if they leave and that number’s mine, they’re still going to be calling my number. I’ve got a chance to hang onto that business and not lose it. If it’s a personal account, and it’s their cell phone number, they take the customer with them.”

Company ownership can also help with the issue of personal calls on company time. Montileone said his company doesn’t have a set policy regarding personal cell phone calls.

“Our (associates), usually if they’re talking on the cell phone, it’s a phone they own themselves, which probably means it’s a personal call, and that’s fine,” he said. “We understand that there are times when people need to receive personal calls. All we ask is that if they’re making or receiving a personal call while they’re on company time they just keep it as brief as possible.”

Snyder said his company tries to monitor types of calls.

“They’ve got to give an itemized list of their billing, highlighting the business calls on their bill,” he said. “If we think someone’s abusing the system – they’re submitting their bill and it’s a majority (of) personal calls – the fact that we have the detail allows us the opportunity to call those numbers. If we pick up the phone and we realize it’s mom and dad’s house, we can sit down with the employee and there might be a discipline situation there.”