Owners and management alike cringe at the thought of providing company devices (phones, tablets, laptops), yet at the same time understand that they are an essential tool to help streamline operations and offer instant access on-the-go. Still on the fence of whether you’re ready to commit? Here are six reasons why you should jump on board:
More mobile equals more proficiency.
This applies to both yourself as the employer and your relationship with your customers. If your employee needs to get a hold of you or another team member, they are one phone call away. The same principle applies to your customers being able to get a hold of your staff, the quicker your customer can be serviced/addressed, and in turn improve customer satisfaction and even increase sales!
Direct access to the right people.
During working hours (or after-hours depending on your business), you can have a direct line of communication with the necessary personnel. Whether it’s to resolve an issue, confirm travel status, or relay an impromptu instruction/task, getting a hold of your employees in an instant can be the difference between preventing a fire rather than putting one out.
Eliminate wasted time.
Waiting for crucial information to return to the office at the end of a shift can have a significant impact for your business (and your customers). Having all of that information come piling in all at once can overwhelm your managers/administrators and lead to missed information, and/or delays in task delegation/completion.
Owning phone numbers.
If an employee ever decides to leave your company, that same number can be transferred to another employee. This eliminates any confusion or worse, potentially damaging your relationship with your existing clientele.
Less burden on tech support.
If all employees are offered devices on the same platform (ie. all Android or iOS smartphones, identical laptop/tablet models), servicing these devices will be the same across the board. Tech support can easily troubleshoot any device/employee at any given time or if a hardware replacement is in line, your employee can feel confident knowing they are receiving the same hardware to use
Control costs.
The final benefit of providing company phones is that you are now able to have some control over monthly/annual costs with respect to your company devices. Most carriers offer competitive business plans that offer more value than traditional personal/family plans. They also offer the ability to flex your plans based on what specific needs for certain lines/devices (ie. one employee may only need access for phone calls, therefore data can be deferred for that employee).
Once you have made the business decision to move forward with providing company devices to your employees, check out the following blog on things to consider when moving forward with this solution. If you feel you are not ready to provide hardware or commit to fixed-term contracts, take a look at the following article on another alternative to providing means for connectivity for your field employees.
