Today, there are more distractions than ever thanks to technology and the Internet. While advanced tech makes it faster to complete tasks, all of these diversions can hinder productivity.
Do your employees spend excessive amounts of time on their cell phones taking personal phone calls and checking social media? The NY Post reported that the average office employee spends around five hours every week on their mobile device. That’s 20 hours wasted every month!
The best way to reduce problematic cell phone distractions is to develop a mobile phone policy and have your employees sign it.
How to Create a Mobile Phone Policy
1: Determine how often your employees may use their personal phones.
Do you want to completely ban them? Can they have them turned on in case of emergencies? Can they use them sporadically throughout the day? Do you want to limit use to breaks and lunches?
2: Develop rules around connecting to the company Wi-Fi.
Do not allow them to download or view inappropriate, obscene, or illegal content. Also, make sure to set up a separate wireless network for your employees to connect their personal devices.
3: Set guidelines to avoid disrupting other employees
like taking personal phone calls outside and putting their phones on vibrate.
4: State when and where phones are prohibited
like during client meetings or in a server room.
5: Put restrictions on phone use regarding confidential company information.
Make it clear that employees are not to take pictures of classified data or access that information on their device.
6: Include information on disciplinary actions that will be taken if any policy is broken.
At the end of the day, the policy is only useful when management properly enforces it. if employees are caught excessively using their phones, disciplinary action needs to take place. Otherwise, productivity will continue to spiral downward.
