Dental and Medical Counsel Blog

Does your practice have an employee cell phone policy? If you don’t, perhaps you should. And if you do, then you are not alone. The proliferation of personal cell phone usage at the workplace has led to a high percentage of employers implementing cell phone policies to cut down on distractions due to personal calls, web-surfing and social media usage. Texts are an especially problematic issue, with employers citing texting at work as being to blame for 55% of productivity losses. What can, and should, you do to address cell phone usage in the workplace?

To start, you should create a policy which suits your needs. For example, if you have not experienced issues with cell phone usage being a problem, or if you have a small office and your current staff has been respectful in their phone usage, then immediately instituting an outright ban is likely unnecessary and may actually backfire in the form of a disgruntled workforce. On the other hand, having no policy in place could cause issues if one or two employees abuse their phone usage and then cry foul if/when they are called out for misuse. Therefore, it is advisable to find a middle ground when it comes to drafting a cell phone policy. Here are some suggestions:

First, make sure that your policy is in writing. If you are starting a policy for the first time or amending an existing policy, ensure that all employees receive the new written information. Second, encourage employees to handle as many personal matters during their breaks as possible. Third, it is a sound practice to require employees to have cell phones out of sight when working with patients. Finally, of course, ringers should be set to silent or vibrate any time that the employee is in the office.

Crafting a reasonable personal cell phone usage policy can protect the interests of your practice without placing unrealistic restraints upon your employees. Remember to balance the interests of your workers, your practice, and your patients and find that fine line which allows your employees to be reachable without appearing unprofessional to those who visit your practice.

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