IT departments should take an active role in managing cellular phone policies and practices across the business. By implementing a comprehensive management plan, IT managers and business owners can cut monthly costs and see significant savings.
Five Strategies for Cutting Cellular Costs
When a company issues cellular phones to employees, measures need to be put in place to regulate associated costs. Actively managing and enforcing cellular phone policies is a cost-saving mechanism that can be employed in companies that need to realize immediate and future cost savings. The cost of business-issued mobile devices is usually quite large and, in most cases, can be reduced substantially. Companies interested in cutting their cellular expenditures should implement the following steps.
Enforce Cellular Usage Policy
Cellular usage policies establish who qualifies for a company-issued cell phone and how the phone is to be used. If an employee owns a phone and the company reimburses him or her for business calls, then the policy details the reimbursement practices. Policies protect companies from legal matters concerning cellular phone use and from employees who abuse their phone privileges. For a sample cell phone policy, refer to the Info Tech Advisor, Cellular Phone Policy.
Choose Best Plans For Employee Needs
Employees have different usage requirements, and it's up to IT to ensure that they're on the right plan for their needs. Periodically reviewing employee usage and matching it to appropriate plans will prove to be advantageous. While having different plans for different employees is cost effective, IT departments should take care not to have too many plans, as this can turn into an administrative nightmare.
More from Info-Tech Research Group:
For light cell phone users, a shared-minutes plan is generally the cheapest alternative. In early 2008, the big four North American wireless carriers released a series of unlimited voice and data plans for $99.99. These plans are suitable for heavy domestic cell phone users. Having an unlimited plan makes it easier for companies to forecast costs and simplifies bill auditing. For more information on unlimited plans, refer to the Info-Tech Advisor research note, All You Can Eat Wireless Plans to Invade North America.
Employees who regularly travel abroad can amass huge phone bills from their long-distance, data, and roaming charges. Other than simply reminding international travelers to keep conversations short, there are different measures that can be put in place to control roaming costs, resulting in savings of 30% to 50%. These include:
- Negotiating plans with international coverage; best for high-level executives.
- Switching Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards to ones supported by foreign carriers when traveling -- best for frequent travelers.
- Using company rental phones supported by foreign carriers; appropriate for infrequent travelers.
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