Would you relay the gory details of your podiatrist appointment to a room full of your coworkers?  We didn’t think so.  But what you may not realize is you’re doing just that on your loud cell phone call with your mother—and your coworkers don’t like hearing about your feet.

Cell phone calls have been known to interrupt meetings, spurn emotional displays, and hinder customer service.  Without proper employee discretion, personal cell phone conversations can be more than disruptive and annoying in the workplace—they can grind productivity to a halt and even harm the company’s image.  Help protect your company’s good name and bottom line with these guidelines for workplace cell phone use.

• Cell phones should not be brought into meetings.  If you’ve never had to wait for someone who left a meeting to answer a personal call, you’re lucky!  (Managers, be especially careful about setting an example here.  You tend to be some of the worse offenders!)  Meetings are held to encourage face-to-face discussions and productivity.  They can’t continue at 100 percent if someone steps out on a phone call, so why not banish cell phones from the conference room? For every meeting held, staff should be informed of who is attending and how long the meeting is scheduled to last.  If an emergency comes up, one of those staff members can seek out the person they need.  There’s really no need for cell phones during these times.
• Cell phones should not make noise.  Other employees shouldn’t be able to sing along with your cell phone ringer, especially if it’s the extended version of “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.”  To maintain a quiet and professional environment, cell phones should be kept on silent or vibrate mode.
• Cell phone conversations should be limited to break times and emergencies.  Employee rest breaks and meal breaks are perfect times to place or receive nonemergency personal calls.  Of course, if a situation warrants a true emergency, cell phone calls should be allowed at any hour.  However, it is important to distinguish between an emergency and an inconvenience.  A sick child would warrant an emergency, whereas a husband who cannot find his sack lunch would not.
• Cell phone conversations should be held in private.  If an employee must take a personal call, it should be done quietly and in a private or secluded place.  The phone call should not be long enough or loud enough to impede employee productivity.  It should also not be held in a place where clients or customers can hear, which would reflect poorly on the organization’s standards and professionalism.

In severe cases of cell phone disruptions or abuse, a solid HR policy may be necessary.  This policy will let employees know the circumstances under which they may make and receive personal cell phone calls, and also the consequences for breaking the rules.  A comprehensive cell phone policy will address issues such as general etiquette, productivity, legal concerns (such as taking photos of proprietary information), and enforcement.  Such a policy should also address company-owned versus personal cell phones.  It may sound like a daunting task, but with the right language and some helping hands, your company can reap the benefits of a quieter and more productive work environment—without the fine details of podiatry.

If helping hands are in order, look to us at YES! Your Human Resources Solution to give you the boost you need.  We can work with your management and existing HR resources to devise policies that suit your company’s unique needs.  It’s our job to help your company stay running at its best now and in the future!  Visit our website to find out how.  We’re happy to provide a free consultation to let you know how we can best benefit your company and its employees.  Give us a call today to harness the power of saying YES!