Smartphones Can Have a Legitimate Purpose in the Workplace

Did you know that people tend to spend an average of 3-5 hours on their phones every day? The smartphone might be one of the most useful modern tools out there, but it can get in the way of running your business if you let it. Here are a couple of ways you can get the most out of your smartphone for business purposes.

What Does the Average Smartphone Usage Look Like?

People tend to use their smartphones in different ways, but there are certain trends that emerge. Here are some of the popular things people use their smartphones for:

• Texting (88%)
• Email (70%)
• Social Media (68%)
• Camera (61%)
• News (58%)
• Shopping (56%)
• Weather (54%)
• Banking (45%)
• Watching video content (42%)
• Gaming (41%)

Making phone calls is suspiciously omitted from this list. The study shows that only about 35 percent of users make phone calls with their smartphones on a daily basis. Up to a quarter of respondents claim they haven’t made a call in the past week, and a third of them state that they ignore calls unless they are expecting them. Even five percent of people claim they have never made a call with their current smartphone.

How Can Your Business Use This Information to Improve Your Mobile Reach?

If you want your staff to use their smartphones to make and receive calls, it might be a tall order, to say the least. However, if you want to improve your business’ mobile reach, there are several benefits to doing so. Here are just a few of them.

Improved Productivity

If you can improve employee engagement, you can improve their productivity. Several studies show that work/life smartphone correlation, whether it’s for using personal devices or for a BYOD policy, leads to a 20 percent increase in profitability. Naturally, this is a result of increased productivity. You might be worried about employees spending too much time on their phones, but the fact of the matter is that the numbers do not lie in this regard.

Reduced Turnover

Since phones have become intertwined with the lives of employees and people all over the world, it’s a problem when they are told they cannot use them. While it’s one thing to spend the shift playing mobile games, it’s another entirely to stop someone from responding to an email on their mobile device. To keep employee turnover to a minimum, be sure to place value in your employees as people, and a relaxed smartphone policy can make this more possible.

Improved Customer Satisfaction

People like to stay connected to their services, and if you provide service offerings to customers, they will feel more connected to your business if your employees have smartphones. Most employees don’t mind replying to quick emails after hours; it’s just part of their job. This also helps to create repeat customers and generate more profit.

What does your business’ smartphone usage look like? Directive can help you take it to the next level. To learn more, reach out to us at 607.433.2200.