PROS AND CONS OF SMARTPHONES

Pros and Cons of Smartphones are everywhere, even within the workplace. In fact, in many businesses, smartphones are a very important tool for internal and external business communications. During the past decade, smartphone use has grown considerably, enabling business owners to look at the advantages, as well as the downsides, of this technology so does Smartphones, it has both advantages and disadvantages. Here are a few pros and cons of smartphones listed.
Some business owners ask employees to bring their own devices, as well as laptops, tablets, and smartphones to use at work. For a small business owner, not having to invest in electronics for each employee will represent significant price savings. Additionally, if a worker owns her devices, she can be inclined to take higher care of them.
There are downsides to this approach, however:
An otherwise qualified job candidate might not own a smartphone or portable computer. Not only could this end in embarrassment for a new hire, but however also puts the employer in the position of either finding some other person for the job or purchasing those devices the employee.
Employees may own the required device types, however, the operating systems or models may not be compatible with your company’s systems.
An employee who leaves your company might end up walking away with sensitive business information on their devices.

PROS AND CONS OF SMARTPHONES

Pros

• Instant info– Smartphones provide instant info to the users where they are and whenever they want. Users will Google anything and everything.
• Conversation– Social networking is in these days and it is one of the best ways to stay in touch with friends and family. You can check the talk about your company, get popular once a story breaks etc. Twitter and Facebook are used like crazy nowadays.
• Convenience– remember those days before mobile was invented? Payphone, phone books, encyclopedias etc. Currently, of these tools are embedded in one device which is a smartphone. You wish not to check your phone book to dial variety simply put it aside in your contact list on your phone and you’re done. Have to hunt for some data simply Google it. You can watch movies, check native restaurants, weather reports etc.
• Tech Smarts-Apps available on the mobile are nice. this is one of the reasons people go for a smartphone. They are very good and you can literally do several things with these apps like do your official procedure, dine, watch movies celebrate, play etc.

Cons

• Distraction-Yes, Smartphones are a distraction. As they will be carried where you go they kind of distract you from your duty in school, business meeting, family get along etc. Sometimes people are even engrossed in them whereas driving or crossing the road.
• Taking work Home-Computers and emails are not enough reason for working continuously around the clock, the mobile phones have added to the list. You can provide no excuse for not working as you can carry your phones wherever you go and go through them.
• Addiction-Smartphones are an addiction. It becomes a habit when sometimes that you constantly check for a mail or a tweet or a Facebook update as you can access these from your phone. One becomes a mobile phone addict and spends many precious hours of the day lingering with the phone.

 

Business Communication

For many companies, the primary advantage of the smartphone is that it will enhance communication, particularly if your employees travel a lot or if they work remotely. Phone calls, video chat, texts, and emails are all out there on a smartphone. Additionally, your company might choose to install business communication apps, like Slack, as well as apps for numerous analytics and marketing tools. The smartphone makes it easier to stay in touch throughout the day, and even throughout non-business hours if there is a very important project that needs updating.
There are some drawbacks, however, to the smartphone’s multiple communication choices. Some employees might have difficulty constantly monitoring completely different apps. As a result, a text may go unnoticed for a day or two, while the employee is checking email, Slack and voicemail. Some staff may become unhappy with being constantly “reachable,” and may begin to experience stress from feeling like they are always on the duty.
Finally, there is the opposite risk of miscommunication via smartphone. Since text-based communications lack the nicety of vocal inflections and body language, it may be easy for colleagues to misinterpret what some other person is saying. Also, if employers are continually emailing or texting each other at the workplace, they may end up missing out on face-to-face interaction.

Security Problems

Smartphones will pose multiple security risks to your company. Phones may be stolen and hacked. In addition, it is possible for a worker to be careless regarding permitting others to have access to his phone, that could result in another party viewing confidential business data.
As a business owner, it’s up to you to review security risks and to develop policies and processes that may guard against the implications of sensitive information getting into the wrong hands. These might include:

• Requiring staff to confine all business communications to a company-issued smartphone.
• Asking staff to use passcodes to secure their devices.
• Developing onboarding and offboarding processes that assign devices to staff, brief them on security policies and procedures, and, upon termination of employment, deactivate and collect these devices.
• Requiring staff to immediately report the loss of a smartphone or any suspicion that the phone is compromised.

Productivity issues

Smartphones and other devices are connected to disrupted productivity within the workplace. This is often particularly true once employees have their own devices at work, which suggests that the employee might receive notifications of personal communications throughout the workday.
Additionally, many staff is also tempted to spend time on social media, listening to music or watching videos. Small business owners might want to consider developing workday policies regarding the use of personal devices at the office or just request that staff only use company issued phones during work hours.