Mobile Media Device Protocols for Employees

In the past the only concern that most employers had about communication/media technology related to an employee's personal use of the company phone. Today there are dozens of mobile and landline devices that employees can use while at work. Some of these items are necessary for doing business, however, others distract the employee from doing their job. It is because of this that it is important that all employers develop protocols for using mobile media devices while at work.

Employee Handbook

Your employee handbook is the Holy Grail of your company. The protocols and procedures that you outline in this manual will not only help ensure that your employees are aware of what you expect of them, but it will also provide you with legal grounds for disciplining and terminating an employee who breaks the rules. For these reasons it will be important to incorporate your rules of use for mobile media devices at work or during working hours.

List of Items

A good place to start when constructing protocols for mobile media device use for your employees is to create a list of items that are okay to use at work and items that are not okay to use. For example, if your employees work directly with customers on the floor or in an office setting then you may want to prohibit them from using MP3 players, iPods and other devices that will distract them from doing their job. However, there are devices that can enhance your employees' ability to do their job, such as Blackberries or other electronic organizers. These items will go on the okay to use list.

Rules for Use

While you have lists of okay to use and not okay to use at work, it is still important to discuss in your mobile media device policy the rules for use of these devices. For example, you may indicate that MP3 players are okay to use in your own office as long as it does not interfere with your ability to answer phones and do your work, but they are not okay to use while in a staff meeting, when working with customers or when engaged in activities related to work. If you are against the use of mobile media devices that are not work related then you can create a policy that these devices cannot be used during work hours except for when the employee is on a break.

Penalties

The final section of your mobile media device use policy is to outline the penalties for using or misusing mobile media devices at work. You will want to outline punishments that range from mild to severe. These punishments may include a verbal warning, a written warning and even suspensions. Make sure your punishments are in line with the other punishment policies in your company.