Policy, Program and Procedures

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  • 1.  Company Issued Cell Phones

    Posted 09-04-2024 02:56 PM

    Hi all - our BOD is asking for options for company-issued cell phones for our loan officers. 

    I've chatted with our HR to get their thoughts on this, but I am also wondering if anyone else out there offers company-issued cell phones for customer contact?   We do have our Outlook app & Teams app on some managers personal phones already & these can be wiped if they are ever terminated.  Our BOD is concerned with customers having a personal phone number vs a company-issued cell phone number.  What might be the pros/cons of this & any other helpful info you might be able to share.

    My HR sent me info on company-issued phones vs stipends and different things on taxing the employees for stipends. But I would be interested in more info of anything that's being utilized at other institutions.

    Thanks in advance for the info.



  • 2.  RE: Company Issued Cell Phones

    Posted 09-04-2024 03:30 PM

    Shelly:

    We are going the other way - moving from company provided plan/device to a stipend for employees requiring cellular devices for company use.

     

    This provides greater employee flexibility [such as adding a second line to an existing device rather than carrying two] and gets the company out of the business of dealing with: international vacation charges, data pooling and excessive usage, replacements, repairs, upgrades, case suggestions, forgotten PINs, device preferences [particularly at the AVP and above] ...  all that nonsense.


    I agree with the use of Outlook/Teams – keep the company data within controlled applications, with the ability to wipe remotely if they leave employment. We do inform employees of the potential tax implications of the stipend.

     

    We are transitioning to the stipend (amount based on an annual survey of large carriers/plans in our region) as employee handsets are paid off. I'm happy to share our policy with you if you're interested.


    Cheers,

    Andy




    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Company Issued Cell Phones

    Posted 09-04-2024 03:50 PM

    Hi Shelly, 

    Our company went with personal cell phones and was able to obtain an app from our Telephony/IVR provider for our employees to use for customer calls.  This way customers would have their "work" number and not their personal cell phone number.  

    Have a great day, 

    Sarah


    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Company Issued Cell Phones

    This message was posted by a user wishing to remain anonymous
    Posted 09-04-2024 03:48 PM
    This message was posted by a user wishing to remain anonymous

    Our company only offers company cell phones to upper management, like VP's and Directors, however, they are situational. For instance, IT management has them because you never know when something can fail, Admin has them because lots can, do, and have happened off hours and weekends. No one in Lending has one except Indirect sales, other than the VP since they have longer hours to accommodate dealerships. A regular loan officer is to use company phones during business hours (Who is lending off hours?) but also because our phone lines are secure and recorded. 


    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Company Issued Cell Phones

    This message was posted by a user wishing to remain anonymous
    Posted 09-04-2024 06:18 PM
    This message was posted by a user wishing to remain anonymous

    This is as much an HR/Risk/Legal question as it is vendor management.

    BOD's concern (not expressed in the question) seems to be: ability to contact loan officers with personal devices and no traceable means available to company. Solution: Company phone.

    Not that simple. Will need policies restricting use of company phone only for company business and prohibiting use of personal phone for business. Opens question of personal email, personal texts etc.

    Suggest you discuss internally with HR, Legal and others. This general topic has been all over the press with SEC actions against its registrants for recordkeeping violations. Not sure of your regulatory obligations but....even if there aren't any...the question is much broader than vendor management.

    The idea of capturing business calls on business devices is sound, but, to me, is only one part of a broader set of questions.


    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Company Issued Cell Phones

    This message was posted by a user wishing to remain anonymous
    Posted 09-16-2024 01:31 PM
    This message was posted by a user wishing to remain anonymous

    One issue with taking away company phones is that it will require people to instal company software onto their personal device. Many people have issues with putting company software on their devices as it...takes up space, means the phone is no longer 'mine', etc. I am working with a company that is reducing the number of corporate phones, and not providing a stipend for personal phone, and people are outright refusing (not just those losing their phone) to allow any company software to be installed. They won't even install an authenticator. This has meant that the company is going to have to provide physical tokens so people can securely connect to the VPN and internal systems.

    With no legal way to force someone to install corporate software on a personal device, there are going to be a significant number of people who will only be able to access systems and data when in the office.


    Original Message