BLACKBERRIES RIPE FOR PICKING – WHO HOLDS THE PHONE IN COMPANY WIDE LAYOFFS?
WIRELESS EXPERT, DAVID SCHOFIELD, SHARES TIPS ON DEALING WITH RESIDUAL PDAS
Who owns the phone after you have been laid off? Companies with plans to lay off hundreds, possibly thousands of employees need to answer this question. And so do employees.
David Schofield, Director of Wireless Mobility with Thompson Advisory Group (TAG), says there is a lot to consider on both sides of the layoff.
“Regardless of whether you are a Main Street mom-and-pop with 20 employees or a global corporation of 10,000, there are several questions that need to be answered before organizations start handing out pink slips,” says Schofield.
Some significant issues for companies to consider, according to Schofield:
ü Inventory – what do you do with the plethora of PDAs?
· Who will collect them and at what cost?
· How will the information be extracted?
· Who will do the extraction?
· How will the information be protected?
ü Protection – both company and employee.
· How do former employees know personal information won’t be compromised?
· How do companies secure critical customer information?
ü Increase in cell phone bills – companies won’t receive a discount for unused lines.
· How much will early termination of mobile contracts cost?
· What fees are involved in “suspending” the unused phone numbers?
Employees have things to clear up on their end as well. Schofield says it’s no secret we all have personal photos, favorite web sites, music and other non-company information on our PDAs and phones.
“If you’ve just been laid off and have to turn in your phone, what happens to that picture of your dog Buster or the kids? You always need a backup plan or some type of pre-arranged agreement with your employer that allows you to retrieve your personal data,” Schofield emphasizes.
For more information, please call TAG at 817.251.0081 or visit TAG’s website at www.i-tag.net