Texting has presented a unique problem to employers. Technically, these quick messages to check on kids or tell a spouse one is going to be late isn’t that big of a deal- and they’re a better option than long conversations that are personal and distract everyone in the office. But, speaking of distractions, texting can pull your employee’s focus away from a project.

I suggest crafting a strict policy on texting while at work. There should be reasonable allowances and expectations within the policy. Texting interferes with productivity. This fact has been proven time and time again. The policy should state no personal texting from a company issued mobile phone or tablet. And customers should never observe an employee texting from his or her own phone. In fact, customers should never see or know your employee has a person phone on his or her person.

I tell my employees to check their text messages on breaks, in between clients or to take a quick trip to the bathroom to send or review texts (they’re going to do this anyway). I advise company owners to make sure their texting and cell phone usage policies are reasonable, clear, concise and (most importantly)…. enforced!

Britanie Olvera, CEO
Building Team Solutions