When I was running my irrigation business, we didn’t have smartphones. PDA’s were the main device used in the field and we had to provide them for the guys. Now everybody has a smartphone. Technology has become one of the biggest influencers on how we in the field service industry do business, from taking phone calls on our cells, to running our lawn care software on our computers, and marking our routes each day with GPS.
As technology continues to be such a huge factor within our society, field service companies are faced with the decision: Do I buy my field technicians devices for out in the field or do I have them supply their own?
If the company offers to pay for the device, it can get costly. Many companies need internet access out in the field, whether it be for GPS or to access the field service software they are using. Phone plans, protective cases, and the phone itself can easily cost you upwards of $300.00 (depending on if you get in on contracts deals or not this could be less). And at $300.00 a tech, can you afford a phone for every employee?
However on the other hand, if you allow your techs to use their personal phones, you could run in to problems of personal life interfering with work life. They may take personal calls, texts, or emails while on the clock. And who pays for the replacement if they get lost, dropped, or sent through the wash?
So what is the best option? Well, you actually have some choices:
- You can set up a phone allowance for your employees – Here you give them a certain amount of money and they get to go pick out a phone they want, granted it meets your requirements. If the phone they want costs more then the allowance, then they must fork over the extra money to pay for it. You can make a rule that they only receive their phone allowance once, and if the phone breaks, is lost, or is stolen, it will be their responsibility to replace it or you can lower the amount of allowance they receive to purchase a new phone.
- You can set up a contract among your employees – Provide an agreement that the employee signs stating you, the owner, will purchase the first phone. If the phone is lost, stolen, or breaks, let them know you will pay half of the cost for the second phone, and they will pay the other half. If it gets to the third phone, tell them they must pay the full amount for a new phone. This way you are not immediately requiring a new employee to buy a new phone, but still make it clear that they have a responsibility to respect and protect the device. If you are using snow removal software of any kind, it may be in your best interest to supply the devices yourself, especially if you are using subcontractors.
- You can allow the employees to use their own devices – Allowing employees to use their personal phones or tablets allows you to avoid the costs of providing devices, while still having working devices out in the field. If you go this route, you want to be sure your guys understand the phones should not be used for personal use while on the clock.
Devices must be discussed and put in to your company policies. You will know what your guys are capable of handling. Some will not need a replacement phone for 5 years, others will need one every 2 months and others yet are just plain accident prone. I suggest you start with a small pool of your employees and test out your different options to see how the devices are treated and what is the best course to take.