Mobiles hit business finances hard

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Employees' tendency to use mobile phones in the office rather than landlines could be costing UK businesses around £2.5 billion a year, according to a survey conduced by http://www.continentalresearch.com.

Almost half (48 per cent) of UK workers have come clean about using a mobile while sitting at their desk, despite these calls generally creating more expense for the business, claims IP communications expert http://www.mitel.com who commissioned the research.

"With more and more businesses handing out mobiles to their employees, the research identifies a major lack of control over their usage," said Graham Bevington, UK managing director at Mitel.

"This is bad news for businesses struggling to curb their mobile phone costs. More often than not people are contacting colleagues whose numbers are easily to hand on their mobile when they could dial an office extension number for free.

"Organisations should think about supplying employees with a single number that follows them regardless of location or device. Costs can be reduced by increasing the proportion of calls made to a landline rather than a mobile and it could be a major boost to productivity by increasing availability and avoiding voicemail ping pong."

Quick and easy access to contact numbers was cited as a key reason for the mobile preference by 55 per cent of respondents, while four out of 10 reckoned they enjoyed greater privacy than using landlines where calls are sometimes recorded.

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