Many of us either have, or will have considered, using our mobile phone for business. Nobody likes to have to carry two phones around and, particularly if you travel a lot, a desk phone is not always practical. Unfortunately, there are a few key reasons why this may not be a great idea - particularly if you struggle to define the boundaries between work and personal life.
Say goodbye to late night business calls and hello to uninterrupted personal time. In the present day you are able to get VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) systems which allow you to get a virtual phone number on top of your mobile device allowing you to continue using your smartphone. Of course, there is the option to have a separate phone with a different number but how inconvenient can that be?
Wondering how VoIP technology could transform your business? Take a look at our free White Paper for the facts >>
As a business it is important to keep that privacy between employees and customers whilst still having a good working relationship. By employees using their personal number their privacy is compromised and they can be exposed to a number of issues. Not only are the employees exposed to issues but a business can be as well. Below I have gone through three reasons why you shouldn’t be using your personal number for business use and how a VoIP system can help eliminate these issues.
Disruption to work-life balance
A work-life balance is something many people can struggle with, let alone without the distraction of having business calls coming through in your personal time. When you use your personal number as your business number it is unachievable to turn off one without turning off the other. Understandably, it is good to work hard for your business, but it’s also good to have limits.
How are you supposed to distinguish the difference between personal and business calls?
With a VoIP system you can set up your virtual number with business hours in mind and when after hours, you have the ability to automatically send calls to voicemail. By having the ability to set up after hour messages and control your phones hours of operation with your business hours, it allows employees to keep that work-life balance as well as keeping customers happy and informed.
Exposure to threats
The internet is something that connects us in our work and personal lives- with that comes a high amount of risk. From phishing attacks to ransomware, hackers are always after your personal information whether it brings any amount of money or to make a statement.
If a hacker were to get hold of your personal number, it could lead to them finding out a lot more. For example with just your phone number and some persuasion, hackers convince service rep’s they’re you and immediately gain access to your accounts. Not only this but research has shown advanced hackers are able to read texts, listen to calls and track you when discovering personal numbers through weaknesses within mobile phone network interconnection systems. This is done by the hack using the network interchange service called Signalling System No. 7(SS7). It can be known as C7 in the UK and acts as a broker between mobile phone networks.
Don’t play into the hands of hackers by putting your personal number out there for them to identify. Having another number for business keeps your personal number as ‘personal’ as possible and reduces the risk of hackers being able to target you.
Inability to control employee-customer interaction
It’s great to have trust in your employees by allowing them to use their personal mobile/number for customer interaction, however, it can risk you losing that control. Employees could take advantage of the trust you have given them which could impact the business.
How are you supposed to know how the call was handled? Or how long the call lasted?
A VoIP system allows the monitoring of business interactions through recordings or statistics per employee. You no longer have to worry about losing control or not being ‘in-the loop’.
Conclusion
Virtual numbers are often referred to as the must-have tech for modern businesses and I hope this blog has opened your eyes to the issues surrounding using your personal number for business. They are effective, efficient and can be created using VoIP technology. VoIP allows you to answer your business calls from your desk phone on your mobile device without having to give up your personal number. Additionally, where VoIP is based ‘in the cloud’ it means numbers are not tied to a specific smartphone, handset or computer system so if you were to get a new device, this would be no problem.
At entrustIT we can provide VoIP technology that can transform the telephony in your business. It requires no complex installation and can increase mobility by allowing staff to work from the office, home or abroad.
Interested in finding out more about VoIP? Take a look at our White Paper to read to facts >>
