Phone Sex is Bad for Business
On August 3rd/2005, Reuters reported that a German man had colluded with a phone sex operator to defraud his employer's company out of approximately 16,000 Euro or almost 20,000 US dollars, by making 160 phone calls over a year and a half from work. He apparently split the profits 50/50 with the phone sex operator. The courts convicted the man and gave him a suspended sentence of eight months.
Does your company have a written communications policy, and are your employees aware of its existence?
Most phone systems these days are highly sophisticated and access can be easily controlled and usage monitored. An employee abusing valuable telecommunication resources is an unnecessary problem to have these days. A quick call to your communication provider will reveal a plethora of information that is available to ensure your systems are being used, not abused. In the United States, except California, it is perfectly legal for employers to monitor business-related calls, even if it is unannounced. It is important to note that counsel recommends employees be aware of all communication policies, preferably in writing.
Phone sex aside, we are more apt to hear these days about employees abusing internet privileges. In fact, an entire sub section of the software industry has developed to provide companies with internet monitoring software. Some software will just monitor employee's internet usage and provide management with interesting reports to bring up at the good old annual review. Different software will allow management to filter what websites can be viewed, thus only allowing employees to visit sites that pertain to their industry.
What's the big deal?
37 % of people said they surf the internet constantly at work.
32 % of people said they surfed a few times per day.
37 % of US workers have visited an X-Rated Website from work.
When an employee abuses company communication resources it reduces productivity, stealing valuable time and resources that do affect the bottom line. Ask any stock holder if they would be happy realizing the employees of XYZ Company's phone or internet usage are the result of their reduced dividends this quarter? I doubt you would get a happy response.
The conversation that often comes up when anyone discusses employee monitoring, and specifically phone calls, is privacy rights. It is Federal law in both the United States and Canada that when an employer realizes the call is personal, he or she must immediately stop monitoring the call. This is a very good thing indeed, but one that as well could cause some confusion.
Wouldn't phone sex sound like a personal call?
By Lee Raito, CFP, FMA
Co-Author of Business Sexcess
Business and financial expert Lee Raito is a Certified Financial Planner and Financial Management Advisor. Lee has teamed up with Internet marketing expert Sam Heyer to provide you with information that will take your business success to a place it has never been before. Their recent book, Business Sexcess, is the much talked about book that will transform how you look at business. http://www.BusinessSexcess.com
Phone Resources:
Advantages Of VoIP Broadband Phone Service
There are many advantages of VoIP broadband phone service. Over the next couple of years phone over Internet will be the norm for most homes and businesses.
Call PC to Phone: The Magic of Making PC Calls
PC to Phone calls are now a feature which is increasingly becoming known to the common man and also to profit mustering (in terms of breaking fantastic records) organisations. This system has its reasons for being able to become so famous among human beings with some of the reasons being the high quality sound and also clarity which the user gets while making a call from PC to a phone to a friend living in a foreign country.
Cellular Phones – Things to Consider When Buying a Phone
Staying connected with a cell phone has become a way of life for most people. As a result, there are many types of cell phones on the market.
Oxygen Phone Manager Series: Bringing Access to a Cell Phone by Means of PC
It has become much easier and cheaper to register for Oxygen Phone Manager Series since the introduction of Software as a Service offer (5.95 Euro a month).
Telephone Options: Cell Phones, VoIP, And Standard Phone Lines
Ah, the almighty telephone?if only Alexander Graham Bell were here to see what has become of his wonderful invention! If it wasn?t amazing enough to be able to communicate by phone in the first place, now we?re doing so wirelessly from practically everywhere.
Get a "Virtual Phone Number" - Eliminate Long Distance Charges with VoIP Phone Service
There's a revolution brewing in the telephone industry. But it's not the recent demise of AT&T or the failure of Worldcom.
Worldwide Phone Services Launched for Fixed Phones, Mobile Phones, and VoIP
NAVEGO, Inc. announces the global launch of NAVEGO Worldwide Phone Services, providing flexibility and low rates for fixed and mobile phone lines, as well as dial-up and broadband voice-over IP.
Free PC to Phone Calls: Shrink The World With VoIP
Does the thought of phone bills gives you creeps? Do you still dread the post which may bring your phone bill? Then you surely need the VoIP telephony remedy as it is known to have given relief to numerous others like you smitten with communication expenses.
Free PC to Phone Calls: The Computer is Now The Free Call Making Phone
The technology that is perhaps making headlines in the mediums being used by human beings is VoIP in the present era and the improvements that are being provided with this technology are wonderful enough to entice users all over the world to shift their tools of making phone calls using the VoIP technology.
Cell Phone Terminology - The ABCs of Cellular Phones
If you are planning to take a trip overseas and want to know if your present cell phone will work, you will need to know the meaning of a variety of cell phone terms Most of these definitions deal with cell phone networks and the types of phones that can be used with them
Making PC to Phone VoIP Calls over Dial-Up Internet Connections
There's a lot of hype these days surrounding Internet-based voice communications (VoIP) replacing traditional telephone service. Most of this revolves around companies such as Vonage who coin themselves as the 'Broadband Phone Company'.
PDA Cell Phones - the New Generation of Wireless Phones
It's time you know what the latest technological gadget is. In fact, this new toy is buzzing everywhere nowadays.
VoIP Broadband Phone Services Explained
VOIP stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol and it is the technology which makes it possible to make telephone calls over your broadband internet connection instead of through the traditional telephone network. There are a variety of telecommunications companies now providing VOIP phone services which allow you to make cheap or sometimes free telephone calls through your internet connection.
Sprint PCS Cellular Phones
Almost everyone, in regards to phone services, is familiar with the name Sprint. Founded in year 1899 in Abilene Kansas, by a man named Cleyson L. Brown, Sprint telephone company was then called Brown Telephone Company. Brown Telephone Company underwent a quick growth spurt due to its technical advances, and became great in the telephone industry by the year 1976. However, it wasn't until 1989 that Sprint International emerged as a worldwide name. Sprint's sudden success was in part because of its series of technological advances such as the first nationwide fiber-optic transmission, as well as the first fiber-optic transatlantic phone call.
Take Advantage of Internet Phone Calls (VOIP)
Voice Over IP (VOIP) is a relatively new technology. Voice Over IP allows people to leave behind the old and very traditional analogue phone networks and now adapt in favor of the very new and very progressive Internet-based calling system infrastructure.