• Real-estate agents use cell phones to follow up with clients.man on cell phone image by Cora Reed from Fotolia.com
  
  If you are an employer who wants to allow employee cell-phone use, limit excessive use, or prohibit cell-phone use completely, it is best to make sure that you are consistent when imposing new rules--and that clear-cut guidelines are provided for all who will be affected by the policies.
  
  On the other hand, if you feel strongly about having the freedom to assist clients in and out of the office, and other perks of cell-phone use in the office (or during business hours)--read on.
  
  

Immediate Contact with Key Staff

• When permitted in the office, mobile communication makes it easier for workers to contact supervisors and colleagues when business issues arise (e.g. last-minute meetings or questions during project collaboration) while they are away from the office.
  
  Furthermore, cell phones make it easier to keep in touch with employees who work from home--and other staff who perform most of their job responsibilities outside the office (e.g. field sales reps and real-estate agents).
  
  

Calls Regarding Business Matters Only

• While cell-phone use is often banned or limited in the workplace (e.g. only on lunch or breaks), employers who provide cell phones to special groups of employees (e.g. for upper management or sales associates) often establish rules for use in order to keep costs down and curb abuse of these privileges.
  
  One rule employers impose is limiting cell-phone use to calls regarding business matters only. This can be difficult to track or control unless employers randomly match phone records with client lists (and enforce if abuse is evident or suspected) or unless employers limit the minutes allowed each month for business calls.
  
  

Text Messages

• Traditionally, work-related tasks are often carried out in person, through paper correspondence, through email or by telephone.
  
  Since text messaging has entered the picture, however, the added debate of whether or not employers should have the right to access text messages sent or received on company-provided cell phones has also entered the picture.
  
  In response to this, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals passed the decision that employers require either a warrant or permission from the employee to view text messages that are not stored by the company or some other entity the employer has paid for service.
  
  

Instant Personal Calendar Access

• Another added perk of cellular phones in the workplace is that they can serve as a portable reminder of important appointments (e.g. an upcoming lunch meeting with a client), contract-expiration dates, client specifics such as likes or dislikes, and more.