Managing company mobile phones for staff

Decide who gets a company phone

Start with a simple policy. Who needs a company phone because of their role, such as on-call staff, sales, field technicians and managers, and who can use their own phone with work apps? Company phones cost more but give full control. Personal phones with managed work apps cost less but rely on staff agreeing to install those apps and follow your rules.

Write the decision down along with what personal use is acceptable on a company phone and whether staff can keep their number when they leave. Clear expectations avoid awkward conversations later, particularly about the phone number customers have been calling for years.

Think about after-hours expectations too. A company phone makes it easy to contact people outside work hours, which can be helpful for on-call roles but wearing for everyone else. Say when staff are expected to answer, and show people how to use focus modes or do not disturb settings so the phone supports the job without taking over their evenings.

Keep the account and numbers in the business's name

Make sure the mobile account is in the company's name with the business as the account holder, not an individual staff member. That way the numbers belong to the business. If a salesperson leaves, their number stays with the company and can be passed to their replacement, so clients keep reaching the right person instead of following a former employee to a competitor.

Business mobile plans from New Zealand carriers usually offer pooled data, central billing and an account manager. Review plans once a year against actual usage, which is easy to see on the business portal. Many businesses pay for far more data or roaming than they use, or have old numbers still active for people who left months ago.

Check the account's security as well. Carrier accounts can be targeted by SIM swap scams, where a criminal persuades a carrier to move a number to a new SIM and then intercepts text message codes. Set an account PIN or password with your carrier, limit who is authorised to make changes, and prefer authenticator apps over text messages for important accounts.

Choosing and standardising models

Standardise on two or three models, typically a current iPhone and an Android option such as a Samsung business model. Choose devices that will receive security updates for several years, since phones that stop getting updates become a risk quickly. Business-focused Android devices often come with longer update commitments, so check what the manufacturer currently states.

Buy rugged cases and screen protectors as standard for field staff, and consider whether accidental damage cover or insurance is worthwhile. Having one or two spare phones set up and ready makes a broken screen a short interruption rather than a lost day.

Enrol every phone in management

Before handing out a company phone, enrol it in a mobile device management tool such as Microsoft Intune. Use Apple Business Manager for iPhones and Android Enterprise zero-touch or company enrolment for Android, so the phone is tied to the business and re-enrols automatically even after a reset. That stops a lost or departed employee's phone being reset and used as a personal device with no control.

Through management, enforce a passcode, keep the operating system updated, install the business apps people need, configure email and Wi-Fi automatically, and enable remote lock and wipe. Separate work and personal data where possible, and keep phones signed in with work accounts rather than personal Apple IDs or Google accounts for anything the business controls.

Lost phones, upgrades and leavers

Staff should report a lost or stolen phone straight away, through a simple, well-known route. Lock or wipe it remotely, contact the carrier to suspend the SIM and order a replacement, and check whether any sensitive data or accounts were exposed. Record the incident, as a lost device holding personal information may need to be assessed under the Privacy Act 2020.

When someone leaves, collect the phone, remove it from their account, wipe it through management and reissue or retire it. If the number is being kept, reassign it. For upgrades, follow the same wipe and disposal steps for the old phone, and never give an old company phone to a staff member to keep without wiping it first and removing it from management.

Keep track of it all

Record each phone in your asset register with its model, serial number or IMEI, phone number, assigned user, purchase date and plan. Link it to the carrier account so you can see costs per person and spot numbers that are no longer needed. Review the list every few months.

The combination of business-owned numbers, consistent models and central management takes much of the hassle out of company phones. It also means that when staff change, the phone, number and data stay where they belong.