Deutsche Bank Switches Off Text Messaging (smh.com.au)

Deutsche Bank has banned text messages and communication apps such as WhatsApp on company-issued phones in an effort to improve compliance standards. From a report: The functionality will be switched off this quarter, chief regulatory officer Sylvie Matherat and chief operating officer Kim Hammonds told staff in a memo. Unlike emails, text messages can't be archived by the bank, said a person with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified discussing internal matters. "We fully understand that the deactivation will change your day-to-day work and we regret any inconvenience this may cause," Matherat and Hammonds said in the memo. "However, this step is necessary to ensure Deutsche Bank continues to comply with regulatory and legal requirements." The policy also applies to private phones used by employees for work purposes. Communication apps such as WhatsApp, Google Talk, iMessage are also prohibited, the memo said.

Comments

This is starting to happen in a lot of places...

[slasher999]

Unfortunately this is starting to occur is lots of places. Companies are being forced, or choosing to, move away from real time communication back to email in large numbers due to laws around compliance and a desire to comply at the lowest possible cost. Personally I see these moves as harmful to the business long term but the management I've spoken with about the issue are not interested in taking on that challenge now.

Re:This is starting to happen in a lot of places..

[hey!]

I think it'll be interesting to see if it actually does hurt productivity.

Here's what I think will happen. A very few people will be seriously hampered in their work. Most people will end up about as productive as they were before. And some people may do a little better.