5 Key Considerations Before Implementing BYOD in Your Workplace

BYOD can be a great way to give your employees more flexibility over how and where they work. It can also be a great cost-cutting measure.

However, BYOD comes with a unique set of challenges and it’s important to keep in mind these key considerations as you develop your BYOD policies.

1.  Do your employees actually want to use their own devices?

In many cases, employees will want to be able to use their personal smartphone or laptop for work, but remember that not all employees will necessarily want to do so.

Before implementing a BYOD policy, think about how you’re going to handle things for employees who would prefer to use a company computer -- either due to privacy concerns or because they simply can’t afford a suitable device. Will they still need to come into the office? Will you provide laptops for use at home? Or will you provide all employees with money to purchase a device?

2.  How will you manage security?

If employees will be using their own devices for work, this raises a number of security concerns. For instance, what if an employee has downloaded sensitive information onto a mobile device that’s then accidentally lost? Or what if an employee’s laptop is infected with malware, and private customer data is stolen?

You’ll need to think upfront about how to manage security risks and how to enforce your BYOD security policy too.

3.  How will you reassure employees about privacy?

While many employees will like the idea of using their own devices so they can work more flexibly, they may also be worried about privacy. You’ll need to reassure them that you won’t be spying on them or accessing their personal data.

If you’ll need employees to install specific apps (to protect/manage data using their device) then it’s important to make sure they understand what the app will and won’t do.

4.  What devices can employees use?

You might be happy for employees to use computers, tablets or mobile devices to work on, but you may need to consider what limits to put in place. For instance, your IT department probably won’t want to support old mobile platforms or outdated operating system (OS) versions.

You may want to ask employees to avoid sharing their computer or device with other family members for security reasons, too.

5.  What happens when an employee leaves?

With company-issued equipment and devices, you’d expect an employee to return everything when they left your organization. But what happens when an employee using their own device leaves? Some companies will remote-wipe devices, but understandably employees aren’t likely to be happy about losing personal data without warning.

Make sure you’re clear ahead of time about what employees can expect when they leave. If devices will be remote wiped, make sure they’re aware of the possibility of losing personal data.

Look at how other organizations are using BYOD

As you consider how best to roll out or strengthen BYOD in your own organization, take a look at what other organizations are doing.

That might mean:

• Asking friends, family members, and contacts how BYOD is implemented in their workplace. What works well? What don’t they like about BYOD?
• Looking at how non-profit organizations use BYOD. For instance, universities have BYOD off campus solutions that allow students to access university resources from their dorm room (or wherever else they might be).

You might want to find out what apps or tools are used, how IT support is delivered, what end users think about the system and what hidden costs there are that you might not have allowed for.