BYOD is an emerging trend that may cause an increase in support requests and calls, so having an efficient support system in place will be of critical importance. Employees tend to feel more at home using their own devices and will more frequently keep up-to-date them with technological advances.
Employees generally appreciate having the freedom to work from their own devices, especially as this helps maintain a healthier work-life balance and leads to higher productivity levels.
Increased Productivity
Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) allows employees to access work data and software on devices they’re most familiar with, increasing productivity. Furthermore, BYOD helps employees achieve work-life balance by using personal devices for work purposes during non-work hours while remaining easily accessible during non-work times. BYOD also alleviates delays caused by supply chain issues for new hires waiting on company devices – further increasing efficiency.
Employees tend to appreciate BYOD programs more because it enables them to use the device they value most instead of company-issued devices, and their features such as larger screen and higher-resolution camera are usually appreciated more. Furthermore, this approach saves money as employees won’t need to purchase costly business apps or software separately.
Employers should create a plan to protect sensitive company data on BYOD devices. A strong mobile application management (MAM) strategy can keep corporate and private information separate while discouraging employees from downloading apps onto personal devices without prior approval from management. Furthermore, employers should create a policy outlining how BYOD interacts with the company network as well as what happens if an employee leaves or deactivates their device; otherwise, former colleagues could gain access to confidential client details that remain on BYOD devices.
Some employees may feel uneasy when their personal devices intrude on their privacy, but most will accept it if companies set clear guidelines and offer adequate support. A good Bring Your Own Device program would outline exactly how much IT assistance will be available to troubleshoot personal devices as well as plans for theft or loss. This helps employees maintain high morale levels while relieving the IT department of some burden and freeing up funds that would have otherwise gone towards purchasing and maintaining hardware to instead go towards marketing or training initiatives.
Cost Savings
Instead of spending an exorbitant sum on company-owned mobile devices, companies can save money by permitting employees to bring in their personal smartphones, tablets or laptops for work purposes. This gives each employee the chance to choose what device best meets their needs while improving productivity – not to mention less costly maintenance and repair expenses for companies themselves – contributing both financially and morale benefits for employees and business alike.
BYOD can lead to cost savings by relieving IT departments of administrative duties related to user devices. This is particularly advantageous for companies with high numbers of BYOD users as the company will no longer need to purchase and provision as many individual devices.
Before initiating a BYOD program, businesses must ensure they establish clear expense policies. Employees need to know exactly how much can be reimbursed for device purchases and data plans. Furthermore, IT departments should establish expectations regarding support of BYOD devices – for instance if employees must install security patches themselves or whether IT department support can take care of that.
Companies often face an additional difficulty once an employee departs their company: controlling devices left behind after they’ve left. It is especially crucial in sales environments where an old employee may use his/her personal number and have access to client info.
BYOD also helps improve work/life balance, by enabling employees to continue working from home or other locations outside the office. This flexibility can be especially valuable for employees with family obligations or commitments such as caring for elderly parents or children. BYOD can also boost employee morale by giving employees greater flexibility than before – for instance Arlington Heavy Hauling gives its drivers tablets so that they can complete work while traveling for their jobs – an option which many workers appreciate and can lead to increased satisfaction with their jobs overall.
Convenience
BYOD provides employees with convenience by enabling them to work from devices that they use in their personal lives, which allows them to more efficiently manage their time during the workday and switch between multiple devices without switching devices regularly. Furthermore, employees will become familiar with their personal devices’ operating systems and functions since they often spend non-working hours using them – this saves companies time from teaching employees how to navigate their devices.
Improve employee morale – employees may feel valued and trusted by their employers as they work on their own initiative, and this may strengthen loyalty and commitment to the company, leading to better performance overall.
BYOD policies offer businesses cost savings as a result. The costs associated with purchasing and maintaining company-owned devices can add up quickly when replacing devices regularly; by adopting BYOD policies, companies can pass off these expenses to employees instead, cutting overall IT expenditure.
Encouraging employees to bring in their own devices allows a company to save on data plans and other services associated with corporate-issued devices while potentially cutting energy costs as employees’ own devices tend to run more efficiently than those provided by the company.
BYOD policies also expedite the onboarding process for new hires, which is especially advantageous during chip shortages or supply chain disruptions that prevent companies from providing employees with adequate technology in time to begin work.
BYOD can also save the company money through reduced breakage and theft. Employees tend to treat personal devices more carefully than company devices provided, as well as keeping them updated with latest features – saving the company money on repairs/replacements as well as OS/app upgrades/support costs.
Implementing a BYOD policy enables businesses to save on hardware, software, energy costs associated with running computers and mobile devices as well as increase productivity while simultaneously improving work/life balance.
Security
BYOD policies must be carefully designed in order to be effective. They should cover every aspect of the program including storage, security and data access. Employees should receive updated information as technologies or threats advance; additionally they should include details on theft prevention or what occurs if an employee leaves.
Implementing a BYOD policy exposes an organization to more malware than usual as personal devices exist outside firewall protections, making viruses, Trojans, spyware and other forms of malcontent much more prevalent on these personal devices. A robust third-party solution like Check Point Harmony specifically designed to safeguard BYOD environments may provide protection.
Another risk associated with BYOD is that when employees use their own devices for work, they could spend less time focused on work and more time playing games or watching videos – which could impede productivity. If this happens, an incentive program, reduced device costs or offering employees better service plans should be implemented to restore focus on work and the company mission.
Stakeholders should be included in the creation of your BYOD policy to ensure a comprehensive approach is taken when crafting it, such as executives, human resources, finance and IT departments. Employee input is also key; policies created without their input may be rejected by employees resulting in backlash against your BYOD initiative overall.
BYOD programs present one last risk: confidential company data being accidentally downloaded onto an employee’s personal device and accidentally shared with competitors. To safeguard against this happening, it’s vital to have a plan in place for retrieving this information quickly when an employee leaves your organization if this should become necessary.
