Consider Our Pros and Cons List of Having Employee-Owned Devices in the Workplace

The concept of Bring Your Own Device has grown in popularity with employers in recent years. There’s no denying that a BYOD policy holds major benefits, but like any other policy, it has its drawbacks. What follows is a brief overview of some pros and cons to inform any business owner who’s considering BYOD in the workplace.

Ownership

• The Pro: An effective tactic to save some money on technology is to allow employees to utilize their own equipment to perform job-related duties. For example, rather than paying for a new device and the required network attachments, or investing in desktop handsets, an employer can come to an agreement with their employees to cover a portion of the data cost, ultimately saving both parties money.
• The Con: The ownership of the physical device is one thing, but who owns the data stored on it? In the instance of the employee leaving the company or being terminated, does management have the right to delete files from their personal device? If the device is stolen or broken, who is liable for replacing it? Also, who is liable for any private data it contains?

Selection

• The Pro: Employees using a BYOD policy can select the technology they feel most comfortable with, rather than struggling to adopt an unfamiliar OS and suite of applications. Furthermore, the employee is in full control of upgrading their device as they wish, instead of waiting for the company’s IT team to deem it necessary.
• The Con: Of course, with the employee in control of their device selection, your IT team will be thrown into a flurry of IT issues, starting with the level of responsibility they have over maintenance and security. Considering the number of devices, apps, and operating systems there are, standardization of IT systems becomes nigh impossible. Without this standardization, there isn’t any guarantee that the devices brought in will be compatible with company systems.

Availability

• The Pro: Employees with mobile devices could venture out of the office without fear of missing a critical phone call, also allowing the possibility of a quicker response time to client needs.
• The Con: Of course, with communications being bound to the office, there are clearer boundaries between clients and employees. When an employee may be reached anytime, from anywhere, what is stopping a client from disturbing them in the middle of the night and negatively affecting the next day’s work performance? What’s worse, if the client contact information resides on the employee’s phone and the client has an established trust of them, what’s to stop the employee from taking the client with them should they leave?

Clearly, implementing a BYOD policy is not an endeavor to be taken lightly. As an employer, one must carefully weigh all risks and benefits before deciding whether or not to offer their employees the option. For BYOD advice pertaining to your company’s unique needs, call us at (630) 495-3830.