Bring Your Own Device: Should Employees Be Allowed to Use Personal Devices for Work?

In recent months, more companies have been instating Bring Your Own Device, or BYOD programs, and you might be wondering whether you should consider it, too. BYOD programs compensate employees to bring their own smartphones, laptops or other electronic devices to work and use them to complete tasks, often accessing company data or information systems in the process.

This policy can save companies money by negating the need to buy tech equipment for employees, but it also opens up a number of risks. There are other benefits, so it’s an individual decision for the employer. Before deciding for or against a BYOD program, you should fully consider all implications of having employee-owned devices on-site. Then make sure to wait until you implement policy before asking employees to bring their devices.

Common Concerns

BYOD programs are a challenge to install with unique requirements coming into play for certain industries. For instance, BYOD programs in the healthcare industry need to account for HIPPA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) legal codes. Individual states in the U.S. often have their own encryption requirements, and of course, customers and clients rightly want their data to stay protected and confidential.

Addressing These Concerns

If you’re considering BYOD as a solution for your workplace, you can directly address any concerns by talking to your company’s legal department and getting a referral if necessary. You can also consult your information technology department for advice on practical issues and your human resources department, who will be dealing directly with the program. Communication is important, and can save you many headaches when dealing with BYOD implementation.

Overall, if you have a company that heavily utilizes devices to access data and want to reduce operational costs by implementing a BYOD program, you can easily accomplish this. In-house departmental expertise will help ensure that the implementation is the best option for your company, and will help you with practical matters.

Finally, smooth communication between these departments is essential, so make sure that everyone’s available and willing to help during the process.

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