We live in a tech-heavy society where many of us are glued to our cell phones for a constant stream of news, emails and communication for both work and pleasure. This has given way to a new trend, BYOD, or bring your own device. BYOD refers to the policy of allowing employees to bring their own mobile devices – which includes smartphones, laptops and tablets – to the workplace to use and furthermore, access sensitive data.

As a provider of IT support in San Diego, CA we know that most controversy surrounding BYOD policies is about the employee’s ability to access sensitive information and take it home with them. There’s also the threat of an employee losing their mobile-device, possibly putting company data in the wrong hands. While these are concerns, check out these five other things you need to know about BYOD policies.

1. Comfort – One of the greatest things about a BYOD program is that individual employees are able to use the hardware and software that they feel most comfortable with to complete projects. This eliminates the need to provide organizational wide hardware or software training. It also means that employees can work seamlessly between home and work. Additionally, employees will have their device on them at all times increasing the chance that they will experience increased overall productivity.
2. Compatibility – One of the most challenging things of a BYOD program counteracts the benefit above, and is that individual employees are able to use the hardware and software that they feel most comfortable with to complete projects. This often means that individuals struggle with compatibility issues when dealing with other project members or on an organization wide level.
3. Employee Happiness – People love their smart phones and people love their tablets. Employees that are able to use their devices at work are generally happier. Happier employees have been proven to be more productive in the workplace. They also generally report a higher level of workplace satisfaction. BYOD programs provide a significant return for a minimal investment.
4. Employee Unhappiness – One thing that people don’t love is spending their own money for work related expenses. This includes updating devices to meet company requirements and paying for data usage devoted to work projects. BYOD programs blur the lines between work and personal usage. It’s important that any concerns along these lines be resolved prior to the full-scale implementation of any program. Unfortunately, responsibility for paying for data plans also raises issues of data ownership.
5. IT Support – Who exactly is responsible for making sure that employee devices are functioning at peak efficiency when connecting to organization networks? What about ensuring that employees working with sensitive data are adhering to the most up-to-date phone security protocols? In most cases, increased freedom is also met with increased diffusion of responsibility.

Interested in learning more about strategies that can help increase your employees’ productivity? Reach out to Syndeo Communications today and schedule a consultation with one of our San Diego IT consultants. Call 760-650-3300 – we’re here to help!