Bring your own device to work policy

Allowing employees to bring their own devices to use for work is a modern trend with increasing popularity, it can help you cut costs and reduce downtime of new hires, especially for small businesses. 

From staff accessing emails and making calls from their personal phones, to bringing their own laptops for day-to-day use, a bring your own device to work policy (BYOD) can keep you safe. 

But what exactly should go into your BYOD ? Let’s take a look. 

Choosing the term you want to use

First off, let’s take a closer look at some of the variations on concept. There are quite a few to consider: 

• Bring your own technology (BYOT) 

• Bring your own phone (BYOP) 

• Bring your own personal computer (BYOPC) 

For this article, we’ll stick with bring your own device recommendations—but it’s your decision as to what you want to call it, as the same personnel and security precautions apply. 

Devices you might want to include 

You’ll need to create a bring your own device to work policy. In that, you can establish all the procedures you want employees to follow. 

The purpose of a corporate BYOD policy is to allow your staff members to bring in their personal devices. These can include: 

• Smartphones 

• Laptops, tablets and desktop computers 

• Smart watches 

• Smart glasses 

• USB flash drives 

• Personal or external hard drives 

• Keyboards, mice, or webcams 

This can be for business purposes only, but you may also want to allow your employees to have designated device zones for personal time. 

Primarily, your staff will use the device for work. This includes potentially accessing your business information and other applications. 

An industry term for this new phenomenon is IT consumerization. 

What are the benefits of BYOD? 

Reduced costs 

It’s a fantastic way to reduce costs to the business, especially if you’re implementing a policy in which employees will bring in their own laptops—you’ll be saving thousands of dollars per employee. 

Saved time 

It can reduce the downtime surrounding a new hire—reduced setup time, no additional time for them to learn the operating system, and no time waiting for them to be allocated a machine either. 

How do you set up a BYOD policy? 

You’ll want to follow BYOD best practices when setting up your procedures. 

But once you know that you want to set up a policy, how do you go about it? Well, there are various points to consider: 

Employee risks and responsibilities 

Common issues such as misconduct, discrimination, and confidentiality will need addressing. When there’s device misuse, there can be serious consequences. Establish BYOD guidelines indicating what the proper procedures are. 

You must also be aware that not every prospective employee will have access to a required device, therefore it may be worth ensuring that you have some company owned devices, just in case. 

Data protection clauses 

Establish a BYOD agreement that work and sensitive data will remain your property. Include a requirement that an employee must delete your private data if they leave your business. 

Just remember to discuss with your IT department (if you have one) on how you’ll regulate the situation, as staff won’t always follow your policy to the letter. It can be difficult to tell if a staff member has broken your rules, so consider how to deal with this carefully. 

You should also remember that employees should be able to show they understand your rules. You can ask them to sign a statement indicating they’re aware of your procedures. This protects your business at a later date, should there be any breaches. 

You can provide staff with a BYOD policy document that explains all of the above—they should be able to refer to this whenever they need to. 

Another major part of your BYOD policy best practices should focus on security. And we’ve dedicated an entire section on this below. 

Security procedures to follow 

Obviously, you can’t just let everyone turn up with their devices and now have a BYOD security policy. 

There are BYOD security risks you’ll need to carefully consider before deciding on whether you want to go ahead with this concept. 

BYOD security risks come about due to the new access routes to data that become available. You must be aware of concerns regarding: 

• Loss of commercially sensitive data 

• Leaking of the same data 

Despite bring your own device security potentially being an issue, if you follow recommended BYOD security solutions then you’ll be in a good position to avoid any issues. 

Here are some of the essential steps you can follow to maintain strong security measures: 

• Review your systems regularly by looking for opportunities to remove or minimize any vulnerabilities you find. 

• Use a trial basis to start your policy—make sure it actually works for your business before implementing it on a wider scale. 

• Vet the various devices you’ll be using ensuring your staff members only ever use secure products. 

• Make sure that you have a comprehensive password security system in place. 

• Use encryption software to store personal data securely 

If you still have BYOD security concerns, you can contact us for assistance with your procedures. 

Get help with creating a BYOD policy 

Did you know that BrightHR has an HR document library with hundreds of customizable policy templates? Plus, a 24/7 employment relations advice line to help you with any issues you may have with implementing your bring your own device policy.  

See for yourself how BrightHR can help your business today by booking a free demo.