Remember when the most complicated part of issuing an employee a cell phone was having the conversation about what happens when/if they exceed their allotted minutes for the month? The days of handing over a simple flip phone are over. Because smartphones have evolved into mini-computers that fit into the palm of their hands, as a manager, you’re having to attach appropriate use policies to how and when they’re using their work issued devices. Here is how the BYOD trend is changing according to an article by Jane McConnell on the Harvard Business Review. If you’re allowing your employees to BYOD, you’re dealing with a whole other set of rules that aren’t black and white. So which policy is right for you, your employees and the technology we can’t live without?
1.BYOD= pick my device, Company issued= company chooses phone
Under most BYOD policies, the employee is allowed to pick the phone they use. However, this also means the employee pays for it. This usually has two positive outcomes, the employee is generally happier with the phone they use everyday because they got to choose it, and because the plan they select is generally in line with what they need they are avoiding overages and overpayment for bandwidth or features they’re not using. The perk of getting a company issued phone is that as an employee, you don’t have to pay for it. There is also full division of using your work phone for work and your personal phone for work, leaving no grey area. Also, when there’s an issue with a company issued phone, you can go to your company’s IT department to fix it or support you with the issue you’re having. With a BYOD plan, there tends to be a little uncertainty around how much the company should support these phones when they’re not company owned. However, the cost savings associated with companies using a BYOD plan vs. a company issued set of phones is what drives many companies to activate the BYOD option.
2.BYOD= pick your plan, Company issued= company plan
With BYOD, your employees pick their monthly plan and the company will subsidize a portion of the bill, or the entire bill. Most companies choose to contribute because the employee purchased the phone, and the company benefits from its employees being able to work from anywhere. Most employees that are paying for some portion of their phone are generally less likely to pick a gigantic plan that gives them more bells and whistles than they need. Companies who are providing employees with company issued phones and the accompanying plan tend to take a one-size-fits-all approach to selecting plans for its employees. This can result in employees using more than the plan allows, causing overages, or the company providing too large of a plan leaving features and benefits unused. Plan size is becoming less of an issue as we move into 2016. Phone carriers are structuring their phone plans in 2016 with a move toward unlimited style plans for talk and text, leaving data overages as the area of concern.
3.BYOD= choose your wireless carrier, Company issued= company chooses carrier
When your employees are allowed to pick their wireless carrier, they likely know through trial and error that one carrier provides a better signal at their home, on their way to work, or in areas that they’re required to travel to frequently. When a company has all their employees use the same carrier, employees may have cell phones that don’t get coverage when they’re at home, or in a city that they visit clients in often.
4.BYOD lost phone vs. Company issued lost phone
When an employee loses their phone and it’s one that they’ve purchased, they are generally responsible for replacing it and covering any of the costs associated with its replacement. Employees who have a history of leaving their devices unattended or forgetting to pick it up off the restaurant table may opt to purchase the device insurance provided by their carrier. Then the employee works through the carrier’s replacement process to get a new device. When a company issued device is lost, the employee likely will work through the company’s IT department. There are organizations that will charge the employee a percentage of the cost of the new device if it’s being replaced due to loss. Damaged devices are usually covered by an umbrella like insurance policy from the device manufacturer or wireless carrier and the company can get reimbursed or an additional device at no cost. If the company’s IT department does not keep extra devices on site to activate in the case of a lost, damaged or stolen device, the employee will likely be subject to waiting for a new device to be shipped to the company. In addition, depending on company policy, the replacement device re-issued to the employee may not be new, it may be re-used from a previous employee, or a re-furbished model provided through the device manufacturer. To be fair, a BYOD replacement device may also be a re-furbished model depending on the policy of the wireless carrier the employee uses.
5.Security
Security concerns are often the biggest barrier to companies choosing the BYOD policy for their employees. Oftentimes, when an employee is accessing secure data and information off site, there are MDM (Mobile Device Management) software programs that can run encryption, firewalls and antivirus software to keep the device safe. MDM can even remotely lock a phone if it’s lost, and wipe the device clean in the event that it’s stolen. The effectiveness of certain MDM’s has been called into question when a device is hacked, but a little employee training on what is safe to access vs. what sites or content is more risky will go a long way to keeping your network and information safe. Employers can always reserve the right to bar employees from accessing the network who are unwilling to submit to security measures activated to keep the company network secure.
If you can take an informal poll of your employee’s preferences before enacting a device policy, you’ll likely end up with a program that gets employee buy-in and will ultimately be more successful. There are pros and cons to each type of device policy, and depending on your industry, you may only have the company issued option. Even if you can’t let your employees pick the type of plan they have, or the carrier they use, try to give them options to allow them to select their phone model, accessories and other add-ons for their smartphones and tablets. A little choice will go a long way in showing your employees that you’re trying to address their preferences.