Business PickupAs companies seek to strengthen their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives, many are looking to creative policies that reduce their carbon footprint. One popular initiative taking hold across Canada and elsewhere is the BYOD policy. Short for “bring your own device,” this approach allows employees to use their personal devices for work purposes, resulting in benefits such as cost savings, reduced administrative work, and a minimized environmental impact. Yet, while a BYOD policy has compelling benefits, it’s important to consider the risks and develop a strategy that addresses them. Here are some points to bear in mind as you weigh your options.
Is a BYOD program right for your organization?
A BYOD program can work well in many organizations, but it’s not right for everyone. A comprehensive risk assessment should be performed to determine the risks, as well as the costs of implementing the program.
Consider privacy and security risks
Using a single device to carry personal and business data can introduce certain security risks for both the employee and the organization. The first step for determining whether a BYOD policy is right for your company is to perform both a privacy impact assessment (PIA) and a threat risk assessment (TRA). Consider the nature of the information your business stores and transmits, as well as the risks associated with collecting, using, storing, and retaining any sensitive data.
Next, consider how any identified risks could be mitigated. Some companies might restrict the use of certain apps or unapproved cloud services, for example. Or, you might consider limiting the BYOD program to only certain employees or roles.
How to develop a BYOD policy
If you’ve determined that a BYOD program is indeed right for your company, you’ll need a thorough policy to outline it. Although your company may already have mobile device and security policies in place, a BYOD program should have its own unique policy that covers expectations for employees and the organization. Consult with all appropriate departments including IT, legal, finance, and HR when drafting the policy. Legal teams should ensure that the policy complies with any applicable data privacy laws.
When creating a BYOD policy for your company, be sure to include details about responsibilities, corporate monitoring, app management, training, acceptable and unacceptable uses of devices, access requests, and device and information security requirements. Because an important goal for the policy should be to limit the company’s environmental impact, Don’t forget to highlight eco-friendly objectives. Promote environmentally-friendly practices such as discouraging unnecessary printing, using power-saving settings and energy-efficient chargers, and choosing refurbished or upgradable devices.
BYOD policy implementation
Once a detailed policy has been created, the next step is to communicate program details to the workforce. At this point, you may want to consider whether the program will be initiated with a pilot group prior to a larger roll-out. Training should also be developed and provided, and should cover best practices for data encryption, app management, authentication and authorization, malware protection, and other aspects of security. Ensure IT personnel have addressed patch and software vulnerabilities, and are using tactics such as containerization to prevent the flow of information between personal and business-related programs. When the BYOD program is ready to be implemented, designate an employee to keep an inventory of all devices that are participating.
BYOD policy enforcement
To encourage buy-in among employees and program success, some companies offer incentives such as gift cards to recognize eco-friendly participants. You might consider these options to garner support, but ensure managers and other leaders are also communicating about the value of the BYOD policy to their teams. Once the program has been underway for some time, invite employee feedback and adapt policies as needed based on results and evolving technologies. Additionally, make sure that the consequences for non-compliance with the BYOD policy are clear and enforceable.
Finally, continue to monitor the program’s success. In addition to tracking data security as well as program participation and compliance, track progress towards goals such as energy savings and reduced e-waste.
Establishing a BYOD policy can be an effective way to reduce your company’s environmental impact, but for all the other IT assets your organization uses, turn to Quantum for safe and secure processing at the end of their lifespan. Here’s a full list of the e-waste we can recycle for your business.