Many companies have started coming up with policies regulating employees’ use of personal gadgets for work purposes. But whether there’s a policy or not, employees are using their personal devices.
In fact, a whopping 92% of companies report that some workers are using non-company-issued computing devices for work-related tasks, according to a recent report by Citrix. On average, 28% of employees are using those devices, and that number is rising.
In response, companies are scrambling to come up with an effective personal device policy — 94% of employers expect to have such a policy by 2013, but only 44% do so currently.
While policies are necessary in order to reduce the security risks and support hassles associated with employees bringing in their own devices, experts recommend companies find a way to balance the risks and the benefits.
The companies that have a policy allowing regulated use of personal devices reported several benefits, including
- Improved employee satisfaction
- Higher employee productivity
- Greater mobility for employees
- A more flexible environment for employees, and
- Reduced IT costs, because employees use equipment they already own.