Giving employees access to important information on multiple devices could free up ideas for ways to improve work performance, but it may also present some operational difficulties. Workers need the tools to get their work done, no matter which screen-based computer they use, while avoiding distractions.
In a recent Forbes article, contributor Kate Ashford looked at some of the smartphone "mistakes" that crop up in the workplace, and several of them include using a phone too much while other important events are occurring. Checking the phone obsessively while a client is in the room, or during a meeting, could take up too much of a person's attention when they should be doing something else.
How is the proper balance determined? Although "dual persona" phones allow users to access home and work data on the same device securely, it's possible that there will always be reasons for users to keep looking at these devices, perhaps at inopportune times. Creating a BYOD policy based around the most work-relevant uses of phones and other personal devices draws clearer lines defining what is acceptable.
Writing for TechCocktail in 2014, JT Ripton said that employees need to be properly trained for a BYOD office. He writes that employees should know the company's approach to important issues like device security and recovery to prevent any discrepancies during operation.
"This is a step commonly missed because employees go into BYOD assuming that their employees know just how to handle their devices," he writes. "But training your employees isn't all about teaching them how to navigate their device. It's also educating them on how your BYOD policy will work."
Implementing a browser emulator solution for important legacy system operations sets the foundation for a device-friendly plan, and allows companies to put the appropriate checks in place after BYOD is initiated.