Balancing Security and Employee Satisfaction: How to Choose Between BYOD, CYOD, or COPE?

Technology has revolutionised the way businesses operate, and its impact on employees cannot be overstated. In today's digital age, employees rely heavily on technology to stay connected, productive, and efficient. Whether it's sending emails, scheduling appointments, or collaborating with team members, technology has become an indispensable part of our daily work life.

But, how can a business manage technology and still keep employee satisfaction levels up? By introducing a mobility strategy that benefits both the company and its employees. With the option of choosing either the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), Choose Your Own Device (CYOD), or Company Owned Personally Enabled (COPE) device policy to manage the use of personal devices in the workplace, companies are often caught at a crossroad when picking the best strategy to implement.  

Just like any other business solution, each policy has its own set of advantages and disadvantages. The key to selecting the right policy lies in answering a simple question — “Why do I want to introduce one in the first place?”. By identifying the intent of introducing one of these policies, companies will have a clearer idea of their end goals and how a specific policy can help them achieve it.

For instance, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that value flexibility and employee satisfaction may benefit the most from a CYOD policy. This policy allows employees to choose a device from a pre-approved list of devices for their work needs. While this policy doesn’t offer the highest employee satisfaction or productivity, it does offer better flexibility with reduced costs and security risks.

For big companies with a large number of hybrid or remote employees who are also looking to be more cost-effective, a BYOD policy is the best way to go. With a BYOD policy, employees can use their personal devices for work purposes, granting them greater flexibility that ultimately results in higher productivity and employee satisfaction. However, with this policy also comes lower compatibility with business apps and higher security risks as employees own the data on their devices.

Alternatively, companies can choose to adopt a COPE policy which strikes a balance between the advantages and disadvantages of both BYOD and CYOD policies. Under the COPE policy, employees are given company-owned devices that can be used for both their work and personal lives. While this increases the company’s expenses, it should be considered a worthwhile investment as it eliminates security risks, and grants higher flexibility and compatibility. With a COPE policy in play, both employee satisfaction and productivity levels will skyrocket as employees are given control over their devices without having to worry about the security risks that come with storing private and confidential company data and information, as the onus of data ownership falls on the company.

As the modern workplace continues to evolve, it is important for companies to carefully make the transition from one policy to another. While each policy boasts its own extensive list of benefits — with each favouring either the employer or the employee — the COPE policy offers a good balance between both. Here’s how a business can adopt the COPE policy to ensure a smooth transition: 

To define a COPE strategy, the company first needs to identify the specific devices they will provide to their employees. For instance, is the company going to provide a smartphone, a laptop, a tablet, or all three? In certain cases, employees may require rugged devices, such as the Galaxy XCover6 Pro or the Galaxy Tab Active4 Pro, for rough and tough industries.

The simplest way to identify what device an employee needs is by looking at their job title. Smartphones will benefit workers who are always on the go, such as those in marketing, finance, airlines, transportation and logistics, or manufacturing sectors. Tablets, on the other hand, are best suited for employees who need a portable device with a bigger screen that packs as much power as a laptop. Hence, client and customer-facing employees—insurance agents, bankers, sales teams, public relations executives, etc—will find that a tablet boosts productivity the most compared to a smartphone or laptop. For employees in engineering, designing, coding, programming, medicine, or any other profession that requires powerful processors, a laptop is the best choice to cater to their tasks and work needs. Once this has been established, companies need to create policies and procedures for how the devices will be used, what applications can be installed, and how the company intends on ensuring data protection.

The digital age has brought about vast advancements in technology, altering the way we work. These new and innovative features, such as Samsung DeX, are designed to enhance mobile devices to double as laptops and tablets. With Samsung DeX, smartphones — such as the Galaxy S23 Series, Galaxy Z Fold5 or even the Galaxy Tab Active4 Pro — are transformed into personal computers with larger display screens, offering remote and hybrid employees the ability to work efficiently with pocket-sized work devices.

Additionally, given that most companies offer hybrid and remote working conditions, it is essential that they also provide employees with the necessary tools and resources to securely access company data and applications from their personal devices. This could include mobile device management (MDM) software or virtual private network access. Additionally, companies must regularly review and update their COPE policies and procedures to ensure that they are still effective and have a plan in place for replacing or upgrading devices as necessary. Overall, with a well-defined COPE strategy in place, companies can foster a culture of flexibility and innovation while protecting their assets and ensuring compliance with industry regulations.

Transitioning from other policies, such as BYOD, to a COPE policy can be a significant change for employees. When communicating this change to employees, it's important to emphasise the benefits of this new strategy, such as increased security and productivity, as well as the continued ability to use personal devices for non-work related activities.

Companies should also look into providing training and support to employees to alleviate any concerns they may have. For example, some employees may think that the COPE policy gives companies permission to monitor personal information through MDM solutions — but this is far from true. MDM solutions on COPE devices limit control over personal information, preventing companies from accessing your private accounts and viewing downloaded applications on the personal side of the smartphone. A good example of this is Samsung Knox, which amplifies device security and acts as a unified endpoint management tool for IT administrators.

Apart from providing training, companies should also give real-life examples of other companies that have successfully implemented the COPE policy and how each employee has benefited from it. For instance, the COPE device policy offers employees greater convenience as they can use a single device for both work and personal purposes, eliminating the need to carry separate devices. With greater convenience also comes improved productivity as COPE devices are often equipped with all the necessary software and tools needed to complete tasks, paving the way for easier remote device management. With a clear understanding of its benefits, both employees and employers can transition smoothly from BYOD or CYOD to COPE. 

Establishing clear device procurement and management plans are essential to ensuring a smooth and effective implementation of the programme. To do this, companies need to develop a list of devices that meet company requirements, negotiate with vendors for bulk purchases, and implement a centralised procurement system to streamline the purchasing process. Upon procurement of devices, companies need to configure, deploy, and continuously manage these devices to ensure that devices remain secure and up-to-date. By developing a comprehensive procurement and management strategy, organisations can not only improve productivity but also ensure data protection, while empowering employees to work from any device, anywhere, and at any time.

However, keeping up with the latest technology can be challenging for businesses and similar to most products, COPE devices have a lifespan of only a few years. Thus, companies need to ensure that there are processes for retiring and replacing devices at the end of their life cycles or when they incur damage. When this happens, it is essential that companies keep employees informed throughout the process. It might also be beneficial to consider implementing a phased approach in which devices are replaced gradually — rather than all at once — to minimise disruption and maintain productivity. Lastly, companies must look into disposing of old devices in an environmentally friendly manner to ensure they are not contributing to any form of pollution. By establishing clear device procurement and management processes, companies can ensure that their COPE strategy is cost-effective, successful, and secure.

Enrolling devices in an MDM plan — such as Samsung Knox Manage — is a crucial step for any company that wants to implement the COPE policy. To get started, companies need to choose an MDM solution that fits their needs, and then enrol their devices in the plan. This allows the company to enforce policies such as password requirements, remote wiping of data, and app installation restrictions. By taking this proactive step, companies can ensure the security of their sensitive information while also giving their employees the flexibility to use their own devices.

There are many MDM solutions available in the market that companies can leverage to ensure maximum security, productivity, and employee satisfaction. Among these solutions is Samsung Knox Manage which is an MDM solution that provides a seamless and powerful cross-platform management tool with an intuitive, simple and straightforward user interface. With Knox Manage, companies have access to a cloud-based command centre with an extensive set of business solutions, enabling them to remotely track, control, and customise devices.

Know Manage is one of the many solutions under the Samsung Galaxy Enterprise Edition, which provides businesses with access to devices that are built to withstand the demands of the workplace while also offering additional security features and management capabilities. These devices come with enhanced security and management tools that provide companies with greater control over the devices used by their employees, offering up to five years worth of security maintenance which can help companies reduce the costs associated with device maintenance and replacement.

The COPE policy is one that offers the most benefits to both businesses and employees, as it gives businesses the most control over devices while eliminating the hassle of carrying two or more devices around for employees. As we move forward, companies need to embrace the COPE strategy as it empowers employees to take control of their personal and work lives while driving the organisation to greater success.

Make the switch today!