Are Mobile Devices Creating a Problem for IT and HR?

Mobile smart phones are clearly one of the fastest growing technologies of the last decade. The ubiquitousness of Blackberries, iPhones, Droids, Evos and others have, in many ways, made life easier for everyone. We are now in near constant contact with clients, colleagues, friends, and family. From a productivity point of view this is a very good thing (we'll leave the psychological and emotional discussion until another time). We can be much responsive to the needs of those around us and we can be much better informed than at any time in the past. However, there is one issue that is beginning to creep up in companies around the world.

Most IT departments, especially at large companies, have a fairly well defined policy about the use of the companies' network resources and what types of behavior are permissible and what are prohibited. These policies vary from company to company and are enforced to vary degrees of effectiveness. I've worked with companies allow Facebook and YouTube at work, recognizing the needs of employees to take a mental break every now and then. I've worked at a company that allows only a predefined list sites necessary to conduct business (even sites like NYTIMES.com and Yahoo.com were blocked). And then I've worked at companies that fall somewhere in the middle (i.e. no business use for YouTube, but you might want to buy a gift for a boss/coworker on yahoo shopping). In all of these cases, my conversations with IT managers have made clear the policies are well thought out and consistent with the culture and values of the company. All offensive content is blocked at 99% of the companies I've worked with (1 had no web-filter at all and a very open culture).

But how do you deal with the little computers in our pockets that run on a cell phone signal? When employees can bring their own network to work, the risk to companies is much higher. Clearly, IT can manage the risk of viruses/malware to the network (after all, my Droid does not interact with my clients network very often). This risk is fairly straightforward and familiar to IT managers. But what about the risk of displaying offensive content? IT can't filter the browser on a privately owned smart phone. I'm sure we all know colleagues that have called up the latest YouTube sensation at lunch or on a break. I'm a sure a couple people even know colleagues that have shown pornography at work (thankfully, I've never been in that situation). From an HR point of view the risk of a sexual harassment claim or a hostile work environment claim (think offensive jokes, videos, etc) is increased by the increasing presence of our smart phones. Additionally, most of these smart phones have cameras. There is a real risk of employees photographing confidential information.

So what is the answer? Honestly, there is no easy answer. I know a couple employers that ban cell phones inside all their buildings (mostly employers involved with classified government work). This seems like an extreme measure and for some industries (sales and consulting come to mind) would cripple your work force. If there is a simple technology solution, I'm not aware of it. I think the solution will be a mix of carefully enforced policy and a culture of respect in the workplace. I, for one, will be interested to see how it plays out in the future.

Good Talk,
Tom