Venable partner A.J. Zottola was quoted in an April 6, 2016 article in The NonProfit Times on bring your own app (BYOA) policies for nonprofits. BYOA encourages employees to use a preferred app or software while at work. It is a similar concept to bring your own device which allows employees to work from their preferred laptop, tablet, or other mobile device. The practice has many issues for employers to consider including who pays for what, information security, and employee conduct.
"If the nonprofit purchases a phone and hands it to an employee, the nonprofit is in position to dictate use. If the nonprofit says 'We will use these apps,' then presumably those apps will be usable across the board," said Zottola. "Leaving it up to the employee, you don’t really know what the employee will do. You're not sure if it will function well with the organization or how it integrates with other systems."
He added, "Generally, you'd want conduct to be the same if somebody was working within the office. There will be some tension with personally owned devices, because at a point conduct no longer relates to work…This is a developing area. No one size fits all. I think this is a decision that there are variabilities in approach."