Last month, HP CEO Meg Whitman said her company has to “ultimately offer a smartphone.” Well, she better act fast, as apparently HP only wants its employees to use their products: there’s no bring your own device (BYOD) program in sight. The reason? HP executives would find it humiliating to official approve Android and iOS devices for use around the office.
“HP’s policy is that we don’t offer BYOD within HP and that will not change soon,” Eric Cador, who runs the merged PC and printing businesses in EMEA, told The Register. “Why? It would be embarrassing – more importantly it would be embarrassing for our employees. Employees have to be proud of our products.”
This seems like a very ignorant way of doing things. HP doesn’t currently offer a smartphone. Its tablet offerings are a joke. The hardware giant should be striving to make products that its employees want to use, not limiting access to competitor devices due to pride issues.
This is the type of management that lowers employee morale. If your company can’t keep up with changes in the industry, you’ll be tempted to leave. It’s as simple as that.
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In fact, I would argue that HP should have iPads, iPhones, Samsung Galaxies, Nexus 7s, and Android devices all around the office. Clearly these devices are in demand, and HP employees as well as HP executives should be seeing them on a daily basis to learn what works and what doesn’t.
Yes, managing employees’ personal devices can be a pain, and there are obviously security risks that need particular attention. The extra work is, however, something worth taking on if it means making sure your company stays relevant.
See also – HP CEO Meg Whitman: ‘We have to ultimately offer a smartphone’ and HP outs pricing on full Windows 8 PC lineup
Image credit: beermug
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