In today’s competitive talent market, Choose Your Own Device (CYOD) policies - often referred to as Employee Choice programs – are gaining momentum across organizations. Instead of issuing the same hardware to everyone, CYOD policies allow employees to choose from a pre-approved set of laptops, phones, tablets, and more.
This approach strikes a smart balance: employees feel trusted and empowered, while IT retains control over security, cost, and support. In Europe and the Nordics, where digital maturity and employee experience are key, CYOD is quickly outpacing both rigid provisioning and risky BYOD (where employees use personal devices for work) setups.
What CYOD means (and why it works)
CYOD lets companies define a catalog of approved, IT-managed devices. Employees then choose the ones that suit their role and preferences. The company controls the selection, but individuals get input - that’s structured flexibility
The model is especially relevant in Europe, where stricter data privacy regulations and cultural norms often rule out full BYOD. In regulated sectors like finance or healthcare, CYOD offers the freedom employees want without compromising compliance.
Why Employee Choice matters more than ever
Allowing employees to choose their own work devices isn’t just a nice perk; it has real benefits for morale, productivity, and even a company’s bottom line.
These are some of the benefits we see:
- Higher satisfaction & engagement: Employees are happier when they can work with tools they personally prefer. A recent Cisco study revealed a striking correlation: when Cisco rolled out an expanded device choice program, employees who took advantage of it reported much higher satisfaction with IT. A happier employee is typically a more engaged and productive one.
- Boosted productivity: There’s growing evidence that letting people choose a device that fits their working style can improve performance. While the choice of platform is just one factor in productivity, it appears that when people have the tools they personally work best with, it can unlock efficiency.
- Talent retention: In a tight labor market, offering modern tools and flexibility can differentiate an employer. A recent survey of 6,000 European workers (by Ricoh Europe) highlights this: 20% of employees said the quality of workplace devices and software is a top reason they would look for another job. On the flip side, companies that give choices send a message that they value their people’s productivity, that the company is progressive and cares about individual needs.
- Security & control: Some employers worry that giving choice could open security holes or complicate management. In reality, with the right management tools in place, you can have both security and flexibility. Many CYOD programs are implemented alongside Mobile Device Management (MDM) and strict policies, so whichever device an employee picks is still configured to company security standards.
As Jamf’s CEO Dean Hager put it already in 2020:
“Technology isn’t just part of the employee experience, it is the entire employee experience. So employers are going to want to make it a good one.”
Leading companies are already there
Major companies like IBM and Cisco have embraced CYOD, seeing gains in satisfaction, IT efficiency, and cost control. Closer to home, Swedish tech firm ZoCom and Danish maritime tech company ZeroNorth achieved up to 100% satisfaction with work devices after switching to an employee choice model powered by Velory.
And according to Velory’s own data, nearly 50% of employees would pay extra to upgrade beyond a standard issue device. Employee choice does truly matter.
How to implement an effective CYOD program (what to consider)
If you’re ready to embrace Employee Choice in devices, it’s important to put the right framework in place. Here are some tips and considerations for launching a successful CYOD initiative:
- Set clear policies and approved catalog: Start by deciding what range of devices will be offered. You’ll want to curate a list of approved options that meet your standards for security, compatibility, and budget. This could include a mix of vendors. The goal is to offer freedom within a framework.
- Ensure management and security tools are in place: Before rolling out CYOD, equip your IT team with modern device management tools (MDM for example) that can handle multi-platform environments. Automation and integration are your friends here (as we’ll discuss this in a moment).
- Align budget and HR considerations: Work with finance and HR on how to handle the cost aspect. Some companies allocate a fixed budget for a device, and if an employee chooses something above that, they can pay the remainder themselves (this can be an attractive flexibility that, as noted, many employees are willing to utilize). Also decide refresh cycles – e.g. laptops refreshed every 3 or 4 years. In some European countries, there are even tax-efficient schemes to let employees contribute to device upgrades (like the “gross salary scheme” in Denmark).
- Track the benefits: Finally, define what success looks like and measure it. This could be through periodic employee surveys (did satisfaction with IT improve after CYOD implementation?), tracking productivity metrics, or even calculating cost differences (are you lowering rouge spend and applying longer device lifespans?).
By covering these bases, you’ll set up a CYOD program that maximizes benefits and minimizes headaches. The good news is that tools now exist to make managing such a program much easier than it was a decade ago.
Do you want recommendations for such a tool? Let us present Velory: a platform built with the very purpose of marrying IT control with employee freedom.
How Velory makes CYOD easy and efficient
Implementing employee choice might sound complex, but Velory is a solution designed to streamline exactly this kind of modern IT lifecycle. For companies looking to offer Choose Your Own Device without creating chaos, Velory provides the structure and automation needed to succeed.
Here’s how CYOD works with Velory and why it’s a great fit:
- Centralized device storefront with employee self-service: Velory allows you to create a fully customizable hardware store for your company and employees. IT (or procurement) defines the assortment of approved devices.
- Automated onboarding flows: One of the highlights of Velory is how it integrates device choice into the employee onboarding process. Skip the back-and-forth between IT and HR and invite new hires to select their preferred equipment before their start date.
- Policy-based budget controls and optional top-ups: Set budget caps, refresh intervals, and approval workflows as needed. Employees can be offered to upgrade beyond that, and Velory can facilitate the payroll deduction or payment top-up in a transparent way.
- Full lifecycle tracking: True to its name as an IT lifecycle management platform, Velory doesn’t stop at procurement. It keeps a real-time inventory of all devices each employee has, dates of purchase, lease info and end-of-lifecycle information. This gives IT a single source of truth and helps in planning future upgrades or budgeting.
- Reduced admin work through integration: Velory integrates with systems like your HRIS, Active Directory/SSO, supplier catalogs, and MDM solutions. This means data flows seamlessly, new employee info comes from HR to Velory, which triggers a device order; device details flow into your asset management; when someone leaves, HR’s update triggers offboarding steps, etc.
Real results? Companies using Velory report fewer support tickets, happier employees, and major time savings. One customer cut IT admin hours by 33% while boosting employee satisfaction to 98/100.
Final thought
CYOD isn’t just about choosing a laptop, it’s about creating a modern, people-first workplace. And with the right tools, it’s easier than ever. Velory helps companies bring structure to flexibility, empowering employees while keeping IT in full control.
If your device provisioning model is stuck in the past, now’s the time to switch. Because in the digital workplace, choice isn’t chaos - it’s a competitive edge.
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