Don’t let the term “guest wireless” fool you. Your network may be there to help guests and employees connect and enjoy the freedom of mobile business, but at the end of the day it’s still your network. As the owner of the network, you’re liable for its usage, and held responsible by law for your user’s compliance to legal online practices.
Having an acceptable use policy is crucial to ensuring you’ve done everything you can on your end to notify guests on your wireless network as to how you expect them to conduct themselves while using the network. But how do you draw up a user policy that is comprehensive enough, yet doesn’t bog down your users with detail and slow productivity among your employees?
7 Pointers for Creating the Perfect User Policy
1. Evaluate and separate your user groups
Policies regarding access and use of a wireless network vary when considering employees versus guests from outside the company.
2. Keep productivity in mind
Monitoring activity on your wireless network, and then doing a thorough analysis holds the key to how strict your policy needs to be, especially relating to employees making use of the network during office hours. If an analysis of network traffic shows employees abusing sites that use up bandwidth or spending hours on social media sites, then your policy might need to reflect principles regarding these issues.
3. Close those loopholes
Rules don’t need to be broken when you can find a way around them legally, so make sure your policy doesn’t leave gaps that allow users to exploit your network with no repercussions.
4. Remember the mobile workplace
With BYOD fast becoming BYOE (Bring Your Own Everything), virtually everything is mobile nowadays, including the workplace. Make sure to stretch your policy to include users accessing your network from other locations.
5. Visibility is key
A policy only works if everyone knows it exists. Including it on a splash page for users to agree to before gaining network access is a great way to make sure everyone knows about the acceptable terms of network use. Making an announcement to your staff is also a good idea, asking them to check out the new policy.
6. Get a second opinion from a legal professional
Since your wireless network user policy is a legal binding document, it’s a good idea to have a legal professional check through it for any pitfalls or shortcomings, and to determine if your stipulations on usage fall within the boundaries of acceptable practice.
7. Keep your policies current
Keep your policies relevant with the times and trends, taking new developments in technology trends and user behaviour into account. It’s also a good idea to do a dummy run of your policy before its final draft and implementation, to ensure it’s feasible in a practical sense.
A clear focus on user management is a easy way to gain insight into your network and your users, and whether it's with the end goal of ensuring legal compliance, increasing network security or merely doing some user analysis. Your network can only benefit from a great acceptable use policy, so take some time compiling it. You won't regret it!
Photo credit: francisco_osorio via photopin cc
