The bring-your-own-device (BYOD) movement has helped drive higher productivity and efficiency for full-time employees across all industries. However, how can organizations get the same results out of temp workers without sacrificing mobile security?

Risks of Data Loss

Mobile device proliferation has led to today’s average worker carrying around more than three devices, most of which have some level of access to sensitive corporate data. This access is great in terms of enabling users to be productive outside the confines of the office, but it also introduces potential data loss risks into the enterprise.

When you take into account the evolving nature of malware attacks, the prevalence of jailbroken and rooted devices and the fact that more than 3 million mobile devices were lost or stolen in 2013 alone, organizations that support BYOD have no choice but to ensure safeguards are in place to protect the data on the devices used in their mobile environments. If they don’t, they could deal with crippling consequences.

A single data breach or leak can be incredibly costly and damaging for brands since they put not only the company, but also its customers at major risk.

Fortunately, there are numerous ways to mitigate these vulnerabilities. Deploying an enterprise mobility management solution with mobile device management capabilities can help IT manage and monitor the data, apps and devices of enrolled users, ensuring safe data use and access by users.

Additionally, established BYOD policies and continued end user education are two great ways to manage data access expectations and ensure your users are aware of evolving vulnerabilities and how to avoid them.

Minimizing the risks associated with BYOD for full-time employees isn’t a complicated process, and the same can be true for temp workers, as well.

Temporary Workforces Are Growing

Even in an improving economy, businesses are increasingly relying on temp workers to fill skills gaps through contractors, contingent workers and freelancers across all industries and professions. In 2014 alone, the employment of temp workers jumped 8 percent year over year, further illustrating the growth of this trend.

Although it may seem risky to arm contingent workers with mobile access to sensitive data, it can be done without taking on any added risk to your organization.

Mobilizing Your Contingent Employees

For temp workers who need access to email, apps and content while on the go, organizations should use secure containers to deliver, manage and monitor corporate resources. MaaS360’s Secure Productivity Suite (SPS) solution uses a dual-persona, containerized approach that separates work data and personal information, ensuring privacy and data security with full visibility and manageability.

In heavily regulated industries such as finance and health care, the ability to customize the SPS’s functionality lets IT establish policies for temp workers to ensure compliance, such as enforcing passcodes, selective wiping and limited permissions.

Another way to curb risks and provide access to the content the contingent workforce needs is by granting simple, secure access to behind-the-firewall business resources. Rather than put your data and enterprise at risk through a full Virtual Private Network configuration profile on the device of a temporary employee, organizations could instead leverage Mobile Enterprise Gateway.

Mobile Enterprise Gateway enables secure access to enterprise intranet sites and internal SharePoint sites, Windows file shares and other enterprise file stores on a mobile device. This approach further protects data with robust security policies and data leak prevention controls without any changes to your network or firewall security settings.

Unlocking the Benefits of a Mobilized Workforce

Mobilizing the temporary workforce does not have to be a complicated or expensive process. Through secure containers and secure access to internal resources, organizations can improve the efficiency and productivity of temporary employees without adding any more risks or vulnerabilities.

Read the study: Mobile Dating Apps Can Place Confidential Information at Risk