I'm looking for insights on how to handle shipping equipment for work-from-home employees as my company scales from small to mid-sized. Currently, our process includes asking users for a shipping address to send them their laptops, but we encountered a hiccup when a user's return shipment came from a different location than expected. I'd love to know what other companies do regarding restrictions or requirements for addresses when sending equipment, especially for existing employees who need replacements. Do you have specific protocols for verifying shipping addresses, handling timely returns, or what to do if equipment goes missing?
4 Answers
One suggestion is to require that employees use local UPS or FedEx stores for both pickup and drop-off. This way, it adds a layer of accountability and reduces the chances of shipping mishaps.
Our IT team operates fully remote and we handle returns by sending out prepaid labels when someone leaves. If we don't get equipment back, we let HR know, and they handle it from there. No monitors, though—those are a pain!
Honestly, once we ship new equipment, we give employees two weeks to activate it before disabling the old stuff. Shipping details should be handled by HR—IT just needs to follow through with what's on file.
This sounds more like a policy question rather than something at the IT level. I’d recommend establishing clear policies that require HR to verify shipping addresses and set expectations for return shipping timelines. Also, think about shipping insurance and procedures for handling lost equipment.
Those issues you mentioned are valid. It's good to have a policy for equipment returns when someone leaves, and we do ensure there's proper documentation passed to HR. So no issues should arise regarding final payments if done correctly.