Hey everyone! I'm new to the workforce and I'm running into some challenges at my job. My boss has asked me to manage the process of retrieving assets from remote employees when they leave the company. I initially thought about handling everything in-house, but it feels like it could turn into a logistical nightmare. I've found a few companies like Allwhere, Unduit, and Workwize that can handle this, and I'm leaning towards Allwhere because they don't lock you into a contract. However, I'm still considering doing it all ourselves. I'm curious to know: how do you manage asset retrieval in your companies? If you do it in-house, are there any cost-saving tips you can share?
6 Answers
It largely depends on the size of your organization. Some places have HR managing returns, while smaller teams might have IT take the lead. It’s crucial to have a carrier account, like FedEx, to create prepaid labels for quick shipping. If employees are slow to return items, that’s when HR typically steps in to help. Ultimately, HR may need to push harder for returns.
Asset retrieval is more of an HR and legal matter than a tech one. It’s rare to be successful if you handle it solely through IT. The best approach is to focus on ensuring devices are wiped of any company data before they're taken by employees. You might want to develop a clear policy that makes it easy for employees to return their devices, like including a return mailing label along with the equipment when it’s sent out.
I've found that about 70% of employees return their gear if the return process is made simple. Including packaging and a prepaid return label really helps. For the remaining 30%, sometimes a polite reminder does the trick, but others may require more persistent follow-ups. It’s all about setting up for success from the moment they receive their equipment. Don't forget the need for inventory tracking on your end too!
In our company, we take a proactive stance. For devices like laptops and phones, we have remote management tools that allow us to lock them if necessary. HR handles the logistics by sending out prepaid return boxes when someone leaves the company. It’s important to have clear HR protocols in place since they are essential for resolving any recovery issues.
We coordinate with Ingram to send return boxes or labels to employees. Sometimes we also have them drop off their devices at local FedEx Kinko's for shipping back. It keeps the process efficient.
We generally lock laptops and let HR deal with the rest. HR sends out a box with a prepaid return label, and employees can keep any extra accessories they received. Once the laptop is locked, IT shouldn’t have to do much more than provide tracking info for returns; it’s mostly an HR job beyond that.
If you find it challenging, there might be issues with how the process is set up. You should analyze what specifically is going wrong.