Hiring

When hiring a remote employee, companies should have a remote employee equipment agreement or policy in place. Doing so is a proactive way of ensuring that both the employee and the company understand expectations concerning the return policy of equipment and property. It is a good idea to remind employees of their obligations at the time of termination.

One of the most important aspects of hiring a remote employee is having trust. Having trust ensures both parties involved that the relationship will work properly. For the relationship to work properly, employees must trust that they are not being spied on while using the company equipment. Of the latter, the company must entrust the employee with company equipment. While trust in this working relationship must be established upon hiring the employee, many difficulties may develop over the time of employment and hinder or break the trust. However, creating the employee equipment agreement or policy will legally bind the employee and employer to the return of functioning equipment. Another option for this policy may be to have a stipend in place; this may help keep the integrity of the employer brand by satisfying both parties. Whichever route the employer and employee choose, the agreement should be made upon the hiring of the employee.

The next step after bringing on a new hire is delivering the equipment. Delivering the equipment can be a daunting task, but at reliable couriers, we handle it every step of the way. We will pick up, package, and deliver the equipment to the new employees’ homes.

Protecting your equipment

Now that you have hired and legally protected your equipment, it is a good idea to protect the integrity of your equipment before the employee receives it. A company’s first steps should be to implement tracking software and document the equipment assigned to an employee. Another software system to add to your devices is VDI “Virtual Desktop Infrastructure.” (VDI) will securely store all of the user data in a controlled corporate environment, which gives the employee or ‘user’ a workstation. Companies will also want to constantly maintain their data and app access, allowing access to any device from the corporate network. This will come in handy for IT departments. IT departments can limit how employees interact with the software by using these systems.

Once everything is documented, having the employee sign the documentation of equipment received can ensure that all property will be returned at the time of pickup. This is a good time to inform the employee of the costs should the equipment not be returned. Another good way to ensure the safe return of the equipment is by hiring a courier company to witness the pickup of all items when they are being returned. Our delivery drivers have years of experience with picking up the return of company equipment and know how to return the equipment to the company securely.

Termination

Starting the offboarding process for an employee can be difficult at times, depending on the circumstances of the termination. The first step employers should take, no matter the circumstances, is to gather all records and documentation. Having everything readily available to begin the termination process is key to keeping the process short and simple. Some of the records you will want to keep handy are employee records, digital access records, and equipment records. Employee records can include management notes, infractions, employee performance plans, and performance reviews. Having these available will make the next step easier. The next step in the termination process is to create an official notice of termination for the employee.

Creating a notice for terminated employees sets a clear expectation of what items will be returned and when. Some other things an employer may want to include on the termination letter are any compensation, benefits, or rewards the employee may receive upon the return of the equipment, a clear statement of termination between the employee and the company, and lastly, a clear statement that the termination is final and irreversible.

Equipment Pickup

The final step in the termination is equipment pickup. For pickup, there are a few things to ask; id the equipment damaged? Will it need maintenance? Are all of the items accounted for? Is the employee going to ship it back, do they have the shipping materials, and much more. Many companies choose to use a third-party system to handle every single one of those questions. The third-party will account for what equipment is returned by the employee, if any of the equipment is damaged, package up the equipment, and deliver the equipment to the company. Many employers use FedEx, UPS, or other services; however, using these couriers poses many problems. These couriers are unreliable; they are notorious for taking days past the delivery deadline and do not offer the service of accounting for all of the employees’ equipment and packaging it. These problems can cause grief between both employer and ex-employee. A good way to avoid this issue is to use a local same-day courier.

We will personally pick up the equipment, properly package it, and deliver it, all on the same day. At Reliable Couriers, we take the hassle out of getting your company equipment returned and make it easy for you to use our remote employee pick-up and delivery service.