Devices and Employee Experience - A Guide for HR Leaders

Have you ever experienced the frustration of new hires waiting for their equipment, delaying their start and leaving a poor first impression? Or had to awkwardly chase down a terminated employee for their laptop? What about the constant struggle of managing equipment for a remote or global workforce? If any of these scenarios sound familiar, it might be time to consider Firstbase.

Situations You May Experience (And How Firstbase Helps)

1. Delayed Onboarding:
   • Pain: New hires are often left waiting for their equipment, delaying their productivity and creating a poor first impression.
   • Firstbase Solution: With Firstbase, equipment setup and delivery can be as quick as 3 days, ensuring everything is ready before the employee's start date.
2. Complicated Offboarding:
   • Pain: Retrieving equipment from departing employees is cumbersome, leading to lost or unreturned devices. It's not fun chasing down a terminated employee for their laptop, and the delays can upset finance teams when new laptops have to be ordered.
   • Firstbase Solution: Firstbase achieves up to a 97% retrieval rate in a more timely fashion with automated address confirmations and shipping labels, reducing the stress of device recovery.
3. Inconsistent Equipment Management:
   • Pain: There is a lack of standardized processes for managing and tracking equipment, resulting in inefficiencies and confusion.
   • Firstbase Solution: Firstbase offers real-time tracking and automated inventory management, reducing errors and administrative workload.
4. Increased IT Workload:
   • Pain: IT teams are overwhelmed with manual tasks related to equipment management, leaving less time for strategic initiatives.
   • Firstbase Solution: By automating equipment provisioning, tracking, and maintenance, Firstbase frees up IT teams to focus on innovation.
5. Global Operations Challenges:
   • Pain: Managing equipment for a remote or global workforce presents logistical difficulties, such as shipping delays and compliance with local regulations.
   • Firstbase Solution: Firstbase simplifies global logistics with streamlined processes, ensuring compliance and reducing delays, especially in countries like the United States, Germany, Brazil, and Japan.

Questions to Ask Your Teams

1. Onboarding:
   • "How do we get information on a new hire over to IT? When they start, what equipment they require, and from there how long does it take to get equipment ordered and received?"
2. Communication:
   • "How many crappy Slack messages have we received on new hires not getting equipment in the last 6 months?"
3. Offboarding:
   • "How many devices do we have outstanding from departed employees?"
4. Global Operations:
   • "Have we had challenges with starting teams in Columbia, Brazil, Argentina, India, UK, or any other country around the globe?"
5. IT Workload:
   • "Have we heard IT is stretched thin and not able to complete other projects?"

The Time Required on Common Tasks

1. Onboarding:
   • Without Firstbase: Up to 2 weeks for equipment setup and delivery.
   • With Firstbase: As little as 3 days, with automated processes ensuring readiness before the employee's start date.
2. Offboarding:
   • Without Firstbase: Several weeks to months, often with manual follow-ups and lost devices.
   • With Firstbase: Up to 97% retrieval rate in a more timely fashion, with automated address confirmations and shipping labels.
3. Tracking and Inventory:
   • Without Firstbase: Continuous manual updates, prone to errors and data loss.
   • With Firstbase: Real-time tracking and automated inventory management, reducing errors and administrative workload.

Other Departments Impacted

1. IT Department:
   • Reduced workload allows IT teams to focus on strategic projects, enhancing overall productivity and innovation.
2. Finance Department:
   • Better control and predictability over equipment expenses, leading to more accurate budgeting and cost savings. Avoid the hassle of reallocating funds for unnecessary equipment replacements.
3. All Teams and Managers:
   • Enhanced employee experience, improved productivity gains from having strong devices, and timely onboarding processes. Integrated processes mean HR, IT, and employees are all aligned. Imagine entering a start date, and the employee receives a link to select their equipment, receives a branded kit if needed, and everything is ready for their first day without any hiccups.

Case Studies / Examples

Wise, formerly known as TransferWise, required efficient equipment management for their global expansion and remote teams. By adopting Firstbase, Wise was able to streamline their global IT and equipment management, leading to a 50% reduction in IT ticket volume, improved global operations, and enhanced employee satisfaction.

HackerOne transformed their IT operations with Firstbase, seeking a more efficient and scalable device management solution. By automating the entire equipment lifecycle, Firstbase ensured timely delivery and retrieval of devices, improving the onboarding experience for new hires. This allowed HR to focus on strategic growth, enhancing overall employee satisfaction and reducing operational overhead​​​​​​. Read the full ebook here.

Postman, experiencing rapid international hiring, needed a streamlined device management process. With Firstbase, they adopted automated device provisioning and onboarding, resulting in a seamless onboarding experience that boosted new hire productivity and engagement.‍

For HR leaders, ensuring that your organization runs smoothly and efficiently is paramount. If you recognize any of the above situations or if your answers to the questions reveal underlying inefficiencies, it may be time to consider Firstbase. By automating and optimizing equipment management, Firstbase can transform your operations, enhance employee experiences, and drive significant savings across the board.

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