Behind the Scenes of an allwhere Retrieval

Of the stages in the employee lifecycle, offboarding can often feel the most high-stakes. After all, the transition involves process, logistics, and difficult emotions on both sides of the table. In our new world of hybrid work, it’s important that the offboarding process be conducted in a compliant and efficient manner, and with empathy and care.

The last thing a departing employee wants to deal with is packaging and shipping their company-issued laptops, accessories, and other devices. This process usually involves packing materials, travel to a shipping location, and an unnecessary wait for reimbursement — all burdensome to the employee. It’s no surprise that 30% of IT equipment can end up not returned or missing, at large expense to the employer.

Until allwhere entered the picture, the industry default for hybrid teams was for companies to eat the costs in lost assets for thousands of expensive devices. Luckily, there’s now a compassionate, cost-effective, and time-saving solution with allwhere’s retrieval services.

The 7 steps to a successful employee device return

Retrieving and storing assets from an offboarding employee is time-consuming and often cost-ineffective for the resource burden it places on HR and IT employees. Below you’ll find the many steps taken to ensure an efficient employee equipment return. Best of all, all you need to do is make a few clicks and allwhere takes care of everything for you.

Step 1: Submit retrieval request

When it’s time to offboard an employee, you tell us:

• Who is leaving
• Their email, so we can reach out, and their phone number, in case the courier service needs to reach out
• What devices you’d like retrieved, and
• Whether you would like the devices returned to your location, or sent to our secure warehouse for storage and future deployment

Step 2: Employee notification and address confirmation

An automated email is sent to the employee that explains the retrieval process and next steps. The employee enters additional pickup details and confirms their address. We’ll keep you posted with real-time tracking and any updates on dispatch, delivery, and communications with the employee.

Step 3: Retrieval box is shipped to employee

We’ll tell them what to expect in their retrieval box and when exactly it will arrive. They’ll get step-by-step instructions on how to pack their equipment. Each box has enough room for a laptop and accessories, plus packing materials, instructions, and a prepaid return label. 

As always, should they have any additional questions, the employee has direct access to our support team.

Step 4: If not returned right away, we send reminders and contact the employee until the box is returned

Step 5: Once we receive the device, we perform asset inspection

We consult our checklist, which includes:

• Is it the correct device?
• What wear and tear does it have?
• What lifespan does it have left? 

Step 6: Wipe the device

We ensure that all data is safely deleted, and that the device is physically cleaned ready for possible reuse. 

Step 7: You let us know your next plans for the device

At this point, you have several options. We could:

• Store it in our allwhere Depot until you have a purpose for it — it can be deployed at any time
• Recycle, donate, or destroy the device (Upon request, we can provide certificates of destruction or sanitation)
• Prepare it for an upcoming onboarding request; we handle equipment procurement as well!

Why should you choose allwhere for your retrieval needs?

Without allwhere, each step in handling a retrieval takes 2-3 hours to accomplish

allwhere saves you time and money: it only takes mere minutes to fill out your request. We also save the employee time and energy: it takes under 5 minutes to pack their device using our materials and instructions. 

We are equipped to communicate and operate with employees no matter where they are

U.S.-based retrievals take under a week to fulfill. Need that expedited? We’re on it.

Need an international retrieval? We’ll create a custom quote for you. We handle international logistics regularly. 

We track and display all devices in your dashboard. You’ll be looped in on: 

• The status of your request
• All ETAs: retrieval box arrival, Depot arrival, time it will take to get back to you… and every step in between 
• Location: at all points in the process, you’ll know exactly where to locate your property

We save you from uncomfortable conversations

Retrievals can be a sensitive subject for both the employer and employee. We act as a buffer for the circumstances of departure. We’re able to communicate compassionately with everyone involved, so all parties leave the interaction satisfied.

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Are you ready to experience a full-service first device retrieval? Try one out here.