HR teams are at the centre of every device management event and rarely in control of any of them.
A new hire joins: HR processes the offer, communicates the start date, and then waits to see if the laptop arrives in time. A leaver resigns: HR manages the exit conversation and then sends an email that says something like "IT will be in touch about the laptop."
The device piece sits in a gap between HR and IT, owned by neither, and executed inconsistently because of it.
This checklist is for People Ops and HR teams who want to close that gap - not by taking over IT's job, but by being clear about what HR owns, what IT owns, and where the two need to connect.
Why HR needs to care about device management
The employee experience at the start and end of a job is heavily shaped by device management, and HR owns that experience.
A new hire who receives their laptop before their first day, configured and ready to use, starts with a positive signal about the company's organisation. A new hire who spends their first week borrowing a colleague's machine starts with a negative one.
A leaver who receives a clear, simple return process as part of their offboarding exits with a professional experience. A leaver who receives three increasingly awkward emails about a box they cannot find exits with frustration - and that is the last impression they carry.
Both of these experiences sit in HR's remit, even when the execution sits with IT. HR sets the expectation. The device experience either confirms or contradicts it.
The full HR device management checklist
Stage 1: When an offer is accepted
- Collect the new hire's confirmed delivery address, including the full address with postcode and country. Do not wait for this until the start date is close.
- Confirm the country. Flag any countries that have complex customs requirements - UK, Brazil, Azerbaijan, or any non-EU destination for an EU-based company. For country-specific customs complexity, see our guide to moving IT devices across borders.
- Calculate the device order lead time. For domestic delivery, 3 to 5 business days. For cross-border EU delivery, 7 to 10 business days. For EU to UK or non-EU, 10 to 14 business days. Count back from the start date and confirm when IT needs to place the order.
- Flag to IT with: new hire name, delivery address, country, start date, and device type required. This flag is HR's primary responsibility in the device management process. Everything else follows from it.
- Confirm whether the new hire will be at the delivery address during the expected delivery window. If not, identify an alternative arrangement.
Stage 2: Between offer acceptance and start date
- Follow up with IT to confirm the order has been placed and tracking is available.
- Share the tracking link directly with the new hire as soon as it is available. This is a small act that significantly improves the pre-start experience - the new hire can see their device is on its way.
- Confirm MDM enrollment status with IT before the start date. A device that arrives but cannot be logged into is not a solved problem.
- Confirm software access and system accounts are ready for day one. Device management and account management should align - a configured laptop means nothing without working credentials.
- If the device is delayed, communicate with the new hire proactively. Let them know the situation, the revised timeline, and what they can do in the interim. Silence is worse than bad news.
Stage 3: At onboarding
- Confirm the device arrived and the new hire can log in and access what they need.
- Document the device assignment in the HR system or asset management system. Record: device type, serial number, assigned to, date of assignment, country of use.
- Communicate the device return policy to the new hire at onboarding, not at offboarding. They should know from day one that the device is company property and must be returned when employment ends. This sets expectations and prevents the awkward conversation later.
- Include device care and security expectations in onboarding documentation. Encryption status, MDM enrollment, what to do if the device is lost or damaged.
Stage 4: During employment
- Maintain accurate device assignment records. If an employee moves countries, update their location. If they receive a new device, record the swap. Inaccurate asset records are a consistent source of problems at offboarding.
- If an employee reports a lost or damaged device, ensure IT is notified immediately and that the incident is documented. Under GDPR, a lost device containing personal data may constitute a personal data breach that needs to be assessed and potentially reported.
- When employees change roles, confirm whether their device requirements change. A new position with different software or security requirements may need a device swap or reconfiguration.
Stage 5: When an employee hands in their notice
This is the stage most HR teams handle inconsistently. It is also the most important.
- Notify IT within 24 hours of receiving a resignation, with: employee name, location, last day, delivery address for the return kit.
- Initiate the return process at resignation, not on the last day. The window to engage a departing employee effectively closes quickly. The earlier the return process starts, the higher the recovery rate.
- Ensure the employee receives a clear, human communication about the device return process as part of their offboarding conversation with HR. Not an automated email from IT. A conversation. "As part of your offboarding, IT will send a return kit to your home address. It will arrive before your last day. You just put the laptop in the box and drop it off."
- Confirm the return kit has been dispatched by IT within 48 hours of the resignation notification.
For the full operational detail on device retrieval, see our guide on how to recover laptops from remote employees when they resign.
Stage 6: After the last day
- Confirm the device has been returned and wiped before it is redeployed. Do not assume - check.
- Remove the device assignment from the HR system or asset register.
- If the device is not returned within 10 business days of the last day, escalate. Not with an aggressive demand - with a practical offer to help. "We noticed the return kit has not been sent back yet. Is there anything we can do to make the return process easier?"
- Document the outcome. Device returned, wiped, and redeployed. Or: device not returned, written off, remote wipe initiated. Either way, the record should be complete.
The coordination model that works
The checklist above implies a clear division of responsibility.
HR owns: the trigger events (offer accepted, resignation received), the employee communication, and the record-keeping in HR systems.
IT owns: the device order, the shipping and customs, the MDM enrollment, the device wiping, and the asset management system.
Both own: the handoff points - specifically the moment of offer acceptance (HR flags to IT) and the moment of resignation (HR notifies IT within 24 hours).
Where this fails is when one side assumes the other is handling the handoff. HR assumes IT knows the new hire's start date because it is in the HRIS. IT assumes HR will prompt them when someone resigns. Neither assumption is reliable. Explicit communication at each handoff point is the only fix.
The GDPR piece HR needs to understand
HR teams are data controllers for employee personal data. Company laptops contain that personal data. This makes HR jointly responsible - with IT - for ensuring that data is handled correctly throughout the device lifecycle.
In practice, this means:
HR should know that a factory reset is not sufficient for GDPR compliance. Devices must be wiped to NIST 800-88 standard before redeployment or disposal.
HR should understand that an unretrieved device is a live data protection issue. A laptop in a former employee's home, still containing HR data, customer data, or communications, is an uncontrolled data endpoint that carries ongoing GDPR exposure.
HR should maintain records of device assignments and returns as part of their data protection obligations, not just for asset management purposes.
For the full picture on GDPR and company devices, see our guide on GDPR and company laptops: what IT teams in Europe are required to do.
The cost of getting this wrong
A delayed laptop costs the company one to two days of a new hire's salary with no productive output.
An unretrieved laptop costs the company the device replacement value - typically 1,000 to 1,800 euros - plus the IT time spent chasing it.
A device not properly wiped before redeployment costs the company a potential GDPR breach, with regulatory exposure that in serious cases can reach 4% of annual global turnover.
Against these costs, the investment in a clear HR-IT coordination process and a managed device operations partner is straightforward to justify.
See how the numbers compare for your team at raal.io/estimate.
FAQ
Should HR or IT own the device management process? Both, at different stages. HR owns the trigger events and employee communication. IT owns the logistics and technical execution. The handoffs between them - at offer acceptance and at resignation - need to be explicit and documented, not assumed.
When should HR notify IT about a new hire? At offer acceptance, not at contract signing or start date confirmation. Cross-border device deliveries need 7 to 14 business days of lead time. Starting the process at offer acceptance is the only way to reliably have the device ready on day one.
What should HR say to an employee about device return during offboarding? Keep it simple and human. "IT will send a return kit to your home address before your last day. You put the laptop in the box and arrange a pickup - it takes about ten minutes. Is your address on file still current?" The tone matters. This is a professional process, not a debt collection.
What if an employee refuses to return their device? Start with HR's offboarding conversation - confirm the legal obligation and the return process. If the device is enrolled in MDM, IT can initiate a remote wipe regardless of whether the device is physically returned. For high-value devices or situations involving data concerns, seek legal advice on enforcement options in the relevant jurisdiction.
Does HR need to keep records of company devices? Yes, both for asset management and for GDPR compliance. The record should include: device type, serial number, who it was assigned to, date of assignment, location of use, and return date. This documentation supports both operational tracking and data protection accountability.
