Fixing ITAM Processes for Onboarding & Offboarding

Managing IT assets during employee onboarding and offboarding is often overlooked, yet it’s crucial for maintaining productivity, security, and compliance. When new employees join, they need the right tools to get started quickly. When they leave, all assets must be tracked, returned, and decommissioned properly.

However, without a streamlined process, things get missed, devices go untracked, software licenses remain active, and assets aren’t reclaimed on time. This creates security risks and operational inefficiencies.

This blog will show you how to use IT Asset Management (ITAM) practices to fix these problems, simplify the onboarding and offboarding processes, and reduce errors. By implementing the right ITAM tools, like AssetLoom, you can improve both employee productivity and security, ensuring a smoother and more efficient experience for everyone involved.

What Is Asset Onboarding and Offboarding?

Asset onboarding is the process of introducing and assigning an asset to an employee or department. This includes everything from purchasing or acquiring the asset to registering its details (like serial numbers and specifications) and making sure it’s properly allocated. During onboarding, assets like laptops, phones, and software licenses are assigned to the new employee to ensure they have the tools needed to perform their job effectively.

On the other hand, asset offboarding is the process of managing assets when an employee leaves. This involves reclaiming the assets, ensuring any sensitive data is wiped, and deactivating or reassigning software licenses. Offboarding ensures that the company’s assets are returned, properly secured, and ready for reassignment or disposal, which helps prevent security risks and maintain compliance.

Properly managing both asset onboarding and offboarding is essential for maintaining an organized inventory, ensuring security, and complying with regulations. A well-executed IT Asset Management (ITAM) system streamlines both processes and ensures your company’s assets are efficiently tracked throughout their lifecycle.

The Role of Automation in ITAM for Onboarding & Offboarding

In any business, efficiency is key. The faster and more accurately you can manage assets, the better. This is where automation in IT Asset Management (ITAM) comes into play. It’s a real game changer for onboarding and offboarding.

With automation, you can significantly reduce manual tasks, ensure that assets are tracked in real-time, and minimize human errors all while speeding up the entire process.

Why Automation Matters

Handling IT assets manually whether it’s assigning devices to new employees or recovering them when someone leaves often leads to mistakes, delays, and confusion. For example, HR might forget to update asset records, or IT could miss an asset that wasn’t properly returned. These types of oversights cost time and create unnecessary risks.

Automation solves these problems by ensuring that each step is tracked and completed without delay. When ITAM systems are automated, assets are assigned, monitored, and reclaimed automatically, freeing up HR and IT teams to focus on other important tasks.

=> Manual vs. Automated IT Asset Management: Pros and Cons

How ITAM Uses Automation to Improve Processes

Here’s how an automated ITAM system, like AssetLoom, streamlines onboarding and offboarding:

• Automated Asset Assignment: When a new employee is hired, HR can use AssetLoom to automatically assign the necessary assets through the Predefined Kit feature. The system automatically checks if all required devices and software are available and assigns them accordingly. This eliminates the need for manual tracking of each asset.
• Software License Management: AssetLoom automatically tracks software licenses. When a new hire requires a software license, AssetLoom assigns it instantly. Similarly, when an employee leaves, the system revokes any software access and reassigns licenses to others as needed.
• Automated Reminders: When an asset is due for return, AssetLoom sends automatic reminders to HR, IT, and the employee. This ensures that assets like laptops, phones, and accessories are returned on time, without anyone having to manually track these dates.
• Data Wiping and Security: When offboarding an employee, AssetLoom automatically flags devices for data wiping. This allows IT to quickly and securely erase sensitive data from returned devices, protecting the company from potential security breaches.

Streamlining Employee Onboarding with ITAM

Onboarding a new employee should be a smooth, quick process, but it often involves a lot of moving parts, especially when it comes to managing IT assets. From assigning laptops to setting up software, it can be easy to miss a step. The result? Delays, confusion, and sometimes even employees not having the tools they need to do their jobs effectively from the start.

So, what’s the solution? It’s IT Asset Management (ITAM). A solid ITAM system can simplify and speed up onboarding by making sure everything is tracked and assigned correctly, right from the start.

The Challenges of Asset Onboarding

One of the biggest issues in asset onboarding is the manual work involved. HR typically sends a request to IT for the necessary assets, but without a good system in place, it can be easy to overlook or forget a piece of equipment or software. This leads to delays, and new hires might end up waiting for the tools they need.

Another challenge is communication. HR and IT teams need to be on the same page when it comes to asset allocation. If IT is unaware of exactly what assets are needed for a new hire, or if HR doesn’t know which items have been assigned, it can slow down the whole process.

How ITAM Makes Onboarding More Efficient

With an ITAM system, like AssetLoom, these problems become much easier to manage. Here's how:

• Automated Asset Tracking: Instead of manually checking each asset, ITAM tools automatically track and assign items, ensuring nothing gets missed. For example, ITAM can show in real time which assets are available, assigned, or under maintenance, so HR and IT teams are always on the same page.
• Predefined Kits: One feature of AssetLoom is the Predefined Kit, a package of assets (laptop, phone, headphones, etc.) that is ready to go when a new employee starts. This makes the process quicker and ensures that everything needed is automatically assigned without manual tracking.
• Real-Time Updates: ITAM systems provide clear visibility into asset availability and status. This helps avoid delays because HR can quickly see what’s ready for the new hire, and IT can ensure everything is in place before the employee arrives.

Step-by-Step Example of Onboarding with AssetLoom

Let’s walk through a simple example of how AssetLoom improves onboarding. Take a new employee at your company.

• Asset Request: HR submits a request to IT for Emma's required assets, including a laptop, phone, and headset. AssetLoom automatically logs this request and notifies IT about what’s needed.
• Automated Asset Allocation: AssetLoom quickly shows which assets are available for Emma, allowing IT to assign them without manual searching.
• Predefined Kit: Using the Predefined Kit feature, the IT team can package Emma’s laptop, phone, and headset together, streamlining the process.
• Software Setup: AssetLoom tracks which software licenses Emma needs, ensuring everything is ready for her from day one.
• Real-Time Tracking: After onboarding, AssetLoom helps IT track Emma’s assets, ensuring she always has the tools she needs, and any new requests are easily managed through the system.

With AssetLoom, Emma is set up quickly and efficiently, and HR and IT are always aligned. The process is faster, more organized, and error free.

Managing Employee Offboarding with ITAM

Just as onboarding can be complicated, offboarding also involves several moving parts, especially when it comes to managing IT assets. When an employee leaves, their devices need to be returned, software licenses revoked, and any sensitive data wiped. Without a proper system, this process can become chaotic, leading to lost assets, security risks, and compliance issues.

The key to managing offboarding effectively is IT Asset Management (ITAM). With the right tools, offboarding can be a smooth, automated process that ensures assets are recovered and secure data is protected.

The Challenges of Asset Offboarding

Offboarding presents a unique set of challenges for organizations:

• Asset Recovery: When an employee leaves, it’s easy to forget to collect all the devices and tools they were assigned. Laptops, phones, and even small accessories may go unreturned if there’s no clear process in place.
• Revoking Software Access: Employees often continue to have access to software and licenses long after they’ve left. This poses a major security risk, especially with sensitive company data.
• Data Security: Ensuring that all personal data, files, and software are properly wiped from devices is crucial for protecting company information.

How ITAM Makes Offboarding Smoother

With an ITAM system like AssetLoom, you can automate much of the offboarding process, ensuring that nothing slips through the cracks:

• Automated Asset Return: When an employee leaves, AssetLoom automatically deactivates their profile, triggering an asset return process. This means all devices are flagged for return, and IT is alerted to reclaim them.
• Software and License Management: AssetLoom ensures that software licenses are deactivated or reassigned, so no unauthorized access remains after an employee’s departure.
• Data Wiping: AssetLoom helps IT teams track whether devices need to be wiped of company data before they are reassigned or retired. This ensures sensitive information is securely removed.

Step-by-Step Example of Offboarding with ITAM

Let's walk through how offboarding with AssetLoom works:

• Asset Collection: Once the employee’s departure is confirmed, AssetLoom flags all of their assigned assets for return. IT is automatically notified, and HR can prepare the equipment for collection.
• Software Deactivation: AssetLoom identifies the software and licenses assigned to the employee, ensuring that they are revoked and no longer accessible. This prevents unauthorized usage.
• Reassignment or Disposal: Once the devices are returned, IT can use AssetLoom to assess whether the equipment can be reassigned to another employee or needs to be retired. If devices are still in good condition, they can be quickly reassigned without delays.
• Data Security: AssetLoom helps ensure all personal data is wiped from returned devices before they’re reused or disposed of, maintaining data security and protecting sensitive information.

By using AssetLoom to automate these tasks, offboarding becomes seamless, secure, and much easier to manage.

Best Practices for ITAM in Onboarding and Offboarding

Even with an ITAM tool like AssetLoom, it’s important to follow some key practices to get the most out of it:

• Set Clear Policies on Asset Use: Establish clear policies for asset ownership, responsibility, and returns. This reduces confusion and ensures accountability, especially for remote employees who may be working from different locations.
• Automate Workflows for Consistency: Automation ensures that asset provisioning, configuration, and deactivation during offboarding follow a consistent, reliable process, reducing human error and speeding up the entire process.
• Forecast Needs with ITAM: Use ITAM to anticipate future asset needs. By tracking trends, IT can prepare assets ahead of time during hiring spikes and monitor offboarding trends to plan for asset reassignment or replenishment.

By implementing these best practices, you can make your ITAM processes more efficient, improve asset visibility, and ensure that everything from onboarding to offboarding runs smoothly.

Conclusion

Efficient IT Asset Management (ITAM) is key to streamlining employee onboarding and offboarding. Properly managing assets, such as laptops, phones, and software licenses ensures smoother operations, better security, and compliance.

With AssetLoom, you can automate asset tracking, reducing manual errors and delays while improving efficiency. The system ensures all assets are properly assigned, returned, and securely wiped. It also keeps software licenses in check, preventing unauthorized access after employees leave.

By adopting AssetLoom, you simplify onboarding and offboarding, safeguard sensitive data, and maintain regulatory compliance, all while freeing up HR and IT teams to focus on other important tasks.