Recovering equipment at exit
Recovery fails because of confidence. Everyone assumes the laptop came back, nobody checked, and the gap surfaces at an audit a year later.
A leaver's last day is Friday. Somewhere between one and five company items are in their possession.
Without a register the recovery is a conversation: what have you got, and did you bring it in?
With one it is a list. Every item assigned to that person, each with a serial, checked off as it physically returns.
Serial matching is the step worth insisting on. Confirming the model is not the same as confirming the machine, and swaps happen without anyone intending them. On return, set health honestly, move the status to ready or under maintenance, and unassign the item so it shows as available to whoever issues the next one.
Why one record instead of two
Recovery works because the asset record and the leaver record already point at each other. Filtering the register by a person is not an integration; it is one query against one database. That is why the list is complete on the day notice is given rather than assembled on the last afternoon.
What is switched on
- Devices
- Filtering the register by user produces the exact recovery list, with serials.
- SOPs and checklists
- Recovery is a step in the exit process with an owner and a date, not a favour.
- Directory
- The leaver's record is where the assignment list hangs from.
- Activity log
- Returning the device is a recorded change, so the claim it came back is evidenced.
- Support desk
- A disputed or missing item becomes a ticket rather than an unresolved conversation.
What the week looks like
Notice given
Filter the register by that user. The recovery list exists from day one of notice.
A week out
Send the list to the leaver. Specific items get returned; a vague reminder does not.
Last day
Check each item against its serial. Matching the model is not the same as matching the machine.
Last day
Set health on return, honestly, and move the status back to ready or under maintenance.
Last day
Unassign each item so it shows as available for the next person.
After
Anything not returned stays assigned and visible. An unresolved item is the point of the record.
Questions people ask
How do we know everything came back?
Because the list was written at handover rather than at exit. Every assigned item appears under the leaver's name with its serial, and anything unreturned stays assigned.
What if an item is not returned?
It stays assigned to the leaver and visible on the register, so the gap cannot quietly disappear. A support ticket tracks the follow-up.
What happens to a returned machine?
Set its health, move its status to ready or under maintenance, and unassign it. Availability is a filter, so it becomes visible to whoever issues the next one.