Equipping remote employees with the right tools to perform their duties effectively is one of the main challenges faced by companies with talent distributed in different parts of the world.

How to select the right equipment? What are the parameters to take into consideration to avoid compliance issues? What to do in case of lost or stolen equipment? These and other questions are answered below.

What factors to consider when equipping remote employees

If your organization's workforce is located in different parts of the world, or you are thinking of opening a company that operates 100% remotely, you are probably wondering what aspects to take into account regarding the hardware your employees need.

Devices and supplies needed

The first step is to determine what equipment and accessories each employee needs to carry out his or her functions remotely. Laptops, desktops, monitors, keyboards, headsets, mice, webcams, tablets and smartphones are some of the items to be provided.

However, although everyone needs a computer, be it a laptop or a desktop, it is important to establish what type of equipment they need. For example, doing administrative work is not the same as having to design graphics or programming. Each employee's requirement varies depending on his or her profile and tasks.

Local procurement requirements

Labor laws are not global. Legislation on remote work takes on specific characteristics in different countries.

Therefore, when equipping remote employees, it is essential to take into account the regulations in force in each of the states in which the employees are based, understanding their scope and what they imply for employers -even for those who hire from other latitudes-.

Device maintenance

Another aspect to consider when equipping remote employees has to do with the activities associated with device maintenance.

In addition to promoting the care of equipment and supplies, training workers on the best practices to obtain maximum performance, the employing companies must design a maintenance plan.

In this way, not only critical failures are avoided, but also any inconvenience will be detected in time and any device can be replaced before it stops working, guaranteeing operational continuity.

Onboarding and offboarding

The onboarding and offboarding of employees is crucial in terms of the provisioning and removal of work material.

When a teleworker enters a company, he/she needs to have devices and supplies to perform his/her functions, regardless of the country in which he/she is located. The employer must find a way to get them to him, wherever he is.

A similar situation occurs when an employee leaves the organization. How will the company remove the equipment? What methodology will it use to keep track of each item? These are also key questions to consider.

Loss and theft of equipment

Nobody wants to think about this scenario, but the truth is that remote collaborators may lose their equipment or fall victim to acts of insecurity that result in the disappearance of the devices.

When a corporate computer falls into the wrong hands, the risk of corporate networks being hacked increases dramatically. To mitigate this, it is essential that the equipment is equipped with the appropriate IT protection tools.

On the other hand, in these situations, organizations must put in place fast and efficient processes to recover or replace lost or stolen work items. This will allow employees to return to work as soon as possible.

Working with a specialized partner, the best way to avoid problems

As you can see, equipping remote employees - and doing it properly - involves considering numerous aspects. Sometimes, organizations do not have enough time or resources to deal with these issues.

So, to avoid compliance issues, ensure delivery and pickup of devices and supplies with no supply chain hurdles to jump through, and reduce costs, it's best to rely on a specialized technology partner.

In TecsPal, we offer hardware solutions for companies that want to hire remote collaborators in LATAM, Europe, APAC or AFRICA.

We solve equipment needs for teleworkers throughout the entire employee cycle:

- Onboarding and offboarding:

We provide total control over the equipment delivered and withdrawn through our platform.

- Technical Support:

We provide specialized remote assistance to help employees set up their new workstations.

- Welcome kits and merchandising:

We ship welcome kits and corporate gifts.

- Hardware storage:

No need to store devices in your company. We store them and make them ready for delivery when future hires come in.

- Equipment recycling:

Once the elements conclude their life cycle, we find a good destination for them.

With TecsPal, equipping remote employees has never been easier. Do you have questions about our service? Contact us.