Dear friends,

One of the common problems that I have seen is the non-returning of company assets such as laptops, Blackberry, etc., by the exiting employees. This problem becomes even more serious when the company is quite big with many locations. Some employees just put in their resignations and stop coming. May I seek your kind support in seeking your kind views to encounter such an eventuality?

Kind regards,
Sandeep Sharma

From India, Mumbai
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Hi Sandeep,

Company assets such as laptops, cell phones, etc., are valuable assets, not only in terms of cost but also the information contained within them. This information belongs to the company as well.

Therefore, it is imperative that the asset and the information are protected at all times, but especially when an employee resigns or is terminated.

To do this, you must have a robust policy, which must be referred to in the offer letter. The policy must mention the consequences of not returning the equipment within a set time period (I usually set a period of 24 hours).

The consequences can range from withholding pay and/or relieving documents to reporting the equipment as theft as well as theft of company information.

The procedure should start with the employee signing a declaration of receipt of such assets, their use, limitations, and duty of care.

The assets should be periodically checked by a manager.

The employee must sign a declaration upon resignation, handing back the equipment via a Handover Form.

In the case where an employee resigns and stops coming, their manager should pay a house visit to recover the equipment immediately.

Where the company has several locations, then this should be controlled by the local manager, who by virtue of his/her position automatically assumes responsibility. (This too should be covered in the policy).

I hope the above helps.

Regards,

Harsh

From United Kingdom, Barrow
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Dear Sandeep,

Your main problem is that you do not have a proper policy on the allotment of company assets to employees. It appears that your audit department is also laid back. Why did they not raise this point earlier?

Anyway, for making a policy on the allotment of company property to employees, you may check my previous replies on the following links:

- https://www.citehr.com/336602-policy...ml#post1544266
- https://www.citehr.com/375356-ex-emp...ml#post1725508

Ok...

Dinesh V Divekar
+91-9900155394

From India, Bangalore
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Hi Sandeep,

As Mr. Dinesh said earlier, you have to make a proper policy when an employee joins the organization. You have to take written confirmation from the employee. If they don't return the assets within the given time period, legal action will be taken accordingly.

Thanks & Regards,
Mounika
HR Recruitment Lead
Blackrock Systems


From India, Chennai
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Dear Sandeep,

To avoid this problem, there is a best solution which I used in my previous company - "Company Dues Form". My company had offices in various locations. First, I studied the things provided by the company and then prepared the form, which was distributed to each location under the leadership of the station head.

This form includes details from all departments such as sales, accounts, HR, admin, and IT.

Note: I am currently looking for a job in HR generalist profile or Administration. Kindly suggest me for the same.

Email: ansarikasimfahimuddin@gmail.com
Kasim Ansari
+91 9757297856

From India, Mumbai
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Anonymous
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Hi all,

I believe it should be clearly stated in the employee agreement that the exit documents can be withheld. Additionally, during the full and final settlement, a separate letter should be prepared outlining the company assets and terms and conditions while the employee serves notice. It is essential to ensure that the employee's current address, contact numbers, and all reference details are accurately recorded to prevent issues in cases of absconding. I recommend creating an exit checklist as soon as a resignation email is received to initiate the necessary processes promptly.

From India
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Dear friends,

There is another area connected with this that I have noticed. In no policy, such as the laptop policy or any other assets policy for that matter, do we define the following:

1. The role and duties of the stores department, which is responsible for the purchase of such items and reconciling their records on a regular basis, etc.
2. The role and duties of the audit department towards the audit of company assets on a regular basis.

I would appreciate it if you could kindly shed some light on this, especially covering the duties in detail.

Very kind regards,
Sandeep Sharma

From India, Mumbai
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Dear Sandeep,

Ideally, the Asset Register should be maintained by store professionals. However, in India, the quality of store professionals is so low that we cannot assign them this kind of work. If not stores, then someone else should maintain the asset register. That also does not happen.

Nowadays, advanced software is available to track and monitor the company's assets. For every asset mentioned in the register, there should be a loan card. The assets that are allocated for the use of some department, i.e., computers, printers, etc., HOD is responsible for their ownership. This loan card is part of their handing/taking over process if they leave their job or go on long assignments.

If the assets are allotted to individuals, then for each personal allocation, there should be a loan card. This loan card should be renewed every quarter. They are expected to surrender it when they quit their job. For those who fail to surrender, the proportionate economic value should be debited from their full and final settlement.

Companies do not maintain their assets properly because most of the companies start as private limited companies. The owner might not have worked in a professional company. Above all, there could be ego that "we are doing business for thousands of years." Secondly, the owner's relatives occupy many positions. Trust is the driving factor to occupy these positions and not necessarily professionalism. As the company grows, these persons become Directors. Since the Asset Register is not maintained properly, at a later stage, it is given short shrift. I have seen a couple of companies when they were forced to introduce asset registers when they went public.

Your second question is about the audit of the assets. It is the job of the internal auditor to audit the company's assets. In most cases, internal auditors report to the CFO or Head of Finance. If an audit is not done properly, then it appears that your Finance Head is also laid back. Tell the CFO or Head of Finance to define the duties for the internal auditor.

Your last sentence, "Would appreciate it if you could kindly shed some light on this, especially covering the duties in detail," is not compatible with the designation that you hold. I can understand if some HR Assistant or HR Executive asks for "details." A lot of discussions have happened earlier, and that should be sufficient for a person of your stature. Spoon-feeding would lower the dignity of your designation, and we do not wish that to happen in an open forum. My comments are quite straightforward, but I feel that these are needed too.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar
+91-9900155394

From India, Bangalore
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I take the liberty of making a general appeal. We should search CiteHR first for information already available using the RESEARCH facility at the top before posting a query and then ask precise questions, giving enough information about the scenario. For example, if a search had been conducted, we would have found links in the sidebar at the side of the box.

I searched the web, as is my habit, and found a good policy document at http://www.ubuhlebezwe.org.za/wp-con...ION-POLICY.pdf

From United Kingdom
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Dear Dinesh,

Thanks for your contribution. Remember, a man can always learn, and more importantly, you are never perfect. It seems you never understood what was implied. Anyways...

I wonder, will you agree with what I say?

Kind regards,
Sandeep Sharma

From India, Mumbai
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