Starting a new job is stressful under the best of circumstances. Starting a remote job in an unfamiliar industry, working with platforms you have never used before, and worrying about whether your technology will actually work on day one adds significantly to that stress.
When Sarah Catterall joined Regroove from a background in education, heritage, and nonprofit work, she was understandably anxious about the technical side of the role. Her concern eased considerably when a fully configured laptop arrived before her start date. Here is what that experience taught us about managed device onboarding.
What Are Managed Devices?
Managed devices are under organizational control and configured with the specific hardware and software requirements of the organization. Rather than asking new employees to install applications, configure settings, and set up security tools on their own, administrators pre-load devices with everything needed. New employees log in and are ready to work.
Five Benefits of Managed Device Onboarding
1. Reduced Anxiety for New Employees
Remote onboarding removes the ability to walk over to a colleague's desk when something is not working. A fully configured device removes a significant source of early stress by eliminating the setup burden entirely. New employees can focus on learning the role rather than troubleshooting their technology.
2. Fewer Setup Mistakes
When employees set up their own devices, errors are common. Incorrect application installation, unnecessary third-party downloads, and improperly configured security settings are all real risks. Pre-configured devices eliminate these problems before they start.
3. Consistent Security and Organizational Control
Administrators retain control over corporate data and device activity. They can remotely troubleshoot issues and remotely wipe devices if they are lost or stolen. Every device has the same baseline security configuration, which means security assessments are simpler and incidents are more predictable.
4. Time Savings
The onboarding process becomes straightforward: turn on the device, log in, and start working. Productive time begins on day one rather than after a frustrating setup process that takes hours or days to work through.
5. Adaptability to Unexpected Circumstances
When Sarah lost power during a severe Ottawa storm early in her role, her pre-configured device allowed her to continue working from a different location without any additional setup. Cloud-based workflows with a properly configured device mean that disruptions to the physical workspace do not automatically mean disruptions to work.
Getting Started With Managed Devices
Microsoft Intune is the most common platform for managing devices in Microsoft 365 environments. If your organization does not currently use managed devices for onboarding, we can help you set up the policies and processes to make it work.