Laptop Provisioning for New Hires: A Timeline Checklist

Decide the hardware and start the clock. Choose from a short list of standard models by role, since a standard list simplifies support and ordering. Order immediately, because stock, shipping and configuration take time, especially for remote hires.

At the same time:

• Confirm the shipping address and a phone number for the courier.
• Assign the device to a named owner, and record it in the asset register with serial number, purchase date and model.
• Ask the manager for the role's software and access list, and note anything that needs a license.
• Check whether the person needs peripherals such as a monitor, keyboard or headset, and order them together, so one shipment arrives.

For remote hires, review your remote equipment policy to confirm what you provide and what you reimburse.

Set up the device to a standard baseline, ideally through a device management tool so settings apply automatically. A workable baseline covers these steps:

1. Install operating system updates and apply your standard configuration.
2. Turn on full-disk encryption and store the recovery key in a secure place the company controls.
3. Enroll the device in mobile device management so you can manage, lock and wipe it remotely.
4. Install endpoint protection and a password manager.
5. Install the role's standard software, and leave licensed tools to be activated with the employee's account.
6. Configure single sign-on, screen lock and firewall settings.
7. Test that the device connects to company systems and print a checklist of what was done.

Keep the configuration in a written standard, so any team member can prepare a laptop the same way.

Create accounts from a role-based template, not from memory. Give the least access the role needs, then add more on request. Typical accounts include email, chat, the file storage system, the password manager, the identity provider, and job-specific applications.

Set up multi-factor authentication before the first login, and send the first-day instructions to a personal email or by phone, not to the new account they can't yet open. Confirm access to shared resources such as calendars, channels and team folders. Record who approved each access grant, since you'll need the list at offboarding. The IT offboarding checklist uses this record to revoke access on the last day.

For office hires, hand over the device on day one with a short walkthrough. For remote hires, ship early enough to allow for delays, choose tracked shipping with signature or safe delivery, and send the tracking number to both the employee and the manager.

Include in the box or the welcome message:

• A one-page first-login guide with steps and a support contact.
• A prepaid return label, or instructions for how the equipment will be returned, if that's your policy.
• The acceptable use policy and asset acknowledgment for the employee to sign.

Schedule a fifteen-minute video call on day one to walk through the first login, since remote setup problems are easier to solve live. If the laptop arrives damaged or late, have a backup plan, such as a spare device or a loaner.

Every laptop should appear in an asset register with owner, serial number, purchase date, status and location. Review it quarterly against your device management tool and your headcount, and investigate any device without an owner.

Plan the end of the device's life too. When an employee leaves, collect the laptop, remove access, wipe it to factory settings and record its next status. Set a refresh policy, such as replacing devices after a set number of years, so failures don't arrive at random. Tie the checklist to your employee onboarding checklist and the first hire checklist, and use the operations audit checklist to check whether the whole process holds up. To compare equipment logistics services, see this device logistics comparison and this distributed startup comparison.