Three Tips to Improve HR and IT Process Integration

When it comes to discussing employee onboarding and offboarding there are two main players who are involved in the process, HR and IT. Often HR and IT professionals find themselves at odds with each other because their daily workflows are so different and there is often little understanding of that between the departments. However, technology has come a long way and there are now systems in place that can assist with the integration of employee onboarding, offboarding and other workforce processes. Here are Montra’s top tips to ensure a successfully integrated HR and IT onboarding/offboarding process: 

1.  Set Regular Communication Schedules 

Schedule regular check-ins between the two department heads to ensure both teams are on the same page. A commonly heard complaint from IT professionals is that they are not included in the on/offboarding process until the very end and that teams are not working together to create a seamless transition for employees. As with any relationship, communication is key to success. When it comes to HR and IT integration, clear and concise communication will go a long way. Making sure both teams are aware of deadlines and expectations will help to avoid any stressful surprises down the road. 

2. Automate Reminders 

Automating tasks and reminders in the onboarding/offboarding processes is a great way to improve efficiency and accuracy across the board. Whether it is with email or more sophisticated systems, automated reminder notifications can minimize communication delay and ensure that longer lead time processes like background checks and laptop procurement are able to get started as quickly as possible in the process. 

3. Use Technology to Integrate 

There are several HR and IT software integration solutions on the market. They are often too complex to implement for most companies – requiring external consultants to implement. Montra’s VIA EX software is designed with the mid-market in mind. EX is workforce management software that helps businesses manage the IT aspects of onboarding and offboarding. Implementation is straightforward in most modern HRIS. VIA EX does everything from user account creation across multiple applications to managing the laptop and phone ordering processes and even enables employee mass notifications. 

By using these tips, your HR and IT departments can work together seamlessly to ensure a smooth onboarding and offboarding experience for your employees. By integrating the software into your company’s current HR and IT systems, you can improve communication between these two vital groups and make your business run smoother. 

If you are interested in learning more about the VIA EX software or would like to try it for yourself, please email us at sales@montra.io. We would be happy to answer any of your questions and discuss how the software could benefit your business. 

Checklist for IT Employee Offboarding

Whether an employee leaves a company of their own accord or not, they first must be offboarded to ensure an easy and secure transition from their current role to their next one. IT administrators play a critical role in the offboarding process and must quickly and efficiently off-board the employee to keep business running smoothly. Follow our nine-step checklist to make sure you’re protecting your company’s network and data.

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7 Step Checklist for Secure and Reliable Laptop Imaging

Your company’s laptops are a valuable business tool that enables the success of your workforce. It contains important information and files that are necessary for your work. That’s why it’s important to have a setup and a backup plan for your laptop imaging. In this blog post, we will discuss the best practices for laptop imaging so that you can keep your company data private and secure. When onboarding an employee, it is essential to set up their device and make sure to securely delete everything if a previous employee had that device. Laptop imaging can vary from business to business, so it is important to include specific instructions when onboarding a new user. 

1. Start with a Fresh Image

It can be tempting for companies to try to skip the imaging process when deploying new or re-used laptops. By starting with a newly imaged device, companies can document updates and changes more effectively, and avoid accidentally duplicating bad software or private data. In addition, starting fresh provides an opportunity to review and improve upon existing processes. It may take some extra time up front, but the long-term benefits of starting from scratch are typically worth the investment.

2. Identify User Profiles

When it comes to information management, one size does not fit all. That’s why it’s important for companies to tailor their systems to the specific needs of each team or department. Accounting departments, for example, have very different needs than design centers. As such, it is often useful to create different master PC images for each department. This helps to optimize workflow and ensure that employees have the programs, permissions, and privileges they need to do their jobs effectively. While it takes a bit of effort to set up separate images for each department, the benefits can be well worth the investment.

3. Verify Device Compatibility

Not every PC Image will work for every workstation. Therefore, it’s crucial to consider things like computer type, hard drive capacity, RAM, graphics processing power, operating system, and compatible software before beginning. This is because something as simple as a system update can render some programs obsolete. By taking all of these factors into account, you can ensure that your Master Image will be compatible with all of the systems it needs to be used on. In doing so, you’ll save yourself a lot of time and headache in the long run.

4. Create a Master Image

With deployment criteria validated, IT technicians can initiate a Master Image. There are many programs available to facilitate the creation of a computer image, and IT professionals should determine which one is best suited for a company’s needs. Before deploying a PC image, technicians should patch the Operating System (OS) to ensure images are as up to date as possible. Next, technicians should install and update applications relevant to the target user’s system and configure appropriate permissions and privileges.

5. Maintain Drivers

Device drivers are programs that control devices connected to a computer. In most cases, devices are connected directly to the computer via cables, but they can also be connected wirelessly. Drivers allow the computer to communicate with the device and to use its features. For example, a printer driver allows the computer to send data to the printer so that it can print it. Drivers are generally specific to a particular make and model of device, and they need to be kept up to date to work correctly. When technicians update a computer’s operating system, they typically also update the device drivers. This ensures that all the devices will continue to work correctly with the new operating system. Technicians should double-check that all drivers are up-to-date and functioning correctly before updating any computer image. 

6. Audit Master Image Regularly

Companies should develop a process for keeping the master image optimized. A best practice is to schedule a monthly audit of master images to ensure programs, permissions, and privileges are functional and current. This practice helps minimize the number of system updates and configuration changes needed each time imaging is applied.

7. Document Changes

Companies should remain diligent about documenting changes or updates to any Master Image. Proper documentation can save IT departments hours of headaches by simply noting the date of image, base configuration, and changes since the last version. 

While this laptop imaging checklist only features the high-level steps for internal IT departments to consider, it should give you a general framework for simplifying the deployment of multiple devices. Organizations should reference this imaging checklist throughout their planning and strategy phases to develop realistic timelines and budgets. 

Laptop imaging is a vital part of keeping your company’s data private and secure. By following the best practices for laptop imaging, you can ensure that your data is protected in the event of an employee departure, hardware return, or other change of control incident. If you need help with setting up laptop imaging for your business, contact our experts today at sales@montra.io 

Five Easy Steps to Great Employee IT Onboarding

Contrary to common belief, the employee onboarding process isn’t just for HR. Most modern businesses are heavily reliant on IT infrastructure for client and team communication, employee and task management, and productivity. 

Despite this, IT onboarding is often mishandled during the employee onboarding process. This negatively impacts both the business and the new employee by: 

  • delaying fully productive work 
  • creating security and compliance risks 
  • exposing confidential data
  • negatively impacting an employee’s perception of their new company 

While the consequences of overlooking IT onboarding can be ominous, nailing your IT onboarding process can be straightforward. You just need the right process and access to tools that can facilitate the process. 

When you make a new hire, your new employee will rely on a handful of devices and applications to successfully complete their job. IT onboarding creates a uniform process to ensure that all required technology is properly set up and new hires are well-trained on the tools they will use 

Why IT Onboarding Is So Important 

New employees at modern companies need to use devices and software to be successful in their roles. IT onboarding is important to help new hires: 

  • Familiarize themselves with your technology stack. New hires may be overwhelmed by the amount of technology they’ll need to use to be successful in their role. A comprehensive IT onboarding experience can help them become familiar with the tools, software, and processes before they jump into their day-to-day responsibilities. 
  • Set up required credentials. Between software for the job, communication applications, and security programs, new employees have many services they will need to access. IT onboarding provides an opportunity for new hires to receive all their credentials while getting assistance from IT. 
  • Learn about privacy and security. When you hire new employees, you grant them access to confidential information about the company. Providing a clear overview of cybersecurity and privacy practices in IT onboarding helps new hires understand how to navigate and protect sensitive information. 
  • Feel confident in their ability to use provided technology. Not only should new hires familiarize themselves with their new technology, but they also need to feel confident in their abilities to use it in order to complete the requirements of their role. A robust IT onboarding program ensures all new employees learn the ins and outs of the necessary technology. 

Making Certain IT Onboarding Goes Smoothly 

The following IT employee onboarding steps can be used to prioritize the tasks required to ensure that your IT onboarding goes smoothly. 

No matter how experienced new hires are with technology, setting up effective IT onboarding processes can help new employees feel welcome in your company, build their confidence in your organization, and boost their productivity. 

Here are the basics of IT employee onboarding best practices: 

1. Gather All Required Information About the New Hire 

Each new hire will require different types of technology to be successful in their position, depending on the role and industry. Once the candidate officially accepts their offer, send relevant information to the IT department so they know what technology to prepare for the new employee. You will want: 

  • New Hire Name(s) (first, last, middle, or nickname, if applicable) 
  • Contact information (prior to their start date) 
  • Job title 
  • Department 
  • Start date 
  • IT resources they’ll need access to
  • Type of device(s) they’ll need 

Getting all the necessary information on a new hire before they start will save IT from needing to make changes later. Where possible, verifying the information with the new hire is very helpful. 

2. Order and Setup Technology Before Their First Day 

Equipped with information about the new hire, the IT can order and set up all the tech equipment before the new employee’s first day. IT may have extra computers and equipment waiting to be assigned to new employees, or they may need lead time to order new systems. 

A typical list of devices and other technology includes: 

  • Laptop or Desktop 
  • Monitor 
  • Docking station 
  • Mouse 
  • Keyboard 
  • Cables 
  • Company cell phone 

Arriving on the first day to a desk setup – or arriving at their house if they will work remotely – with all the necessary resources can positively impact a new hire’s onboarding experience. It spares the new hire from scrambling to gather the right tools to accomplish work in a timely manner. 

3. Create Accounts for All Applicable Software and Tools 

As with setting up devices, you will need to create accounts for all the software and tools that a new hire will need in their position. This includes their device accounts, email, and all other applications they will use. Other applications could include file services like Dropbox, productivity tools like Trello or Asana, and analytics tools like PowerBI and Tableau.  

You could utilize a single-sign-on system such as Okta or Microsoft SSO, to provision user accounts more easily across multiple applications. Multi-factor authentication (MFA) should be a requirement on any account used for critical business processes or critical business data – including their machine, email, and any other high-value services. 

You will typically need management approvals through this entire process also. Done poorly, this could be a tedious manual process, or it could be nearly automatic. A directory service can expedite this process through a simplified interface that allows you to assign users to groups and automatically provision them to resources using only a few checkboxes. 

Once all these credentials are created, they need to be given to the new hire on the first day – or the first week at the latest. In days before hybrid work, the credentials might be written on a sticky note. Now the credentials should be passed securely to a personal email account in a multi-step process. 

4. Schedule 1:1 IT Onboarding Session 

On the new employee’s first day, schedule time for a one-on-one or small group IT onboarding training session to walk through all the devices and accounts they need to know how to navigate. 

In this meeting, IT will walk new hires through their company email and messaging apps, as well as some of the important security procedures. Consider scheduling enough time to walk through some of the technology available for general use at the office as well. 

5. Provide Training for Cybersecurity and Privacy 

All new employees should go through cybersecurity and data privacy training. The more they know, the less risk they present. Training will typically be provided in self-guided training modules on cybersecurity, data privacy, and other physical security topics such as clean desk policies, storing physical files, and locking computers and desks. 

You should have a data privacy agreement that new hires review and sign before completing their IT onboarding. This assures that all the confidential data that you provide employees remains private and covers the organization legally in case of a data breach. 

Cybersecurity training should continue through periodic training sessions. The frequency and content of this training is set by common cybersecurity compliance policies that likely apply to your organization. 

How Software Helps with IT Onboarding 

Having a defined and repeatable IT onboarding process will significantly reduce friction in your new hire’s onboarding. However, depending on the employee’s role and the extent to which your company makes use of software systems, important steps in the process can easily fall through the cracks. 

Any issues in your IT onboarding process may not become apparent until they have more serious implications for employee retention or cybersecurity. This is where onboarding software can assist you in putting in place structured, repeatable IT onboarding processes. 

Good IT onboarding software should be: 

  • Affordable, user-friendly, and simple to use 
  • Fully customizable, allowing you to build on the recommended steps in the IT onboarding process and develop templates that are a fit for your organization 
  • Cloud-based so your new hires can access the IT onboarding process wherever they are 
  • Workflow-enabled, making it easy for you to add team members to any onboarding process and easily track and complete IT onboarding checklist items 
  • Designed to seamlessly track devices with an asset management system, allowing you associate employees with the devices they will use in their work. 

Learn More 

Want to learn more about IT onboarding best practices, or are you interested in software that can help you automate your onboarding process more effectively? Please contact us. We are happy to help you become more effective at this part of your business.