How we eliminated IT logistics mishaps (and kept our IT team happy)

Em Spakauskas is Director of People Operations at Sayari. Em is a Rippling Wavemaker, a leader who challenges the status quo and finds creative ways to solve problems and drive business impact.

When I joined Sayari in March of 2020 (week one of COVID lockdowns!) I was doing a little bit of everything across HR, IT, and finance. The company has grown a lot since then, and while I’m no longer resetting people’s passwords as a one woman IT department, I’m still involved in IT equipment requests as part of onboarding new employees. Anyone who onboards employees in the age of remote work knows that effective device management can be tricky.  New hires need to have all of their tools on day one, but coordinating that effort between HR, IT, and the employee can be a logistical nightmare.

But here’s the cool part: Rippling’s surveys and workflows let us automate a lot of this process, saving time, reducing back and forth, and making a smoother onboarding experience. Here’s how we streamlined IT requests at Sayari.

The problem: Manual IT requests

Before Rippling, we got our new hires set up with their computers manually, and it took a long time. HR would email new hires to ask what peripherals they needed—monitors, keyboards, or anything else. Then, we’d manually send those requests to IT, track down shipping addresses, and follow up on delivery.

This process wasn’t just time-consuming; it also left room for delays and miscommunication. Missing information or delayed requests often meant new hires didn’t have the equipment they needed to hit the ground running, which was frustrating for everyone involved.

The solution: Automated workflows

By using automated workflows and surveys in Rippling, we were able to completely revamp the way we handle IT equipment requests. Here’s what worked for us:

Step 1: Create a peripheral request survey

We started by designing a simple survey in Rippling to collect all the necessary information from new hires. The survey includes fields for:

• The peripherals they need (e.g., monitors, keyboards, etc.)
• Their preferred shipping address
• Any additional notes or special instructions

Step 2: Trigger the survey automatically

Next, we set up a workflow to automatically send this survey to new hires immediately after they complete their onboarding documents. The timing ensures IT has everything they need to order equipment well before the employee’s start date.

Step 3: Configure workflows to notify IT

Within the same workflow, we added a step to email the survey results to myself and the IT team automatically. This eliminates back-and-forth communication and ensures IT has all the information in one place.

Step 4: Integrate with task management systems (optional)

For companies using platforms like Monday.com or Asana, you can take it a step further by integrating Rippling with these tools. Completed surveys can automatically create tasks for IT, ensuring everything is tracked and updated in real time.

Step 5: Monitor and optimize

We regularly review our process, gathering feedback from both IT and new hires to refine the survey and workflows. For example, we can add dropdown menus for common equipment needs to make the survey even faster to complete.

The impact

Automating IT equipment requests with Rippling has delivered a lot of benefits for Sayari:

Efficiency gains

Since automating much of the process, we’ve saved hours of back-and-forth emails between HR and IT. Equipment requests are fulfilled faster, and new hires have their tools ready to go.

Improved communication

The new process means that IT gets complete, accurate information every time. No more missing details or follow-up emails. Improved communication has made relationships better across departments, too, as an added bonus.

Enhanced new hire experience

New employees receive their equipment on time, showing that we’re organized and invested in their success from day one. 

Data tracking

With Rippling, we maintain a record of every equipment request. This helps us track inventory, manage IT budgets, and even prepare for audits.

This blog is based on information available to Rippling as of December 9, 2024.

Disclaimer: Rippling and its affiliates do not provide tax, accounting, or legal advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide or be relied on for tax, accounting, or legal advice. You should consult your own tax, accounting, and legal advisors before engaging in any related activities or transactions.