Once the decision has been made to deliver an employee separation notification, a tested and proven protocol should be followed. While employee separations may be infrequent, the risks are high if not planned and conducted precisely. If the separation does not go well, workplace disruption, escalation, or serious incidents that cause harm to your employees, clients, and brand may result. There needs to be a carefully coordinated and compassionate approach. This means working closely with key players before, during, and after the separation event — and it’s here that we focus on recovering company assets from departing employees. Secure asset recovery is a critical component of the dismissal process and vital to any Workplace Violence Prevention Program, helping to minimize risks and safeguard the company’s property.
“Asset retrieval is far from a mere logistical task — it's an essential protection strategy and a vital component of a company’s Workplace Violence Prevention program,” said Herbert Simon, CPP, Pinkerton Account Manager, who has specialized in asset retrieval for over 20 years. “Following an involuntary separation, the former employee’s supervisor or coworkers should not be the ones to ever conduct an inventory recovery. Instead a trained third-party inventory recovery professional should be given this task.”
Understanding the Stakes: Corporate Risk Mitigation
When employees are dismissed, a range of assets often needs to be retrieved, including company laptops, mobile phones, vehicles, access badges, proprietary files, technical equipment, and any other company property. The gravity of not retrieving key assets can be significant, potentially leading to added costs, legal ramifications, and workforce disruptions.
Company laptops and mobile phones are often hubs of sensitive information, potentially holding proprietary data and intellectual property. If not reclaimed, there's a heightened risk of data breaches, competitive espionage, or unintentional leaks, all of which could severely impact market positioning, breach contracts or confidentiality agreements, and erode customer trust (brand protection).
Vehicles represent both tangible and intangible risks. Beyond the obvious financial loss, they remain linked legally and publicly to the company — imagine a former employee involved in an incident while still driving a company car.
“Company fleet executives and policy should avoid retention of a company-owned/leased vehicle after separation due to enhanced risk of liability,” said Herbert. There is no distinction between branded and unbranded company cars; both carry the same level of risk and responsibility for the organization.
Unretrieved badges, files, and other equipment pose further vulnerabilities. Access badges or cards that are not deactivated can lead to unauthorized access, posing serious security threats to remaining staff and sensitive operations. Files, whether digital or physical, require reclamation for data breach prevention, loss, or misuse during offboarding.
In more mundane but impactful terms, the absence of crucial equipment can disrupt business continuity. A missing piece of machinery or unreturned specialized equipment can set back projects, frustrate clients, and undermine teams.
For industries such as pharmaceuticals and healthcare, securing high-value and high-risk assets is crucial to compliance and operational security. Leaving FDA-controlled samples in the hands of former employees not only violates strict regulatory compliance but can also endanger public safety, which may lead to severe legal repercussions and significant fines.
Some organizations do not prioritize collecting assets immediately after a separation or dismissal notice, which can lead to delays, uncertainty, and a higher likelihood of confrontations with the former employee.
“We’ve had clients call because their former employees failed to return critical company assets like computers and phones. Sometimes it has been one to two weeks, or even after two months,” said Michele Ariano, Pinkerton Director.
This is a reactive approach.
"Our goal is to prevent employees from holding onto assets — whether it’s a laptop with proprietary data, FDA-regulated pharmaceutical samples, med tech, or a company vehicle, which poses a clear liability — beyond the moment of separation,” said Herbert.
Workplace Termination Support
Asset retrieval is not one-size-fits-all. Understanding the varying needs of industries is key, whether it's tech firms worried about data breaches or banks safeguarding client information.
The process begins when an organization decides to dismiss an employee for various reasons, such as performance or policy violations. Pinkerton is notified, and our trained experts collaborate with the organization to understand the background and scope of the dismissal, identify the key assets that need to be retrieved (such as laptops, access cards, or proprietary materials), and establish the timing for both the dismissal and the retrieval process.
Michele stated, "It’s about alignment with the client’s point of contact. Our retrieval agents are thoroughly briefed by operations and given a clear understanding of the assignment with a focus on inventory recovery and a genuine compassion for the individual. This balance is critical.”
Professional Dismissal Planning
“When you talk about best practices for inventory recoveries, you have to talk about what happens before the separation,” Herbert said.
Account managers like Herbert work directly with the organization’s supervisors and managers who will deliver the separation notification, which includes coaching them on how to handle the termination conversation — many managers may not have prior experience firing someone
“I teach supervisors how to conduct a separation without escalating the probability of a poor reaction. Often, these supervisors have never dismissed anyone,” said Herbert. This includes using specific protocols and specific language, such as third-person pronouns. “I tell them, ‘Let’s walk through this. We're not going to be sensational. I am going to explain to you the foundations and the fundamentals regarding how to conduct an employee separation.”
Coordination of Timing for Dismissal and Retrieval
Timing is critical. The dismissal and asset retrieval are carefully coordinated to occur seamlessly, minimizing disruption and making certain that assets are secured promptly. This involves setting a specific timeline or prearranged plan for when and how the assets will be collected during or immediately after the dismissal.
“We have two types of situations, one involving in-office employees and the other remote employees. For in-office scenarios, the HR manager will inform us specifically whether our agents will be inside the room during the separation process or in immediate proximity. This is handled with the highest level of confidentiality, and the agent will escort the separated employee from the premises. Many times, when it's done in person, our role is escorting the individual out and advising them that their manager will ship their belongings. The separated employee will be reminded that they are not allowed on company property without an appointment,” said Michele.
Our agents play a crucial role in employee separations, requiring acute awareness and specialized skills to manage and resolve situations effectively. Their expertise allows them to adapt to unfolding events, ensuring the safety and security of clients and company assets.
The employee separation protocols and approach shift when it comes to dismissing remote employees.
"We coordinate timing precisely. When the HR manager or employee’s supervisor makes the call, the employee is notified that third-party inventory recovery professionals are in the vicinity and they will call you momentarily to come recover your assets,” Herbert said.
“We have two purposes. The first is to recover the company assets, and the second is to make the subject feel as comfortable as they can be during that process. When we call, we let them know that we need to swing by, grab their company assets, and be out of their hair as quickly as is probable. We say, ‘We know this is difficult, and we want to let you get on with your life as soon as you can,’” he said.
Documentation of Assets
A detailed inventory of the company assets in the employee’s possession is documented. This step guarantees that all items are accounted for and provides a clear record for both the organization and the dismissed employee to reference during the retrieval process.
“It is very important that we document everything. For sales representatives, such as those in pharmaceuticals, we may also visit storage units to collect supplies, always working from a detailed manifest to confirm every item — equipment, samples, or otherwise — is accounted for in a single visit,” said Michele.
Herbert added, “In more than one recovery, we have secured in excess of $1,000,000+ at-risk company assets.”
Facing the Challenges of Secure Asset Recovery
Real-world scenarios can be unpredictable. While most recoveries are quick and seamless, there are times when employees do not want to part with assets.
“We plan to minimize confrontation. We want to keep a passive-aggressive reaction from becoming an aggressive one. All of what we're talking about here is workplace violence prevention and conflict resolution,” Herbert said, emphasizing a strategic approach that mitigates the risk of escalating tensions or damaging relationships.
“We go through role-playing with the lead agent. And we have scenarios — if the subject says this, you say this. If the subject says that, you say that. The subjects are all human beings, and how the employee is treated by the company as well as by the third-party inventory recovery specialist makes a difference,” he said.
Michele further explained that these situations are about being clear and composed, "What sets Pinkerton apart is the caliber of agent, their training, and how compassionate and how respectful they are for the safety and security not only of the client that they're working with, but also for everyone within the environment."
Corporate Asset Protection and Peace of Mind
With any workplace termination, you balance the needs of the organization, the dignity and respect of the impacted employee, and the safety and security of everyone involved. Whether an employee anticipates their separation from employment or not, and regardless of any substantial severance package offered, losing a job is a traumatic experience, and reactions, expectedly, will vary. Working with trained security professionals, like Pinkerton, can reduce the risk of escalation during this difficult process and facilitate the safe return of company assets. Organizations can turn their focus back to what drives them forward — advancing their mission with the confidence that their foundation remains secure.
