Groups and employees

Organize phones the way your business is organized.

NounDesk lets you group devices by team, site or customer, with each group following its own security policy, and assign each device to a named employee with notes and an activity history. When an employee leaves, you choose what happens to their devices, keep them managed but unassigned, reassign, retire or erase, and nothing is ever erased automatically.

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Groups & employees in NounDesk.

Groups: one policy per team, site or customer

Nobody thinks of their phones as a flat list. A group is a set of devices that share a security policy, shaped the way your business actually is.

By team, such as Field crew, Office and Drivers.
By site, such as Broad Street, Airport location and Warehouse.
By customer, for service companies that place devices at client sites.

Groups

Field crewField Worker policy · 8 devicesBy team
Broad StreetKiosk policy · 3 tabletsBy site
Acme LtdStandard Business · 4 devicesBy customer

Employees: who has which phone

Every device can be assigned to a named person, with notes and an activity history, so the answer to whose phone is that is never a guess.

Assignment can happen at enrollment time, so a phone is Maria's from its first minute.
Notes carry the small facts that matter, such as a replaced screen or a preferred model.
Each group can carry its own Wi-Fi networks, required apps and kiosk setup.

Maria Lopez

Pixel 8a · Van 3Assigned 12 MarchOnline
Galaxy Tab A9Assigned 2 JuneOnline
NotePrefers the larger Galaxy, screen replaced in MarchNote

Offboarding without accidents

When someone leaves, NounDesk shows how many devices they hold and asks what should happen. Nothing happens until you choose.

Keep managed and unassigned, so the phone stays locked down and ready for the next hire.
Reassign it now, retire it and keep the record, or erase it with a typed confirmation.
Nothing is erased automatically, because the phone is often in a returning employee's drawer.

Dev Patel is leaving · 2 devices

Keep managed, unassignedReady for the next hireDefault
ReassignHand it to someone else nowOption
RetireStop managing, keep the recordOption
EraseTyped confirmation requiredOption

Nobody thinks of their phones as a flat list. They think "the crew phones", "the two tablets at the Broad Street shop", "Maria's phone". Groups and employees let NounDesk think the same way.

Groups make everything else easier

The few minutes spent naming groups on day one pay back every week after.

Bulk actions
Lock, reboot or move a whole group at once.
Reports by group
Compliance broken down by team or site.
Alerts name the group
You see straight away which team a problem phone belongs to.

Remote actions →Reports →Alerts →

3 devices selected

Lock · RebootApplies to all three nowBulk
Assign policy · Assign employeeMove a crew in one goBulk
Move to group · RetireTidy up after a job endsBulk
EraseOne device at a time, typed confirmationNever bulk

Related features

Security policies

Android security policies in plain English: pick a template, set screen lock, updates, camera, Wi-Fi and encryption, and preview changes before publishing.

Remote actions

Remotely lock, reboot, erase, reset the password or clear app data on any company Android phone from your browser, with bulk actions and honest status.

Team & roles

Administrator roles for a small Android fleet: invite your team by email as Owner, Admin, Operator (no erase or policy changes) or Viewer (read-only).

Industries

Who uses groups & employees

The trades that lean on this feature most, each with its own scenario and recommended policy.

Construction

Crew phones and site tablets you can actually see.

Crew phones and rugged site tablets that move between trailers and job sites. Group devices by site, push each site's Wi-Fi, and see honestly which ones have gone quiet.

Cleaning & home services

Simple phones for a team that's always at someone's home.

Staff phones that carry the schedule and a client's gate code into someone's home. A simple PIN rule, an app allow-list, and reassignment in seconds when the team changes.

Small schools & training

Classroom tablets that stay on the lesson.

Shared classroom tablets used by a hundred students and supported by a teacher. A multi-app kiosk per room, blocked app stores, and updates that run overnight.

Property management

Maintenance phones and leasing tablets that keep the keys safe.

Maintenance phones that carry lockbox codes and tenant details, and a leasing tablet that should show the application and nothing else. Lock, reassign and erase from one place.

See every industry →

From the blog

Set up groups & employees, step by step

Guide · DevicesDevice groupsCreate device groups in NounDesk, give each group a security policy, add or remove devices, and use groups to decide who can open company documents.Guide · DevicesEmployeesAdd employees in NounDesk, assign them devices and choose what happens to their phones when they leave: keep, reassign, retire or erase.Guide · DevicesRetire devices and offboard employeesThe difference between erasing a device, retiring it and deactivating an employee, and the safe order to do them in.

Browse the full user guide →

Groups & employees: questions answered

Can a device be in two groups?

No. Each device belongs to one group, and the group decides its policy. That keeps the answer to "why is this phone locked down this way?" simple.

What happens to a phone when its employee leaves?

You decide, in a dialog that shows the options: keep the device managed but unassigned, reassign it to someone else, retire it, or erase it. Nothing happens until you choose.

Can I manage phones for different customers or sites separately?

Yes. Make a group per customer or site, give each its own policy and Wi-Fi networks, and filter the device list by group.

Can employees see or change anything in NounDesk?

No. Employees never log in to NounDesk. Only administrators do, with the roles described on the team page.

Ten phones. Ten minutes. Protected.

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