ESS Kiosk or Employee Self Service Kiosk is basically an Employee Self Service tool deployed in a Kiosk. It provides employees with a digitalized version of the HR services. The Employee Self Service Kiosk or ESS Kiosk is a touchpoint where the employee interacts with the HR department to avail HR services that are being offered from an interactive self-service kiosk with a touch screen. Employee Self Kiosks are deployed on common places in the office or the branch office to facilitate employees and save their important working time. The main advantage is the convenience for the employees and the quick service delivery. The Employee Self Service Kiosk can offer HR services without any human intervention, the employee can follow the instructions on the screen to perform a certain task to avail a particular HR service. The ESS Kiosk not only makes the service delivery quicker but it automates the processes and saves a lot of time for the HR staff which otherwise requires a lot of paperwork and manual tasks.
The Employee Self Service or ESS is a bit modern term, but all the HRMS or Human Resource Management Systems usually comes with in-built support for ESS these days. The ESS enables the employees to perform certain tasks by themselves which also relieves the HR staff from a lot of work. The digitalization of the services also saves tons of manual HR work and the cost of printing, mailing, manual filling, and paperwork. Usually, most of the HR staff’s work hours are consumed by manual processes and paperwork. This could also cause errors and sometimes requires revisions, the updates are lengthier due to the manual processes and manual workflow. However, the Employee Self Service Kiosk or ESS Kiosk can easily fix all these issues and it can provide an excellent experience for the employees as well as for the HR staff.
The ESS Kiosk is based on two major components, the software, and the hardware:
Employee Self Service or ESS Kiosk Software
Employee Self Service Kiosk or ESS Kiosk software is basically just a module of the modern day’s HRMS (Human Resource Management System), in fact, it is an extension of the HRMS. All the services are converted to digital and are provided at the ESS Kiosk for security and authentication there are certain protocols that are followed to ensure regulations and checks are in place. Usually, the ESS kiosk doesn’t require additional stand-alone software, but in cases where the HRMS doesn’t have support for the kiosk or doesn’t have enough support to allow the businesses to achieve required functionalities and objectives, then an intermediary application or software is being developed which only synchronizes with the HRMS, other database and corporate tools to achieve the functionalities required to be performed on the interface of the ESS Kiosk software. Most of the time having dedicated ESS software is the best approach. It allows tons of customizations and a lot of future improvements/upgrades can also be done very easily on the customized ESS Software.
Here are some possible software components of the ESS Kiosk:
- Kiosk API integration
- ESS Interface for Employee
- Administrative Interface
- HRMS API Integrations
However, all of the above-mentioned components are not mandatorily to be deployed in each scenario but these all are widely used in the market. The most popular method is the web-based interface or a desktop application.
The ESS Kiosk’s API is the main brain of the system, it collects and updates data from and to various corporate and enterprise systems, it takes commands from the employee and then performs the logic and returns the results on the employee terminal. The server-side software is installed on a local server or a cloud or online and is always connected with the ESS Kiosk or employee terminal. The employee terminal is usually a web-app-based user interface, and it just requires a browser. The employee can come to the interactive touch screen and tap on different buttons to choose whatever they are looking for and the entire computing is done at the server-side software. This is just a basic explanation of the workings of the ESS Kiosk obviously there is a lot going on behind the scene. The ESS Kiosk System also collects statistical and usage data and can be used to collect employee feedback too. All these inputs can be processed through a powerful software engine and valuable reports can be generated.
Employee Self Service or ESS Kiosk Hardware
Employee Terminal or ESS Kiosk hardware has a basic foundation and all other features are built on and around this foundation. And that foundation is basically a computer, it could be a full or mini-sized Windows or Linux-based computer or it could also be an Android or iOS-based tablet. Mostly a full-sized windows based computer is used as the foundation of the employee terminal or Employee Self Service Kiosk. The entire system is built around this foundation. As it is an employee terminal and it should provide various HR services which may require printing, scanning, and such tasks so there could be a lot of hardware accessories or peripherals required too. That is why Windows-based computer is the most suitable choice, as the technology is widely available, cost-effective and it is compatible with tons of easily available hardware accessories and peripherals.
Here are different hardware components of the ESS Kiosk:
- Display Screen/Touch Screen
- Computer (Processor, RAM, and Storage)
- Physical Keyboard & Track-pad
- Documents Printers
- Documents Scanners
- NFC or Contact Card Readers
- Passport Scanners
- Intercom or Call Center IP Phone
Of course, these are just some of the most popular peripherals that are used at the employee terminal. There are so many other devices that can be attached with the ESS Kiosk to support more exclusive HR services. The entire employee terminal is customizable which enables the HR department to include any kind of compatible and relevant hardware to provide the required service and to keep the interface and interaction simpler and easier for the employee.
The hardware accessories are easily available in the market and can be configured with the employee terminal through software integration. The selection of the hardware is determined by the scope of the service that is being offered at the Employee Self Service Kiosk or ESS Kiosk. For example, if an employee needs to print their salary certificate then the employee terminal should have the printer, or if an employee has to scan their medical reports to apply for leave then they should have a scanner in the ESS Kiosk and so on and so forth. This is how the hardware and peripherals are selected for the Employee Self Service Kiosk.
HR Services Offered via ESS Kiosk
There is a range of services that can be offered from Employee Self Service or ESS Kiosk. Most of the time all the most required services can be digitalized and offered through the employee terminal/ESS Kiosk. Automation not only makes the service delivery fast but also reduces the human effort to manage the manual processes and paperwork by automating various steps and processes for particular service delivery. The system can authenticate an employee using a predefined method of authentication, for example, an employee can come to the ESS Kiosk and scan their Emirate ID Card and the system will automatically authenticate them. Once the authentication is done the employee will be able to perform certain tasks and avail of certain services or to get access to certain information. Automation and digitalization result in quicker service delivery, and as the human intervention is limited so the chances of error and repeated work are also very less.
Here are some of the very popular HR Services offered through Employee Self Service or ESS Kiosk:
- Documents Update (Passport, EID Card, etc)
- Loan and Other Benefits, Incentives, and Overtime
- Time Clock and Work Schedules
- Annual Leaves and Travel Requests
- Salary Certificate Printing
- Appointment Booking for HR
- Online Forms and Registrations
- Printing and Scanning Requests/Forms/Applications
- Employee Feedback Survey and Suggestions
- News, Updates, and Announcements
Obviously, these are the very basic services an employee terminal can offer. There are tons of other services too which can be offered from the Employee Self Service Kiosk.
The Employee Self Service Kiosk can be integrated with HRMS, other enterprise databases, and a huge variety of hardware accessories. The technology used to build the employee terminal is very supportive with innovation and unique ideas. The HR department can innovate their own new ideas to further facilitate the employees and to reduce the steps in a service delivery process.
Benefits of Employee Self Service aka ESS Kiosk
Providing an Employee Self Service aka ESS Kiosk not only improves the employee experience but also helps the HR department to significantly reduce the workload and expenses. The ESS Kiosk or Employee Terminal is always integrated/linked to the HRMS (human resource management system). The integration allows the employee terminal to authenticate the employees and let them access their data to avail certain services. The Employee Self Service aka ESS Kiosk is a Virtual HR and it can significantly improve the efficiency of the HR department by automating a lot many processes and reducing the workload of the HR staff. With the help of the Self Service Employee Kiosk, the HR staff can focus on more productive tasks.
Here are some benefits of the Employee Self Service aka ESS Kiosk:
- Employee satisfaction
- No more long queues and no wait time
- Instant service delivery (24/7 Operation)
- Onsite Document Printing
- Onsite Document Scanning
- Simple and Easy to Use Interface
- Multi-lingual, On-screen instructions and Call Center Support
- The reduced workload of the staff and increase HR productivity
- HR Cost Reduction
- Automation results in greater HR efficiency
- Improved Employee Satisfaction and Retention
- Integration with other databases enables real-time updates
- Allow HR to push the latest news and make announcements at the employee terminal
- Help HR to implement new policies and rules
- Provide HR Services at Remote Locations
- The system commissioning cost is low
- Employee Terminals require very less maintenance
- The system is long-lasting and can easily be upgraded to extend its lifecycle
- The Employee Self Service Kiosk system can collect vital business intelligence
- The ESS Kiosk have excellent ROIs rates
The Employee Self Service Kiosk comes with great value and benefits. It could significantly improve HR work efficiency and productivity. It helps the HR department to achieve its goals and objectives. The HR department can instantly implement company rules and policies at all employee terminals. The monitoring and KPIs help the management to make improvements and the business intelligence help businesses to take vital decisions and make future strategies to ensure business growth.
Conclusion
The HR department is the busiest department at any organization or business. Most of the time the HR is occupied with the daily employee queries and attending the visitors. The remaining resources are consumed in tons of paperwork, filing, mailing, printing, and manual routine processes. This not only requires a huge HR department with a larger staff and more expenses but also reduces the overall productivity of the HR department. Above all the employee satisfaction and employee experience is another big challenge under such circumstances. The main responsibility of any HR department is to acquire the right staff and take steps to improve employee satisfaction to ensure greater employee retention and maximize employee performance. The HR Kiosk or Employee Self Service (ESS) Kiosk is an employee terminal that allows instant and remote interaction with the HR department and can offer most of the HR services through an interactive kiosk machine. The HR Kiosk can be placed anywhere near to the employees, either at their work or their residence or their project site, and so on. This is to provide instant HR access to the employees without any worry of being waiting in long queues or traveling to the HR department and skipping the work or any such problem.
The Employee Self Service Kiosk or ESS Kiosk system consists of a software and a hardware unit. The software is always linked with the HRMS (human resource management system) and it could also be connected to other databases and corporate tools. The hardware entirely depends upon the objectives and scope of the service that has to be offered through the employee terminal. The Employee Self Service Kiosk offers an excellent employee experience and it can significantly improve the HR department’s efficiency. The overall system offers remarkable ROI rates as it directly causes to reduce the HR resources and HR expenses and on the other hand the Employee Self Service Kiosk significantly improve the HR performance and employee’s experience. If you are seeking an HR Kiosk or Employee Self Service Kiosk feel free to reach us through our Contact Us page or write us in the comment box below.