Why HR Departments should deploy HR Kiosks?

Why HR Departments should deploy HR Kiosks

Why organizations should deploy HR kiosks for their HR departments and link them with their HRMS systems? The HR department is the backbone of the growth, if an organization is growing they require better workforce management. The HR departments always have to be very efficient to meet the needs of the growing organizations and enterprises. The HR department ensures a sufficient supply of human resource for the organization’s operational needs. In Dubai, UAE the competition is rising, the economic developments are attracting more businesses and investors to enter the market. This led to a very competitive market, the competition cause businesses to increase the quality which results in higher expectations from the customer and the cycle goes on and on.

The basic functions of the HR Department are:

  1. Recruitment
  2. Employee Satisfaction
  3. Employee Retention
  4. Reduction in Labor Cost
  5. Ensuring Maximum Employee Performance
  6. Self-sufficiency
  7. Enforcing Organizational Policies
  8. Employee Development

The HR departments recruit skilful staff to ensure cost-effective operations. This is a very important function in any organization as outsourcing has its challenges and it is not as cost-effective either. The second function of HR is to ensure the employees are satisfied and are working at their optimum efficiency levels. This also includes monitoring, incentives and performance management. Another very crucial function that HR perform is employee retention. Businesses and organizations could spend a lot of resources in order to train their employees and on their personal development. It is important to keep those employees to ensure maximum operational capabilities. The HR departments not only in Dubai, UAE but all over the world heavily rely on technological solutions and tools to boost their efficiencies. The HR Kiosk or Virtual HR is one of the most effective tools which can help the HR department in all of their organizational functions.

The HR Kiosks are basically a touch screen interactive device, usually floor standing or wall mount. The HR Kiosks would be connected with the HR database and information centre to enable the employee to perform HR tasks via a self-service interface. It is important to integrate your HR Kiosks with your HRMS (Human Resource Management System) to utilize them at their maximum potential. This also expands the possibilities of digitalization and automation of a lot many processes and services.

Here are the core benefits of deploying an HR Kiosk:

Easy Access to the HR Information

Easy Access to the HR Information

Most of the time the HR departments are located in the head-offices or at a different location or employees could be working in a production unit or at a project site and the HR department elsewhere or something like that. This made it harder to reach out to the HR department each time an employee requires a service. This also causes a waste of time and resources. There are a bunch of other challenges too, the employee would require transport, off-time to schedule a visit to the HR, and if it is a busy day you can even lose the entire workday. The HR Kiosk can solve this problem. These kiosks are free-standing designs, you can place a floor standing or wall mount HR Kiosk at the project site, or at the company accommodation of the staff, or at the local branch or regional office and so on. This not only reduces the workload of the HR staff but also adds value to the employee experience and satisfaction.

Reduce HR Department’s Cost and Expenses

Reduce HR Department’s Cost and Expenses

The mailing and printing is a huge cost for the HR department. It is time-consuming too. With the help of an HR kiosk, you can eliminate these costs by a huge percentage. Apart from that the HR department’s most resources are consumed in filling and documentations. They have to maintain a lot many files, which itself consumed a lot of financial resources, for example, you need extra staff to do the manual work, you need more stationary and more storage spaces to store the files and paperwork. These all things could be very expensive. The HR Kiosk will not only automate a lot many processes but it also digitalizes them which reduce the paperwork, mailing and manual filling. This is why the HR kiosk should be integrated with the HRMS or intranet or any other corporate tool which holds the HR and employee database.

Increase Employee Satisfaction and Employee Retention

Increase Employee Satisfaction and Employee Retention

The HR Kiosks can provide an excellent experience to the employees. Self-service is always preferred by the customers in every service-based industry. The HR Kiosk allows the employees to get the required service without depending on any human/staff and or travelling to the HR department. This saves their time and efforts. Another advantage of Virtual HR or HR Kiosk is that business can place them at the closest and convenient locations to the employees. The employees don’t have to wait in a long queue, they can get the service instantly. This significantly boosts the employee experience and satisfaction. Once your employees are satisfied with you the employee retention is easier. The HR Kiosk can also provide a feedback channel to further understand the expectations and needs of the employees which can help the businesses to take steps to improve employee satisfaction and employee retention.

The Employees can avail themselves of many services from the kiosk instantly which otherwise could have taken them hours or in some cases days. For example, if an employee has to check to apply for the annual leave. They will go to the HR kiosk, scan their Emirate ID Card or Employee ID to authenticate themselves, and then they can either fill and submit the form completely digitally or either they can take the print out of the HR Kiosk and fill the form and then scan it back again to submit the application.

The HR department can offer virtually any service from HR Kiosk, some of the most commonly used services are:

  • Employee Documents (new ID, new passport, etc) Update
  • Annual Leave Application, Leave Status, etc
  • Employee Benefits, Overtime, Incentives, etc Calculations
  • Attendance, Time Clock, Schedules, Shifts, and Time Updates
  • Loan Applications, Status, etc
  • Request Appointment with HR Department
  • Forms Printing and Submissions
  • EID Scanning, Passport Scanning, Facial Recognition, RFID, Employee ID, etc
  • Company News, Notices and Events Updates
  • Surveys, Feedbacks and Suggestions

All these services and a lot of others can be provided with HR Kiosks. The biggest advantage of the HR Kiosk is that the technology itself is very flexible and it can include tons of software and hardware features that can help HR departments to improve the employee experience. The instant availability of the HR services at the most convenient locations to the employees can significantly increase their satisfaction and happiness. This not only saves their time but it provides them more access to the HR services. Happy and satisfied employees are the key to employee retention. The HR department can achieve a lot using an HR Kiosk.

Reduce HR Work Load and Increase Efficiency

Reduce HR Work Load and Increase Efficiency

HR is a very critical business asset. If your HR staff is always busy attending so many daily requests and visitors, they would not be able to fully focus on more productive activities. The automation and digitalization of the services not only save the cost of lengthy filling processes, paperwork and mailing, but it significantly reduces the workload of the HR department. The automation also improves the efficiency of the HR staff. As most of the digital services got updated automatically and instantly in the system and no need for manual data entry or any such thing. This could have a tremendous impact on the HR department’s efficiency. With less workload, the HR staff can focus on other productive tasks, which will further improve the efficiency and output of the HR department. The business can also reduce the HR staff as the digitalization of the services doesn’t require any human intervention. When we automate the process and digitalize it, the chances of human error got significantly reduced this save a lot of time in repetitive work. Automation and digitalization significantly increase the HR department’s efficiency.

See More: How HR Kiosks help managing the HR more efficiently?

Collect Employee Feedback

Collect Employee Feedback

Employee Feedback is very important. Most often good employee leaves an organization if they feel the organization is unable to meet their needs or if they are not been able to communicate with the HR department freely and easily. In order to understand the needs and demands of you’re employees, it is important to provide them a channel where they can freely express their thoughts and suggestions. This will not only help the HR department to improve customer retentions but it will also help them to provide better HR services with the HR kiosk. Employee feedback is a very valuable asset for the HR department, it is crucial to consider their employee’s needs and demands while making new strategies and taking important decisions.

See More10 Useful Features of Interactive Kiosks

Implement Organizational Policies Effectively

Implement Organizational Policies Effectively

One of the best advantages of digitalization is that you can update everything instantly. The HR department is the one that has most of the internal announcements and information sharing. The HR kiosk is the best solution to push news and announcements on the screen. Rather than making changes in the documents and creating new forms or such things, just from the administrative control panel all such changes can be made and implemented instantly throughout the organization. Whenever there is any update in any process or a policy is being changed, all can be implemented instantly at all HR Kiosks. This not only saves a lot of efforts and resources but it makes it easier and convenient for the HR Staff as well to implement and update organizations policies effectively.

See More: How to Choose Digital Signage in Dubai, UAE

Conclusion

The HR Department is the busiest department in any organization or business. It also happens to be the most important department as well, as the main functions of the HR department include, recruitment of the right people, employee satisfaction, employee retention, resource optimizations, cost reduction, employee’s personal development and employee performance management. These all factors play a major role in any business’s success. The HR Kiosk is a modern solution for HR departments that enables them to easily provide their services in remote areas, near to their employees and it also enables them to reduce service delivery time, paperwork, cost, manual labour, and overall workload of the HR department which results in boosting the performance of the HR departments. Employees satisfaction led to good performance and employee retention ensures that the business always has a great pool of skill set, which further helps them to work with better efficiency and greater quality output. The HR Kiosks also help the HR department to effectively implement the organizational policies and procedures. This is the reason the business and enterprises in Dubai and all across the UAE are adopting HR Kiosks and HRMS solutions very rapidly.

The HR Kiosk with it enormous spectrum of application& usability can help businesses and organizations in maintaining steady growth and controlling the cost of operation and production. If the employees will be satisfied, they will work on their optimum efficiency, which means with lesser inputs the businesses can harvest higher outputs. Not only that the automation and digitalization of HR Services significantly reduce the workload of the HR department and let them focus on more productive activities rather just attending too many daily visitors and doing manual paperwork for filling and mailing, etc. The HR Kiosk is built with the most widely available technology, which makes them very cost-effective, in addition, the technology can last long and can easily be repurposed too. The software itself is a very flexible framework that allows easy integration with HRMS, intranet, ERPs, Financial and Production Systems and much more. This is why all medium size and big size business, organizations and enterprises need an HR Kiosk which will eventually improve the overall growth and revenue. If you are interested in commissioning HR Kiosks, feel free to approach us through our Contact Us page. We have a huge variety of indoor and outdoor kiosks, which can be placed in any type of environments and easy to manage at remote locations.

Check this out: What is the Difference in Outdoor and Indoor Digital Signage?

Posted in HRMS Dubai | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

How to Choose Digital Signage in Dubai, UAE

How to Choose Digital Signage in Dubai, UAE

Digital Signage is the most valuable marketing asset these days. In Dubai, UAE businesses are rapidly adopting them. Digital signage is everywhere, whether you are indoor or outdoor, these flashy displays are compelling you to look at them. This is a very long term investment and it could have a huge impact on your business. There are two major types of digital signage, one is used indoors and the other is for outdoors. Both have different technologies and have different audiences. The indoor signage is used for different type of adverts and the outdoor for different. For example, if you are visiting a clothing store, in their specific section signage is advertising price of the new arrivals and also the discounts on some articles.

For outdoor signage, you usually use it for brand awareness, not for a specific item or niche or any such thing. Both types of digital signage have a different purpose and different technology in them. When it comes to taking a decision the selection of the display screen is the most difficult. Choosing an appropriate display screen could not only impact the advertisements and campaign results but it will directly impact your system commissioning cost. The objective of this blog is to let our customers and reader understand the basic difference between different screen types that are used in digital signage and the impact of the screens on the other components of the system. In this blog, we will discuss how to choose an appropriate digital signage display?

Here is a brief introduction to digital signage display screens most commonly used in Dubai, UAE:

1. Indoor Display Screens

Indoor Display Screens

Indoor signage is gaining popularity. There are different types of indoor digital signage screens. These screens are classified in terms of size, orientation, display brightness, resolutions, multimedia content compatibility and software. Usually, the major and most prominent difference between indoor and outdoor signage screens is their brightness. The indoor digital signage screen has around 200 Nits to 500 Nits maximum. Whereas the outdoor digital signage screen could illuminate up to 1500 Nits or even in some cases 2500 Nits. The indoor digital signage screens require less power and generate less heat. Physical access is also easy so an onboard computer can also be sufficient for basic multimedia content playing.

2. Outdoor Display Screens

Outdoor Display Screens

The outdoor signage screens are usually LED displays. As LCDs are not so good with the weather, especially the heat. Apart from the weather since the outdoor displays are meant to illuminate too high so they themselves generate a lot of heat and need separate cooling mechanisms or air conditioners. The outdoor signage, video walls and billboards are big and are meant to be viewed from a distance, so medium resolution content works perfectly fine with them, however for the indoor signage as they are meant to be viewed from a close, so we need HD content. As for the content and media, there are dedicated software and hardware interfaces are required. As the outdoor signage screens are not just a single piece but it is a collection of small modules. Small displays of various sizes form up a large videowall or billboard or outdoor signage like a brick forming a wall.

Another important thing to understand about the outdoor digital signage screens and the indoor video walls is the installation. The installation includes all the cabling, connections, holders, stands, mounts and other components. These are very big displays and building such a large display and then transporting it to the destination is not an easy task. So such displays are built-in modular form factor. It means that there are small displays that are installed on a housing or frame to form up the full screen. There are two major differences here, one installation type is front-maintenance and the other is back-maintenance. That is not all both types have completely different types of installation components such as brackets, frames, cabling, and others which could also impact the costing.

3. Difference between LCD and LED Screens

Difference between LCD and LED Screens

LCD is a Liquid Crystal Display and LED is a Light Emitting Diode Display. Both are completely different technologies and are suitable for different environments and applications. The LCD is sharp, high contrast and very high definition. It is an older technology so today’s LCDs are very high-tech. The issue with LCD Screens is that they are difficult to illuminate high, so suitable for indoor use only. The other disadvantage of using an LCD in outdoor environments is that it doesn’t perform well against high temperature, and for outdoor we need high brightness, if we increase the brightness the contrast will decrease and there will be more heat at the backside of the LCD. But for indoor, the LCD Screens are more cost-effective and can provide very high definition resolutions. The LCD Screens are excellent at varying photos or videos. If an image sticks to the screen for extended periods of time it could permanently damage it. This is why LCD Screens are mostly used indoor with multi-media content.

The LED Screens however are very rigid and strong. They can display a single image for an extended time period without damaging itself. The LED Screens can illuminate to higher brightness. These days most high-end cars are using LED headlights, which are very bright and consume very low power, the same technology is used in the LED Screens in their miniature form. The LED Screens can effectively last to high temperatures without changing colour or any damage. They consume less power and are extremely good at medium resolution and fairly higher resolutions too. But for the outdoor signage screens mostly medium resolution LED displays are used. The drivers and control modules are also widely available and considerably cheaper than that of the LCDs. The power consumption is also less and the cooling and air conditioning requirements are also simpler. LED Screens are an excellent choice for outdoor signage.

4. Computer and Driver Hardware Technology

Computer and Driver Hardware Technology

Another differentiating factor is the computer and driver hardware technology for the signage screens. No matter it is indoor or outdoor, it requires a computer or special purpose hardware to process and play multimedia content. The screen itself is just a display it requires both software and hardware to act as digital signage. There is a variety of different hardware and software available in the market but all of them can be classified into two major categories:

(I). All-in-one Computer Screen

All in one computer is a single module and majorly used in all sort of indoor signage screens. It contains an onboard computer, with Windows or Android or there are some proprietary operating systems are also there. Regardless of the operating system or the content management system, the main advantage of the onboard all-in-one computer is that it provides peripherals. You can easily upload media on-site. The computer makes it possible to run the Digital Signage Software which let remote monitoring and it enables a lot many useful features and marketing tools. The maintenance and commissioning cost is low, the lifecycle is longer. But the main issue with all-in-one digital signage screens is that they are only available in small sizes and are not available for the outdoor.

(II). Separate Computer

A separate computer is fixed inside the signage or at the signage. The computer could be either windows or android and allows all benefits of software, as well as onsite media, transfer through various peripherals. The biggest advantage of using a separate computer with the signage screens is that it can work with very large screens. It is very cost-effective for large and medium-size screens. The computer allows the decoding of the videos and media playback along with the option to install a content management system with providing a lot many additional benefits and remote access.

TV Signage Screens

TV Signage Screens

There is another type which is also very popular, it is digital signage TV with media player. These days smart TVs are also available which can be converted into digital signage easily using a smart TV application and doesn’t require any intermediary software or hardware driver. Although the TV signage is not technically signage due to the advancement of technology and compatibility, the TV Screens are frequently used as digital signage screens. The TV signage screens are extremely cost-effective, can be used only indoors and can provide excellent resolution and picture quality. The biggest disadvantage of the TV signage is that the TVs are not built for 24/7 operations, so they are very suitable for public offices, banks, and places only operates in the day time. So in the evening, they can be turned off. It doesn’t mean the TV cannot operate 24/7 at all. The TV signage screens can also operate full day but it reduces their life and within a few years the screens start showing problems or could completely go out of service.

Digital Signage Software

Digital Signage Software

All digital signage screen needs driver hardware or software, in fact, the purpose-made dedicated hardware themselves must have a proprietary or open-source software in them. Anyway, as the digital signage screens are meant to play multimedia content so a medium to push content on them is required. As there are two major classifications of the signage screens, the indoor screens and the outdoor screens, the software also differs. There is a wide variety of digital signage software available in the market. Such as:

CMS for Digital Signage Screen

CMS or Content Management System for digital signage screen is also known as digital signage software. It allows various configurations and input mediums. There is two basic part of the software, one is the server-side application and administrative control panel and the second is the client software. The client software runs at the digital signage. The system administrators can control multiple digital signage screens from a single admin panel and the entire operation can be done remotely as well. There are two digital signage software types:

  1. LAN or Local Area Network Software: It remains in the local server which is locally connected to the signage screens
  2. Cloud-Based Software: It is online on the internet and is the best option for connecting with digital signage screens placed in distant locations, all the controls can be done from the head office

There is another basic type of software interface is also available, that is an in-built computer or media player and the content can be pushed to the digital signage via the USB or Memory Card.

Conclusion

Digital signages are a great marketing tool and an excellent piece of technology. They are very effective, cost-effective, can last for long and offer excellent ROIs. As in marketing, we set up different campaigns with different objective. Digital signage is no exception, for different marketing objectives different types of digital signage is required. The digital signage screen is basically the only part that communicates with your client. The industry is a bit complex there is a huge variety of manufacturers and vendors who are producing the components and a variety of supportive electronics and software tools are available. In order to ensure the best ROIs of your campaigns, you just have to choose the best digital signage screen and the hardware which suits your requirement. Else you won’t be able to get the full benefits of digital signage.

This is an ultimate guide to digital signage and the purpose of this blog is to provide some basic understanding of the most important component of the digital signage, the screen and its effect on the other system which could impact the cost, quality, and ROIs for the project. The software and the hardware both works in harmony to build the full system so it is important to understand the basic differences of the digital signage screens and the effect of choosing a particular screen on other components of the system. RSI Concepts is a well-reputed digital signage and video wall provider in Dubai, UAE. If you need to understand more or have an enquiry please feel free to contact us through our Contact Us page.

Posted in Digital Signage Dubai | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

What is the Difference in Outdoor and Indoor Digital Signage?

If you are a business or an organization operating in Dubai, UAE and looking for brand awareness or promotional advertisements, digital signage is an excellent tool to help you with your marketing objectives. Here it is worth noting that both indoor and outdoor digital signage have gained huge popularity in the past few years not only in UAE or GCC but all across the world. The market researcher is predicting that the digital signage market could grow up to 30% or even more in the coming five years, and that is huge. As we all know the year 2021 is the year of the Expo, which will attract millions of visitors and thousands of investor from all across the world to Dubai and UAE. It is always wise to prepare beforehand to get a competitive edge. Even before the event for the past few years, the local market is rapidly adopting digital signage technology and we are witnessing new indoor and outdoor screens popping up everywhere.

What is the Difference in Outdoor and Indoor Digital Signage

Both the indoor and outdoor signage displays are different from others. The business and organizations need to understand this difference very well before investing in technology. Here are the major differences between indoor signage and outdoor signage:

Marketing Goals and Audience

Marketing Goals and Audience

Each advertisement campaign has a goal. For the digital signage campaign, there must be a marketing goal. First of all, you should decide what are your marketing goals of utilizing digital signage? Then you will be able to determine which type of digital signage can help you achieve your goals. For example, when you are running an advert on outdoor signage, you are targeting a broader spectrum of audience. Whoever is passing by can view the ad and can be a potential prospect. Hence a completely different approach is required, the advert should be created with those audiences in mind. The content of the advert, the size of the digital signage and everything else should be prepared accordingly to make the advert more attractive for your targeted audience.

For the indoor signage, the audience is completely different. The indoor signage is mostly placed inside the premises or at least in near proximity. If the digital signage is installed indoors inside the business’s premises then it means that you have already attracted a prospect who is already at your showroom or store or whatever. Now the information you should display in the advert should be different which could encourage your customers to make an instant decision. For example a sale offer or discounted price list of a particular item, service or product. Now the approach is totally different from that of the outdoor signage. Business can have multiple indoor signage on different strategic positions. For example, you are in a store to purchase a mobile phone, the store hosts a wide range of electronics and gadgets. In the mobile phone section, you can have indoor signage showing the discounted price of a branded headphone. This will be very encouraging for a customer to make an instant decision to buy the headphones along with their new smartphone.

Both indoor signage and outdoor signage have different audiences and a completely different communication approach is needed to get the full advantage of the digital signage. Digital signage and video walls are a very effective type of advertisements, they always interest the passing by people. The flashy content and bright lights always attract people towards them. If used effectively with appropriate targeted audiences in mind the digital signage and video walls could do wonders to boost your sales and conversions.

Interactive User Interfaces

Interactive User Interfaces

The interactive user interface is available for both indoor signage and outdoor signage. Although for the outdoor signage and video walls the interactive features are limited to certain applications only. For example, the billboards do not offer touch screens and interactive interface as no one is expected to climb to the top of a pole or side of a building to interact with them. However, for floor standing or wall-mounted indoor and outdoor digital signage, interactive user interfaces can be provided. For the video walls, as they are also very huge no matter used indoor or outdoor the interactive features are not so effective, except only in a certain environment with very limited applications.

The interactive user interfaces can help customers further explore your products and services via a touch screen. The adverts and information provided on interactive digital signage also vary from case to case. Each application is different from the other and each objective of the campaign is also different. The interactive user interface provides more chances of getting instant leads and conversions. It is more effective and efficient to have an interactive feature with indoor signage rather than outdoor signage. As the indoor customers and prospects are already on the next stage of conversions so the interactivity can definitely impact their decisions a lot.

Hardware

Hardware

The hardware of both indoor and outdoor signage is completely different in all ways. The outdoor environment and indoor environment both are totally different in terms of natural lighting hence require a different level of display brightness. That is the difference that can easily be recognized by the customers and visitors. As the sizes of digital signage range from as small as that of an iPad and as big as that of a billboard, the hardware and technologies are also different.

Indoor Signage Display

For indoor signage, the screens are usually used of very high definition and higher resolutions. As the customers and visitors can view them from very close. The indoor signage display brightness is also low, almost equal to the normal TV screens or slighter higher than them. For the indoor signage, the environment is also very stable and friendly, you don’t have to worry about the display brightness once it is set to an optimum level.

Outdoor Signage Display

As for the outdoor signage the brightness has to be higher than the indoor. The outdoor signage will have to be rigid enough to withstand different weather conditions and especially during sunny days, the brightness should be kept at the highest level to make it more visible. The outdoor signage is usually capable of emitting up to 1000 nits of brightness. Which is way too high for the night and excellent for the day. So, the brightness should have to be controlled during different hours of the day and of course for the night. Some modern outdoor signage comes with automatic brightness controls as well which is a great advantage, apart from the brightness it also helps controlling the power consumption and it also increases the life of the hardware.

LED VS LCD

LED VS LCD is a very difficult argument. Sometimes the LED are better for certain applications and sometimes the LCD is better. I think both have their very own domain of operation and spectrum of operation where they are most efficient. For digital signage, the LCD is preferred for almost only indoor applications. As the LCD is more clear and better for closer viewing. They can render sharper colours and are good at changing the content quickly. However, LCD contains a liquid placed in two layers which means that at higher temperatures, the LCD couldn’t perform better.

Computer and Interfaces

Digital signage is incomplete without a computer. The multimedia content has to be played via a computer or a special-purpose device such as Media Box/Player, in fact, these media players are also most of the time Android-based computers. Anyway, digital signage whether indoor or outdoor must require a computer to play the content of performing its functionalities. The indoor signage comes with built-in computing hardware, which allows some kind of a software layer to allow us to play multimedia content on them. The indoor signage can easily plug into a multimedia storage device to fetch content from it. Or even can be connected to the internet either by LAN or by WiFi to allow remote access and content can be pushed through certain software interfaces.

However, for the outdoor signage, the hardware requirements are slightly different. For the indoor signage, we can simply plug-in a media storage device and play the content directly from the device but for the outdoor signage, it is not a practical solution to climb a huge pole at the roadside or a building wall to reach the signage and plug in your media storage device (USB, Memory Card, etc). For outdoor signage, there is always an additional layer of hardware interfaces which enables remote access and controls. Another requirement of that hardware interface layer is due to the large size of the outdoor signage. Usually, the outdoor signage comes in multiple small panels combined on a large holding structure to form a large display of various sizes, in order to play a full picture on this big display an intermediary hardware and software layer is required.

Software

Software

Each digital signage requires some kind of software interface to allow the users to push and play content on them. As we have already discussed the computing engine and other hardware interfaces are already integrated with the digital signage. So, the software is also required to push, control and manage the content of any digital signage. For indoor signage the software is pretty simple, it usually provides multiple display options which we call themes. Each theme allows further control over the display, for example, if you have a 65 Inch indoor signage screen, you can easily split the screen to play two different content such as the lower half is showing the contact details, pricing offers or catchy lines and the upper half is playing an attractive video to encourage viewers to make an instant purchasing decision. That is just one example, there are a lot many other scenarios too. The software layer helps the management to operate multiple digital signage from a remote location, or a simpler PC interface.

The software for outdoor signage is also a bit similar to indoor signage software. It also allows remote management, different theme and customizations are also there. Remote management is also available. The big catch is that the outdoor signage software automatically controls and manages the additional hardware layer which enables small individual panels to form a large display. This makes the software a bit more complex in terms of programming but from the user perspective, it is still another PC interface. The interface can be in form of an application that is installed on the client’s computer or a web-based software tool, which resides on a server and allow connectivity via the cloud or local area network. The software not only provides the functionalities to control the content and multimedia but for the interactive signage, the software could also provide self-service capabilities.

Conclusion

The digital signage is dominating all types of industries and providing excellent marketing and communication channels for the business and organizations. The flashy screens and colourful contrast always appeal to the eye. No matter where you install them they will at least once got the attention of the people passing by. There are two major classifications of digital signage one is indoor and the second is outdoor. The hardware, software, operations, applications and management is completely different from one another. The outdoor signage and video walls are usually large and brighter with a different targeted audience and entirely different marketing objectives in mind. The indoor signage and video walls are small and are for entirely different application with different marketing objectives in mind. Both are the result of a remarkable technological advancement and can help business with their brand awareness campaigns, announcements, and marketing goals. The interactive features are great for in-store marketing and self-service.

Digital signage is not a short term investment it is a very decent long term investment that could serve for coming years. It is always advised to consult professional digital signage and video wall solution provider like RSI Concepts. We are a leading name in the digital signage and video wall solution providers in Dubai and UAE. If you need a quotation or just a consultation for your next project, feel free to contact us through our Contact Us page. If you have any comment or suggestion please leave a comment in the below comment box.

Check this out: 10 Useful Features of Interactive Kiosks

Posted in Digital Signage Dubai | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

10 Useful Features of Interactive Kiosks

10 Useful Features of Interactive Kiosks

Customer experience is everything, if your customers are not satisfied with you, then you are surely doomed. This is what business are focusing on these days. Especially in Dubai, and other parts of UAE, the expectations of the customers are very high and the competition in the market is tough. The interactive kiosks have started their journey from ATMs and now they are providing from simplest to very complex services across all industries and sectors. Those services can be accomplished using powerful software and an interactive kiosk which might also involve a lot of peripherals and accessories. The kiosk industry is being expected to get doubled in the coming five years. If you are living in Dubai, you must have seen those bright screens everywhere. From very basic to very complex and complicated services all are being offered through the kiosks, for example, a simple token dispensing kiosk to a customer servicing AI-based interactive robot that can recognize the visitors and customers by their face and can have a conversation with them or it can escort them through twisted lobbies and much more. This is the spectrum of the utility of interactive kiosks. Businesses are realizing the benefits of interactive kiosk systems more than ever before. The adaptation level for the innovative solutions has also risen and the business is willing to do serious investments to ensure a great customer experience.

See MoreWhat is the difference in iPad Kiosk and a standard kiosk

Here are the 10 useful features of Interactive Kiosks:

1. Communication

Communication

The interactive kiosks can be used to display useful information. It also helps organizations to easily propagate their multi-media content across different branches and locations simultaneously. The business can push adverts, news and events and any announcements within seconds across their entire network. It is a completely free advertisement platform. The real-time updates, remote management and other features even maximize the efficiency of the system. There has been researching and the data reflects that more than half of the retail customers prefer to shop from the places which have digital signage and kiosks playing adverts on them. That is huge, due to the modernization and digitalization of your society and daily lives, we are becoming more adopted and attracted towards technology. This is why the kiosks and screens can be so effective in communication and marketing.

See More: Why more self service kiosks are being used in Dubai now?

2. Payments

Payments

One of the most widely used features of an interactive kiosk is online payment capabilities. Business is utilizing the interactive kiosks to provide an easy-to-reach payment counter in the shape of an interactive kiosk to not only expand their operational territory but to also facilitate their customers. This could significantly improve the customer experience. The payment functionality whether it is online payment via Credit/Debit card or cash deposit is a lot easier on the kiosk placed at any nearby location and most certainly there will no queue. People don’t like waiting in long queues, it is frustrating, time-consuming and annoying. The interactive kiosks can offer a more robust and instant method of payment which improve customer experience.

See More: 7 Features of Self Service Kiosks

3. Self-Service

Self-Service

These days the interactive self-service kiosks are everywhere. All types and sizes of business and organizations are using them to offer self-service terminals. Where the user doesn’t have to require staff or an agent to assist them with the service delivery. The service can be delivered in a fully autonomous way using the interactive features of the interactive kiosk. Self-servicing is gaining huge momentum for the past two-three years. From small business to large corporations, banks, hospitals, educational institutes, HR departments, government departments, and other public offices are adopting to self-servicing interactive kiosks to maximize their customer’s experience and satisfaction. Self-service Interactive Kiosks are a great innovative and easy-to-use solution that could ensure a superior customer experience. A great customer experience is very crucial for any business’s success. It improves customer loyalty, positively impact brand identity and brand reputation which further attract more customers. The interactive kiosk can really help a business sustain steady growth.

See More: Shifting of business process on interactive kiosk dubai

4. Customization

Customization

One of the great features of interactive kiosks is that they can be easily customized to adapt to the particular needs and requirements of the business. This enables the organizations to easily offer their products and services via an interactive kiosk. Both the software and hardware can be customized to form the service delivery mechanism which ensures a superior customer experience. The customization is also very important, as all businesses and organizations have their slightly different organizational culture, practices and approaches toward different aspects of the business. The customization ensures that the brand maintains its unique business identity and customer experience at the interactive kiosk too.

The customization also makes the system more adaptive and integrated within the organization’s echo-system. It also improves the overall usability, productivity and efficiency of the system and business process. Businesses and organizations can customize an interactive kiosk to offer particular services in a very specific manner to ensure a great customer experience. This can easily be achieved by software customization, system integration, and hardware customization and accessories. The interactive kiosks are a great option to offer cost-effective customized solutions.

See More5 Types of Touch Screen Kiosks

5. Hardware Add-ons and Accessories

Hardware Add-ons and Accessories

Apart from customization, another great advantage of the interactive kiosk is that a wide variety of hardware accessories and peripherals are easily available in the market and at a very low cost. For example, usually in Dubai, business mostly require touch-screen, thermal printer, Emirates ID Card Scanner, Fingerprint Scanner, Iris Scanner, Passport Scanner, Document Printer and Scanner, Facial Recognition camera, intercom, physical keyboard and mouse pad, etc. These all hardware accessories are easily available at very low costs. There is a huge variety of different hardware components that can be added to perform certain tasks from the interactive kiosk. All those hardware are the most widely available and very cost-effective. The customized solution with customized hardware components can further improve the operational efficiency of the interactive kiosk system. Such solution is excellent at improving customer experience and on the same hand offering great value to the organization’s business process.

See More: Fragrance Dispensing Kiosk

6. Powerful Software

Powerful Software

The interactive kiosks also come with powerful software. The software allows the business to link various databases to enable the automation and digitalization of various processes. The software tool not only allow to manage interactive kiosks remotely but it also help organizations to collect statistical and usage data which can later be extracted in reports and used at various stages of decision and policymaking. The interactive kiosks are available with various computing platforms, such as Android, Windows, Linux, etc. This further enhances the technical capabilities of the interactive kiosk software.

The software of interactive kiosk not only provide user interface and interaction to perform certain tasks or for service delivery, but the software of interactive kiosks also includes module to capture data, collect feedbacks, generate reports. These reports could be extremely helpful in measuring KPIs, and taking decisions or setting up new business strategy. The software records all the activities and statistical data which then converted into actionable reports. The interactive kiosks system can help business in improving the customer experience and also collecting valuable business intelligence to understand their customers’ behavior, market trends and evaluation of their products and services.

See More: Aramex Customer Feedback Interactive Kiosks

7. Integration with other Corporate Systems

Integration with other Corporate Systems

Most of the time when using interactive kiosks the business might want to integrate the system with other corporate systems and tools, for example the ERP or the HRMS or CRM, etc. This type of integration is mandatory to offer certain services and functionalities in the interactive kiosk. Thanks to technology, these types of integrations and data synchronizations are much easier. The data security is ensured using secure web services or APIs to establish a link between different corporate software and tools. The integration can help the organizations to share data between different departments to for a digital ecosystem which allows the interactive kiosk to offer certain functionalities and features for the customers.

The integration can also be used to synchronize the data between the interactive kiosk system and other corporate systems. For example, if a business is already using a CRM tool, they might want to receive the customer feedback collected from the interactive kiosk in that CRM system. So that the team won’t have to use multiple systems. This can only be possible by system integrations. There are a lot many other different tasks and functions that we can achieve by system integration in order to maximize the efficiency and usability of the interactive kiosk system.

See More: Why should we use hand sanitizer digital signage kiosk?

8. Automation

Automation

The interactive kiosks are very efficient at bringing automation to various business processes. Which not only reduce the workload of the staff but also provides a more efficient service delivery mechanism. Due to the automation, the monitoring and business intelligence data capturing is fairly simple and very effective. Automation not only reduces the workload of the staff and reduce the resource consumption of a particular service or business function, but it also improve the function itself. The service delivery could become instant and immediate, the data inputs could be error-free, the human factor can be eliminated which could cause delays and errors too. The automation also helps business in improving the customer experience. As there is no human involved so the entire delivery time could be reduced to the amount of time a user took to navigate the user interface, the rest is automated and don’t take any time.

See More: How HR Kiosks help managing the HR more efficiently?

9. Generate Sales

Generate Sales

Interactive kiosks help business to increase sales and revenue, not only that they also help business to save cost on advertisements. The business can place their interactive kiosks to offer various products and services in those markets where opening up a new branch or outlet might be more expensive. This not only increases the sales but it also helps to sustain the existing customers by providing them easy access to various services in their nearby locations. Sales not only dependent on the marketing you are doing but it requires a certain threshold of reputation and brand identity to compel a customer to make a purchase. The entire brand identity and brand reputation revolve around the customer experience and customer journey. The interactive kiosks can solve both of those issues and help businesses in building a positive brand reputation and a super-customer-friendly customer journey.

See More: Installation Of The Customer Satisfaction System For Electricity Department in Sharjah

10. Low Maintenance and Cost-Efficient

Low Maintenance and Cost-Efficient

The interactive kiosks are built with vastly available technologies which significantly reduce the cost of the system. This also makes the maintenance easy and low cost. Usually the interactive kiosks require very little maintenance due to the technology and techniques to manufacture them. This made them significantly cost-efficient. If you compare the expense of opening up a new branch or a regional office, the interactive kiosks will cost you merely a fraction of that. Another extraordinary ability of interactive kiosks is that you can repurpose them easily with a very low cost. This not only expand their life but it also helps organizations to reduce cost a lot.Most of the hardware used in the kiosks can operate for years of inconsistency. Which also reduce the demand of regular maintenance and repair work. As the interactive kiosk industry gained popularity more manufacturers started building specialized components at mass production which significantly reduced the cost of the interactive kiosk itself and also reduced the cost of maintenance and repairs too. Even if you are using the interactive kiosks for a particular project for a particular time period in mind, you can still repurpose them as the upgrade and modifications are comparatively easy and cost-effective in terms of the hardware, as for the software the software customizations are much easier and even more cost-efficient.

See More: Mobile Anti-theft Charging Stands for IKEA Dubai

Conclusion

These days the customer experience is the most debated topic among marketers. The only reason is that the entire success and growth of a business relies on the customer experience. Obviously, if you started taking bad financial or management decision while maintaining a good customer experience as well as a great brand identity, then that is an exception, but for 99.99% of the business and organizations the customer experience is a huge factor in their success and growth. The interactive kiosks are helping organizations in creating innovative and technologically advanced solutions that can help them maximizing their customer experience and service delivery mechanisms. The automation and system integrations are also additional benefits which can further improve the system efficiency. The interactive kiosk systems always come with data capturing, KPIs measurements and other features that can help the business further maximize their ROI. The low cost and lower operational expense makes them an excellent option for business growing or seeking growth. We are specialized in customized interactive kiosk solutions, if you need any help or need consultation feel free to reach us out through the below comment box or contact us through our Contact Us page.

Check this out: Challenges in Customized Kiosk Project

Posted in Interactive Kiosk Dubai | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Challenges in Customized Kiosk Project

Challenges in Customized Kiosk Project

Digital kiosks are classified as cyber-physical interactive products. As they provide a physical interaction with the digital services. As in the year 2021, most of the businesses and organizations are actively seeking low-cost expansion, great customer satisfaction and reduction in the operational cost. This lead to a trend of rapid adaptation of the digital or interactive kiosks for multiple services. The main objective is to reach out to as many physical locations as possible or to automate your service delivery mechanisms for a better customer experience. The kiosk has the potential to significantly reduce the wait time to improve customer satisfaction. The business growth is not only dependent on getting new customers but it heavily relies on retaining the existing customers too. Which requires continuous improvement in service delivery mechanisms and adaptation of a high-tech solution to improve customer experience with the brand. This is when businesses and organizations start looking for customized interactive kiosk solutions. The digital kiosks are made up of high-end technology which could allow businesses to digitalize their products and services with virtually no wait time.

The digital kiosk can not only reduce the operational cost but can significantly improve business efficiency. The reduction in the workload of the staff, the automation and digitalization of the services, self-service capabilities, real-time monitoring and updates and improved customer satisfaction are a few benefits of integrating digital kiosks based solutions in your organization.

There are two types of interactive kiosks solutions available in the market:

  1. Ready-made Kiosk Solutions
  2. Customized Kiosk Solutions

Obviously, one-fits-all doesn’t apply here. There are still a lot many ready-made or ready-to-install off-the-shelf digital kiosk solutions which are still useful to some extent. But if you have a customized digital kiosk solution instead, the efficiency of the system can be doubled or even better. There will be less hustle to operate the system and to integrate it into your organizations.

Here are a few challenges that you could face while acquiring or fabricating a custom/tailor-made digital kiosk solution for your specific needs:

Challenge 1. Idea and Concept

Idea and Concept

The very first form of digital kiosks was the ATM machines, but slowly they became integrated into various sectors and industries. The main driving force behind digital kiosks is the customer experience. If you are aiming for a customized digital kiosk project the first and most important thing is to have an idea or concept of the kiosk. This not only depends on your needs but it also requires a little bit of innovation and idealization of what can be proposed to your customers and users of the system. At this stage you should be able to list down:

  1. Why do you need a digital kiosk?
  2. What services do you want to offer via interactive kiosk?
  3. What is the objective of installing a kiosk?
  4. What other additional or bonus services you can offer via the kiosk?
  5. Define the KPIs of the System
  6. What type of business intelligence do you want to collect from the digital kiosk system?
  7. What are your budget limits?
  8. What are your technological and/or financial limitations?

These questions are important to develop an idea and a concept of the customized digital kiosk system. Before moving any further you must have to have the answers to these questions. Discuss the idea with your colleagues, the concerned department heads and managers and also with your staff, take their inputs and feedbacks on related matters and then refine your idea and concept. Only then you will be able to develop a great idea and concepts of your expected outputs of the system.

See More: Mobile Anti-theft Charging Stands for IKEA Dubai

Challenge 2. Digital Kiosk Software Plan

Digital Kiosk Software Plan

The next step is to plan the software of the digital kiosk system you have envisioned in the previous stage. As all the basic information and the expected outputs of the system are defined the next step is to formulate a plan of the software. For example, if your kiosk requires interacting with users using multiple peripherals and touch screens, you should consider the software and technical details of integrating them all into your system. Let say a particular service requires the users to scan their ID card or Emirates ID Card, then you must have to link the kiosk system with your existing database to authenticate the user and to verify their identity. There are so many different types of services and methods of service delivery that can be achieved using an interactive kiosk.

The next step is to consider the technical aspects of the software. A good software application for digital kiosk always provides remote management and remote monitoring options. Most of the time the head-office wants to manage and monitor all the kiosk units or digital self-service terminals. That should be there, a good system always provides a configurable administrative hierarchy and workflow management in the system. Here is a shortlist of software features or functions that you should consider before planning software for your interactive digital kiosk system:

  1. Remote management and monitoring
  2. Data Access and Authentication levels and administrative hierarchies
  3. Data collection, protection, privacy and storage
  4. Touch-screen and other input devices support, for example, EID, RFID, Fingerprint Scanner, Facial Recognition, Passport Scanner, Call Center/Intercom Support, etc
  5. Receipt Printing, Onsite Documents Printing, Onsite Documents Scanning, etc
  6. Onsite Payments, Cash Payments, Credit/Debit Card Payments, Digital Payments, Cash Return & Change, etc
  7. Internet Connectivity via LAN, WiFi or 4G, etc
  8. Offline Functionalities

Of course, a full software plan may or may not include above all, or may also require more things which are not listed above, but overall in general these are the things commonly used in the digital interactive kiosk systems in Dubai, UAE.

See More: Installation Of The Customer Satisfaction System For Electricity Department in Sharjah

Choose Appropriate Platform and Technology

Choose Appropriate Platform and Technology

Once the software of a digital kiosk is planned, now the next thing is to choose the platform and technology as well. The software application has two major components one is the server and one is the terminal. The server-side application is easy to choose, as there are two major technologies that are leading in the market, one is PHP and one is ASP. Mostly such applications are built at PHP and platform with MySQL database as the information structure. Pardon me if those details are a bit more technical but I thought it would be helpful for you to understand the subject. Another important thing here is in Dubai and other Emirates of UAE mostly PHP based systems are used as technical support and skilful professionals are available in abundance.

See More: How HR Kiosks help managing the HR more efficiently?

Challenge 3. Hardware and Peripherals

Hardware and Peripherals

Now that we already have a concept and a software plan for our digital kiosk system now the challenge is to choose the appropriate hardware which can support and aid the software features as well and is also cost-effective. The hardware and accessories for a kiosk are available from a wide range of manufacturers. For example, if we take facial recognition cameras, there are hundreds of manufacturers who are producing facial recognition cameras, some cameras can recognize up to 50 faces in a crowd or at a large entrance, which of course is totally over-kill for a kiosk. The same is the case with other hardware components. Here is a list of basic hardware components a self-serving interactive kiosk should have:

  1. Kiosk Computer
    1. Windows Computer
    2. Android Computer
  2. Connectivity and Ports
    1. LAN
    2. WiFi
    3. 4G
    4. USB
    5. HDMI
  3. Display Panels
    1. Normal Commercial Screens
    2. Industrial Grade Screens
  4. Touch Panels
    1. IR Touch
    2. Capacitive Touch (good for on-screen keyboards)
    3. Multi-Touch
  5. Peripherals and Accessories
    1. Smart Card Reader/Emirates ID Card Reader
    2. RFID Card Reader/Job ID Card Scanner
    3. Fingerprint Reader
    4. Thermal Printer
    5. Facial Recognition Cameras
  6. Other Hardware Accessories
    1. Passport Scanner
    2. Document Printer
    3. Document Scanner
    4. QR Code & Barcode Scanner
    5. Proximity Detection
    6. Voice Input
    7. Speakers
    8. Intercom/Phone Integration (For Call Center or Help Center Support)

These are a few commonly used hardware and accessories for the digital interactive self-service kiosk. Of course, there are a lot many others that can be added to the system if required. As all these hardware are used the one and most important of all of them is the display and screen which could heavily impact your budget. So, be mindful of what you need and what type of hardware is required. Once the software and platform is planned then selecting the hardware and peripherals are much easier. This is where the cost of the terminal can be controlled and managed. Appropriate hardware will also reduce the maintenance cost hence the operational cost will be reduced.

See More: Why should we use hand sanitizer digital signage kiosk?

Challenge 4. GUI or Graphical Interface for the Customer

GUI or Graphical Interface for the Customer

This is always the biggest challenge in the self-service kiosk industry. Having a brilliant GUI or Graphical User Interface could increase the system’s usability, performance and efficiency by a significant level. You have selected the top-notch software and hardware technologies for your interactive kiosk terminal but your user interface is complex and hard-to-use, then the customers will be annoyed instead of being pleased. The GUI and customer interface is considered to be the centre of gravity of the entire system. Why would customer care if you have invested millions in the system if they are not being able to perform the tasks easily? So, having an interactive and very simple GUI is the key to success.

The user interface is the point where your customers will interact with your organization. If they are not pleased or satisfied will not only cause the failure of your digital interactive kiosk system but it will ruin your overall brand identity and brand reputation as well. This phase of the project requires great research and testing. The UX/UI designers need to pay more attention to that, the designs should be prepared with great care and the testing has to do for multiple times. Do not mind revision with the GUI design, each revision will make it better, keep room for further optimizations as well. Collect feedback from your customers for at least three months after the launch of the system and then try to improve the GUI as much as possible.

See More: Aramex Customer Feedback Interactive Kiosks

Challenge 5. Kiosk System Installation, Testing and Launch

Kiosk System Installation, Testing and Launch

The main idea of installing a digital kiosk-based system is to offer services more quickly without any wait time and to improve the customer experience. Such services always require communication of the system with other corporate systems and tools. As different types of data and services are managed differently so in order to provide them via a digital kiosk a huge work and planning is required for system integration and data synchronizations. The higher levels of sophistication and complexity demand a similar level of testing as well. The testing should be done in multiple phases as follows:

  1. Technical Testing – Computer Programmers, QC Testers, IT Teams
    1. Functional
    2. Non-Functional
  2. Internal Testing – Different internal departments and stack holders
  3. Pre-Launch Testing – Test Implementation in a few Branches or Locations
  4. Performance Testing – Post Launch Testing

Once the internal testing is done, the functional and non-functional testing and a limited scale system implementation is done. Then you should collect feedback from the system users and do tweaks to the system to improve it further if required. After that, the full launch should be scheduled. Even after the full launch, you should closely monitor the KPIs and overall response and behaviour of your customers towards your digital interactive kiosk system. Try to improve the system as much as possible.

See More: Fragrance Dispensing Kiosk

Conclusion

The customized kiosk system is always a bit challenging than choosing a ready-made off-the-shelf solution. But the overall efficiency and productivity of a customized digital interactive kiosk system are far superior to any off-the-shelf solution. A customized solution will enable business and organizations to provide their services in the most efficient way possible. First of all, an idea or concept has to be formed then you can choose the appropriate software and hardware technologies to meet your specific needs. Pay more attention to the GUI or graphic user interface of the system. Your user interface will determine the user experience. A bad user experience could ruin your reputation and brand identity. Do proper technical and non-technical testing, keep room for updates and upgrades to maximize the user experience. The customized digital interactive kiosk solution will not only help you boosting customer satisfaction but it will also enable you to expand to unexplored places and locations without having the hustle of opening a branch and bearing huge expenses. The overall maintenance of the kiosk system is very low, the kiosk unit or customer terminal hardly require any maintenance for months. Having a customized interactive kiosk system is a great way to automation, low-cost expansion and a superior customer experience.

At RSI Concepts we are helping our clients to achieve their goals. Our interactive kiosk solutions are completely customizable with a wide variety of software and hardware accessories we can ensure maximum customer experience and the highest level of customer satisfaction. If you need any help, feel free to reach us out through the below comment box or you can also contact us through our Contact Us page.

We are here to help!

Check this out: 5 Types of Touch Screen Kiosks

Posted in Customized Kiosks | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

5 Types of Touch Screen Kiosks

5 Types of Touch Screen Kiosks

In this blog, we will discuss the 5 types of touch screen kiosks. A touch screen kiosks is basically a combination of both interactive hardware and responsive software. The hardware is specifically designed to support certain software functionalities or a range of functionalities. If you are living in Dubai, you would see such touch screen kiosks or interactive kiosks everywhere. The screen’s glow easily caught the attention of the passing by people. Roughly almost 70% to 80% people think about inspecting the kiosks closely to see what it is. This can be used as a great advantage for marketing purposes as well. The touch screen kiosks are also very popular in the industry and can be used for a variety of self-service functionalities. The touch screen kiosks are not only a great advantage for the business but also for the customers, as a customer can perform certain transactions through the self-service interactive kiosk without requiring any help from the staff or others.

See Also: What is wayfinding software and why is it important?

The interactive touch screen kiosk market has exploded in the past few years and is expected to grow more than double in the coming five years. Do you wonder why? It is because of the usefulness and benefits of the touch screen kiosks. For example, businesses can place touch screen kiosks in the places and markets where they have customers but cannot open a branch office or are not planning to open a branch office soon. This allows them access to the larger markets with very minimal cost comparing to having a branch office set up in those far-out regions. The touch screen kiosks are not only helping the businesses to reach out to the customers beyond their regular operations. That is promising but the question arises what type of kiosk will suit you? How you can benefit from it? In order to understand that we will first explore the five most commonly used touch screen kiosk types in Dubai:

1. Payment Touch Screen Kiosks

Payment Touch Screen Kiosks

Payment Touch Screen Kiosks are a very common site in Dubai, you can find them everywhere and more businesses have started adopting them. There are a variety of services that can be offered through this type of touch screen kiosk in Dubai. For example, bill payment, the customer do not have to wait in long queues to get it done through the staff at a designated branch. Instead, it can be done on any of the kiosk usually placed in easy to reach and convenient locations. Even you can find them at the entrance of residential buildings. This really adds up to the customer experience and customer satisfaction. Other peripherals and accessories can make this type of touch screen kiosk more useful. For example, the integration of contactless payment methods or payment through credit/debit cards or digital mediums such as Google Pay, Apple Pay or Samsung Pay will definitely make your customer happier and satisfied. In addition to all that such kiosk help reducing the workload and pressure on the staff hence can be helpful in reducing the resources and cost-cut strategies.

2. Ticket or Token Dispensing Touch Screen Kiosk

Ticket or Token Dispensing Touch Screen Kiosk

 

These days you can find a ticket or token dispensing kiosk in all customer service centres, banks, public offices, government departments, hospitals and a lot many other sectors. These touch screen kiosks are commonly used with a Queue Management System or a Customer Flow Management Systems. Where ever a business is expecting to have a large number of visitors or customers in the branch/office they usually install these ticket/token dispensing touch screen kiosks. This kiosk can be used for multiple purposes. Most often used in basic configurations with only serving a ticket dispensing purpose or maybe an Emirates ID Card scanner or any such peripheral. These touch screen kiosks can display information about the queue and help to guide the customers to their relevant queues without any help required from the staff. Which significantly reduce the workload of the staff and also ensures smooth automated customer flow management.

Furthermore, there are some organizations and businesses that are using ticket or token dispensing touch screen kiosks for not only dispensing the tickets for the queue but also asking the visitors to input some information from various mediums. The kiosk software can automatically rely on that information on the serving agent and once the customer arrives at the counter the service delivery can be done much quicker. The innovation has no limits, but the technology surely has some limits. Thankfully the touch screen kiosk industry has grown rapidly and with each day passing more manufacturers are producing exclusive technologies for the touch screen kiosks which is paving the way for a new revolution.

3. Information Touch Screen Kiosks

Information Touch Screen Kiosks

 

Information touch screen kiosks are gaining popularity in Dubai. Basically, the purpose of the information touch screen kiosk is to collect and process information and then redistribute it or present it for certain useful purposes and objectives in mind. For example, we usually notice an information touch screen kiosk in libraries where it provides a complete catalogue and also interactive features to navigate to certain categories or search for a book, etc. Another example is most often seen in big malls, outlets and retail stores where the kiosk automatically collects the data and information and provide them for customers such as popular products, today’s sales and offers, functionality to find a product and/or a full product/price catalogue. The information touch screen kiosks not only improve the sales but also help the customers. The customer experience can be improved a lot by using such gadgets and the businesses who have installed the information kiosks are also reporting a good improvement in the sales.

Although it may sound complex it is fairly simple and easy to set up an information touch screen kiosk system. It comes with a hardware and a software component, the major labour is done on the software side, which communicates with other information systems and databases of the business and as per pre-defined protocols, it processes all the information and produces results. Of course, all the process is automatic and once the system is commissioned it doesn’t even require any manual update. However in some cases when automation is not possible due to certain technological limitation, even then our information touch screen kiosk can be monitored and controlled remotely, which provides very easy content and information management.

See More: Shifting of business process on interactive kiosk dubai

4. Self-Service Interactive Touch Screen Kiosk

Self-Service Interactive Touch Screen Kiosk

Self-service interactive touch screen kiosks have been deployed in a huge number in Dubai and are the quantity is still growing. There is no distinguishing that only a particular industry or sector is using them, in fact, all types and sizes of businesses, corporations, offices, government sectors, hospitals, educational institutions, banks, hospitality sector, food industry, retail sector and everything else in between is utilizing the self-service interactive touch screen kiosks to improve their services, ensure customer satisfaction and for low-cost expansion.

There is a variety of software and hardware features that can be augmented in self-service interactive touch screen kiosks with an endless number of applications. For example, in the educational sector, universities and institutes are automating the student registration processes. In the Hospitality industry the booking, reservation and packages can be selected and bought through the online payment methods via a self-service interactive touch screen kiosk. In the retail industry, self-checkout terminals have been introduced using these kiosks. Customer signups, paperless registration, customer feedback, digital services and much more can be offered. There is an endless number of application of self-service interactive touch screen kiosks.

There are so many hardware options available for these kiosks, for example, Emirates ID Card Reader, QR Code Scanner, Printer, Receipt Printer, Passport Scanner, POS, Cash Depositing, Customer Support Center Integrations, RFID Scanners, NFC and much more. The software also allows integration, data sharing and synchronization with other corporate systems such as ERPs, CRMs, Inventory Management System, Digital Payment Systems and much more. Which even further enhances the capabilities of self-service interactive touch screen kiosks.

See More: 7 Features of Self Service Kiosks

5. Way Finding Touch Screen Kiosks

Way Finding Touch Screen Kiosks

The wayfinding touch screen kiosks are also a great example of the kiosk revolution. In Dubai, especially in malls, you will notice such kiosks. The wayfinding touch screen kiosks can be used in various environments such as in shopping malls, government offices, large facilities, educational institutions and universities, hospitals, campuses, metro stations, bus stations, airports, theme parks, etc. and all those large facilities who are hosting guests and visitors. The wayfinding touch screen kiosks usually have a huge touch screen and a powerful software engine that allows the system to cater to 3D Maps, Virtual Tours, Information and Details to the visitors and customers. The users can easily search using an on-screen keyboard and also lookup in the directory and catalogues. Another great advantage of wayfinding touch screen kiosk is that it can also be used for marketing and advertising purposes. The large screen allows enough space to play multi-media content along with the Maps and navigational functionalities.

See More: Why more self service kiosks are being used in Dubai now?

Conclusion

In this blog, we have covered 5 types of touch screen kiosks. There are so many more sub-classifications but overall all the kiosks are divided into these major categories. No matter how small or big you are or what industry you are operating in. The touch screen kiosks could help you sustain your existing customers by providing those digital services, reducing the service delivery and wait time and reaching out to unexplored markets. As the market researches are suggesting and the statistical data is also projecting that the touch screen kiosk industry is about to get doubled in the coming years. This suggests the overall market trend. If you are operating in Dubai or any other part of UAE, you must have to be on top of your competitors. You should be the one who offers innovation and convenience before anyone else does. Touch screen kiosks with their less initial cost, low operational cost and very low maintenance cost can be a great companion for the businesses who are seeking expansion and cost cuts at the same time. RSI Concepts is a leading touch screen kiosk provider in Dubai and UAE. We are specialized in customized self-service interactive kiosks and digital signage. We can help you with achieving your goals. Feel free to contact us through the below comment box or reach us out from our Contact Us page.

Check this outWhat is the difference in iPad Kiosk and a standard kiosk

Posted in Interactive Kiosk Dubai | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Role of Customer Feedback in Retaining Hard Earned Customers

Role-of-Customer-Feedback-in-Retaining-Hard-Earned-Customers

The role of customer feedback in retaining hard-earned customers is often overlooked by most businesses in the UAE and almost all around the world. The truth is most of the time businesses only focus and invest in methods and marketing methods to get new customers. Although you might have good customer relationship management and good service delivery mechanisms, you still need to listen to your customers. It is very important for businesses to retain their existing customers if they want steady growth. For example, fifty new customers per month or even daily it depends upon your organization’s size, and you are also loosing let say, twenty customers, then your growth is only thirty customers per day or per month or any reference of time. But if somehow you got succeeded to retain all existing customers then for that time frame your growth will be one hundred per cent equal to your new sales. Customer Feedback plays a vital role in retaining the existing customers and it also provides vital business intelligence to further improve your products and services, which will definitely boost your overall growth.

What is Customer Feedback?

What-is-Customer-Feedback

First of all, you need to understand what is customer feedback? Well, the answer is very simple, whatever question you will ask your customer, the answer will be your customer’s feedback. You can request your customers to suggest or opine on your products, services, or a segment of your business or the entire brand. There are multiple types of feedbacks and multiple stages when feedback can be collected. For example, when a customer makes a purchase, you can ask them about their experience, after 3 months or so you can ask them about the performance of the product or service they bought from you. You can request feedback when a customer availed a service from your service centre or customer support office. It could be anything, and it could be anytime. Although I am saying it could be anytime, or anything, but there are certain criteria to prepare your questionnaire and also when to present it. You cannot request a customer to opine about their experience at one of your customer service centre three months ago. They might not remember sufficient details after this long.

How to Collect Customer Feedback?

How-to-Collect-Customer-Feedback

There are so many different methods and techniques to collect feedbacks some are old some are new, but all were set to encourage as many customers as possible to give feedback and suggestions. Basically, most of the time if a customer is either happy or unhappy they do not want to take the time to provide feedback or do a survey or any such thing. Even if when businesses ask their customers, only slightly more than half of them will answer the questionnaire. There are certain methods which are most popular all around the world. Here are some examples:

  1. Surveys conducted by staff at the branch
  2. Phone Calls
  3. Online Surveys via
    1. Emails (General/Marketing and Transactional)
    2. SMS
    3. Social Media
    4. Website
  4. Customer Feedback Systems
    1. Interactive Kiosks
    2. Tablet Kiosks/Stands
  5. Smartphone Applications
  6. Score Board Surveys or Customer Happiness Meter
  7. Online Suggestion Boards
  8. Online Reviews and Ratings

There are different innovative and high-tech solutions to collect customer feedback. There is no thumb rule or only one certified method of collecting feedback that can work for all. Different industries and different businesses require different customer feedback solutions. The main objective is to collect as many feedbacks as possible in a form that can help the management to gather actionable data.

In order to achieve your objectives you first have to understand what type of audience you have and what method will be more encouraging for your customers to attempt a survey or do feedback. Then multiple methods can be implemented simultaneously to increase the data collection. But your customer who has already given their feedback from one channel should not receive the requests to do the same feedback from other channels. Your all channels’ feedback should converge in a single information centre or database, and the final outcome should provide the details important for your business. For example, you should know:

  1. How was your customer’s experience at the branch?
  2. How satisfied they are with your products and services?
  3. What else can be offered to improve the product/service quality?
  4. How more likely they are to suggest you to their family and friends?

These are just some of the very fundamental customer feedback questions, which all businesses want to know. Apart from that, you can also build a strategy to collect segmented feedback. The segmented feedback collection is also experimented with by many businesses and they are getting good results. For example, in their first visit to your customer service centre, you can ask them about their experience at the branch. The next time or after a few days later you can ask them about the product or service they are using. The chances of getting feedback from the same person on the same subject with a different topic are very high. Of course, you can ask a few questions at the same time, but the response rate to single question feedback is way too higher than multi-question feedback or survey. Multiple feedback collection methods can be utilized with innovative ideas and the latest technologies to collect more customer feedback data which can help the management to take future decisions.

See More: Aramex Customer Feedback Interactive Kiosk

How Customer Feedback Can Help Retaining Hard Earned Customers?

How-Customer-Feedback-Can-Help-Retaining-Hard-Earned-Customers

Customer feedback can help businesses to retain hard-earned customers. No matter how big or small you are or to what industry you belong, you must have to listen to your customers very closely to understand what is making them happy about your brand and what is annoying them about your brand. This is very important, it is an estimate that almost 30% to 40% of the customers switched to other options if they don’t receive good services. And if they are unhappy it is an estimate that almost 60% to 70% talk about their bad experience with their colleagues, family and friends. This could have a huge impact on your sales, reputation and brand identity. For example, research has been published by Business Insider [businessinsider.com] which concludes that it requires almost 12 good customer experiences to only negate the impact of one bad customer experience! This is huge, and it is extremely important that you listen to your customers, know how they think about your brand, what do they like and what is not appreciated by them.

Customer feedback can help businesses:

  1. Building Customer Loyalty
  2. Building a Positive Reputation
  3. Improved Customer Experience
  4. Improved Products and Services
  5. Taking Precise and Calculated Data-Driven Decisions

In order to retain your hard-earned customers, building a loyal customer base is very important. You can only win your customers loyalty if you will be able to understand their needs, demands, and overall behaviour towards your products and services. Once you attain that your customers will start adding up to your efforts of building a positive reputation of your business and brand.

Customer experience always plays an extremely important role in any business’s success. Especially in the UAE where the competition is very high, there are so many options available to every customer. The customer experience will determine whether you will be able to sustain them and keep growing at a steady pace, or you will end up in a downward spiral? In order to understand the customer experience the best way is to take their feedback. This feedback will not only help you improving customer experience but it will also help you improve your products and services too.

There are two types of feedback, either it will be positive or either it will be negative. Here are the two types of customer feedback and their importance:

1. Negative Customer Feedback and Bad Customer Experience

Negative-Customer-Feedback-and-Bad-Customer-Experience

We always discuss in our blog posts and we also suggest to our customers that negative feedbacks are extremely important even more important than positive feedback. An unhappy customer is a potential risk. The chances of getting them away from your business are very high. Once they went away to a competitor they will most likely start suggesting their colleagues, family and friends join them. On top of that, there is a chance of negative publicity, they could comment on your social media, or share their experience on their social media or whatnot. Which could further amplify the intensity of negative publicity. It is very important that you prioritize them, listen to them and try to resolve their issues on urgent bases.

That is not all, from their bad experience you can also learn vital information about your deficiencies and the areas where you being a business or brand and your staff lags behind. Their feedback is critical to understand what went wrong and what has to be done in order to prevent such scenarios to happen again. This will help you retain your existing customers and when you manage to convert an unhappy customer to a happy customer they will definitely cause you positive publicity. This will not only make you more popular among your existing customers but it will also help you acquire more customers.

2. Positive Feedback and Good Customer Experience

Positive-Feedback-and-Good-Customer-Experience

Like I said the negative customer feedback is very important but that doesn’t mean you don’t need positive customer feedback. Positive customer feedback always helps to promote your good image and results in more business. Collect and utilize your positive feedbacks too to further improve the areas which are more popular. Positive feedback doesn’t mean you are delivery a 100% perfect product or service, it will be always a part of the service or a particular feature or a particular trait that your customers will be going to like the most, this will also help you identify the features and aspects of your products and services which are not receiving much positive feedback despite being part of a very popular product or service. Such aspects can be further scrutinized and improved. So, no matter if it is positive feedback or negative feedback, it will go to help you in improving your products and services and in retaining your hard-earned customers.

See More: 5 new techniques to collect customer feedback

Conclusion

In the UAE the competition is very high, the customers are very demanding and they have too many alternatives. In such an environment maintaining steady growth is a bit more difficult. More competition means higher quality, higher quality means higher expectations. The customers always expect the highest level of the quality of any product or service they are purchasing. Which makes it even more difficult to keep them happy. Customer feedback can help you by providing very precise first-hand data and business intelligence. Which could help the decision-makers to take actions to improve the product or service quality and to establish future strategies. The customer feedback will also help you understand the current market trends and ever-changing demands of your customers. There are so many different methods to collect customer feedback, businesses can choose any one of them or a combination of multiple mediums and platform to collect feedback, the main objective is to get as much feedback as possible. To improve your customer experience, products and services and build a positive brand reputation. Which will not only help you retain your hard-earned customers but it will also help you gain more new customers. No matter if the feedback is positive or negative, collected through the happiness meter to gathered from an online survey all types of feedbacks and all methods of customer feedback collection have their benefits and utilization. The data will help businesses to understand their customers better. The management can easily and confidently make decisions, plan strategies, to improve their customers’ experience. Which will not only help them retain their existing customers but eventually it will help them building up a good brand image and getting more new customers.

Check this out: What are Benefits of Integration of HRMS with Self-service Kiosks?

Posted in Customer Feedback System | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

What are Benefits of Integration of HRMS with Self-service Kiosks?

HRMS or Human resource management system is a backbone in any organization or business. If your employees are satisfied they will be more productive and efficient, hence the business will grow. If your employee is dissatisfied and unhappy their productivity will decrease, which will result in higher operational expenditures and lower outcome, or poor quality work. If the work quality is not good your customers will also move away from you, although the process is slow the consequences could be devastated for the business. The HR department is always very important, as they are responsible for hiring the right professionals, and in their regular daily routine, they could be very busy, which could also reduce their productivity and efficiency.

What-are-Benefits-of-Integration-of-HRMS-with-Self-service-Kiosks

So, maintaining a positive and good environment inside your organization is very important. This is why businesses are widely using HRMS or human resource management systems to streamline all these processes, and to monitor and control their cost/expense. The HR Department is mainly responsible for ensuring a balance between employees’ happiness and controlled expenses, to achieve the highest possible productivity form the available resources.

The interactive touch screens or self-service kiosks are gaining popularity in a lot of industries, if you are living in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi or any other Emirate of United Arab Emirates, then you must be aware of these touch screens and self-service kiosks, they are everywhere, from shopping malls to banks, hospitals, clinics, government offices, customer service centres and even in small businesses and showrooms. These self-service interactive kiosks are multiplying day by day in numbers. Whether you have to pay your mobile’s bill, or a utility bill, or whether you want to withdraw cash, or these kiosks and vending machines are everywhere and everyone is using them on daily bases.

Ensure Steady Growth

Ensure-Steady-Growth

If a business wants to control and monitor their internal expenses and if they want to manage their employees efficiently then the HR Department should have to work at its best. The HR Department is not only responsible for employee management and resource management but it is also responsible for ensuring the business or organization have the required skilled professionals and the very efficient resource utilization. In order to boost HR Department’s output, the HRMS systems can play a vital role and if the HRMS is integrated with Self-service Kiosks, then you can easily attain twice the operational efficiency, which results in extremely well resource management, less cost more output and eventually ensures steady business growth.

Satisfy Your Employees

Satisfy-Your-Employees

Provide a fully functional virtual HR to your employees. Let them avail HR services from remote locations, from project sites, from their residence and accommodations, or from other offices. The process automation will not only make the service delivery fast but it will also reduce the workload of the HR Department. The HR department has to allocate a lot of resources for their regular tasks, sometimes they even don’t get enough time to address employees’ queries. Which could easily annoy your employees and it could also increase the work of the HR department. All across the world, the HR Department is always seeking for a solution to reduce the cost and to maximize efficiency. By automating different processes and services the HR Department can significantly reduce their workload and the cost as well.

See More: How HR Kiosks help managing the HR more efficiently?

Reduce HR Work Load and Cut the Cost

Reduce-HR-Work-Load-and-Cut-the-Cost

The HR department is always the busiest department who is sending most of the mails, doing filing, huge paperwork, and a lot more. The interactive HR Self-service kiosk will not only make the process fast and reduce the workload of the HR but it will also reduce the expense of the HR Department by allowing onsite printing and downloading/uploading and scanning of the documents. The employees can download different forms, print them, or scan them from the kiosk itself. This could significantly reduce the workload of the HR Department as they always have to perform such tasks on daily bases, and they should also have to assign dedicated resources for such works. By providing such facilities through automated channels, the HR Department can save a lot of efforts for tedious manual work, data entries, documents processing and much more, which could tremendously improve the HR Department’s efficiency.

See More: How to maintain social distancing in the Human Resources department?

Automate and Digitalize the Processes by HR Self-Service Kiosk

Automate-and-Digitalize-the-Processes-by-HR-Self-Service-Kiosk

By automation, productivity and efficiency can be significantly improved in the HR Department. The digitalization of various processes or even the entire HR Department also comes with additional benefits, no need to expand on the regular mailing, printing, and delivery services, provide all information and communication through digital channels. Automate and digitalize the processes with HRMS Self-service Kiosk, such as:

  1. Updated Employee Documents (New Emirates ID, Passport Update, etc)
  2. Reduce the HR Queries by Integrating HRMS with HR Self-Service Kiosks
    1. Document Processing
    2. Leave Application
    3. Salary Certificate Printing
    4. Employee Benefits Calculations
    5. Leave Requests
    6. Travel Requests
    7. Attendance, Time Clock and Schedule Checking
    8. Over-time Calculators
    9. Loan Requests and Status
    10. Etc
  3. Reduce the paperwork
  4. Reduce manual processing and manual data entry, let the employee to do their own data entry from the HR Self-service Kiosk
  5. Manage the Centralized Employee Database Efficiently
  6. Reduce Human Errors and Repeated Processes

These are only some of the benefits the HR Department can get when they integrate their HRMS with the HR Self-service Kiosk. Apart from that, when you are providing the HR Services on the remote location which are convenient for the employees, they will be more satisfied and happy, and the supervisors and managers don’t have to worry about arranging their visits to the HR Department or head office. This will also save time and cost and a lot of management-related problems.

See More: 7 Features of Self Service Kiosks

What Services can be offered through HR Self Service Kiosks?

What-Services-can-be-offered-through-HR-Self-Service-Kiosks

The HRMS software usually has a centralized information centre, which contains all of the required information. The HR Self-service kiosks are very powerful machines with customizable software and hardware features as per the demand. The HR self-service kiosks can communicate or linked through secure web services or APIs with the central database of the HRMS or other corporate tools if needed. The software and hardware both work in harmony to make a process possible. The very basic and important part is user authentication and user access. The authentication can be done using various methods, such as RFID reader, Credentials, Emirates ID Card Reader, Biometrics of Fingerprint Scanner, or any other method which suits the requirements.

Once a user is authenticated to the system through the kiosk they would be able to access the data and information they are designated to. Multiple users can have multiple access levels and corresponding capabilities to update or input the data/information. For example, a supervisor or a manager can have access to their subordinates’ data too if required and so on and so forth.

In terms of hardware the HR self-service kiosks can have the following hardware features in general:

  1. Biometrics or Fingerprint Scanner
  2. Facial Recognition or IRIS Scanner
  3. RFID Reader
  4. Emirates ID Card Reader and Scanner
  5. Passport Scanner
  6. Physical Keyboard or On-Screen Digital Keyboard
  7. A4 Printer, Thermal Printer, Other Printing Devices
  8. Documents Scanner (Standard), Passport Scanner, QR Code or Barcode Scanner, etc
  9. Intercom or Telephone Connected to the Call Center or Respective Team
  10. Physical Keyboard and Trackpad

In terms of software the HR self-service kiosks can have the following hardware features in general:

  1. Touch Screen User Interface
  2. Multi-lingual Employee Dashboard
  3. Secure Employee/User Authentication
  4. Online Applications and Form Submission
  5. Online Documents Updates
  6. Online Appointment Booking with the HR Department
  7. Online Record and Information Access, and Printing/Scanning Facility
  8. Salary Slips, Certificates, Loan Status, Attendance, Time Clock and Schedules, etc
  9. Smartphone Application Integration
  10. Integration with other corporate tools such as ERP, CRM, Online Portals, Third-party Tools, etc

These are some of the general features that an HR self-service kiosk can offer when integrated with your HRMS or Human Resource Management System. Apart from that, a lot many customized services can be provided through the kiosk by installing other software and hardware components. These features can help and support the businesses to boost their HR Department’s operational capabilities which also results in cost-cuts and other progressive benefits.

See More: Why more self service kiosks are being used in Dubai now?

What about the cost?

What-about-the-cost

Interactive Self-service Kiosks are very durable and long-lasting technology. The initial cost is also low, if you compare the return over investments rates, the interactive kiosks are the best solution available in the market. The maintenance and operational cost is also low, even compared to a standard PC and printer in the organization. All well-renowned interactive self-service kiosks providers in Dubai, UAE are also providing annual maintenance contracting services which could further relief the businesses and reduce their operational cost. The interactive kiosks are not expensive, especially when bundled with the Human Resource Management System (HRMS), the cost is marginally very low. The utility and benefits are obviously great, and it can offer a long term reduction in the operation cost of the HR Department with highly enhanced efficiency and performance.

Features such as:

  1. Stand-alone operation
  2. Secure and Rugged Body Structure
  3. Durable Materials
  4. Large back-side or front-side lockable servicing windows
  5. Tempered glass protective touch screens

And other design-related attributes make it easier to refill the consumables or doing the maintenance and servicing. Which obviously reduce the operational cost a lot.

Furthermore, the HR Self-service kiosks have been very easy to manage and maintain because of their design and technology. The HR self-service kiosks are very powerful computing machines and can remain operational for almost a decade with just basic maintenance.

See More: Services of HR Self Service kiosk in Dubai

Conclusion

The HR Self Service Kiosks when integrated with your HRMS or Human Resource Management Systems could bring amazing improvements in terms of HR Department’s functioning, efficiency, and happiness of your employees. The HR Department’s operational cost will be reduced significantly, the workload of the HR Department can be cut from 30% to 60% by automating various processes, reducing the data entry, manual paper processing, and other tasks. Automation and self-service service delivery also reduce human error and work repetitions. The HR Department can easily implement new strategies and the management can get comprehensive reports and valuable insight. The biggest advantage of our HRMS and HR Self-Service Kiosk is that both tools are completely customizable, and can be designed and modified to cater to the very specific needs of our customers.

All organizations have their own methods and organizational structure which demands specific solutions for specific problems, a general-purpose or off-the-shelf solution can not only restrict the organizations and their HR Departments to follow the HRMS’s structure but it can also cause a lot many unnecessary delays and issues, which reduce the efficiency and operational capabilities of the HR, eventually, the organizations and businesses end up being paying more with an endless stream of issues and problems associated with the tools they are using. The customization eliminates all such problems and not only that the custom solutions can resonate perfectly well with the organization’s structure which results in amazing performance efficiency and a significant cut in the operational cost.

If you need HR Self-service kiosks for your existing HRMS or if you need a completely customized HRMS solution including the interactive HR kiosks, please do let us know. You can contact us through the below comment box or you can reach us through our Contact Us page.

Check this out: What is the difference in iPad Kiosk and a standard kiosk

Posted in HR Self Service Kiosk | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

What is the difference in iPad Kiosk and a standard kiosk?

What-is-the-difference-in-iPad-Kiosk-and-a-standard-kiosk

Kiosk is helping all kind of industries. In the past few years, the kiosk industry has been expanded and revolutionized with advance technology and innovative software tools. The kiosks are mainly used to enable businesses and organizations to provide their services through self-service interaction and the kiosks are also enabling the organizations and businesses to expand their area of operations. There are certain activates that we all are doing on daily bases in Dubai, UAE, for example, everyone draws money out of an ATM machine, and it is basically a kiosk machine. Earlier the same was done by standing in long queues in the banks and writing checks, but now with the help of the ATMs, the money can be drawn without any limitation of time or without standing in long queues or anything. People can get the service through the ATM machine at any time, the banks can expand their operations by offering their ATM machines in remote areas, on highways, in gas stations, in shopping malls or any such place where they don’t have a branch but still they can offer their services using the kiosk machines. This is only one example. There are hundreds of such examples where the kiosks are making our lives easier and also helping the businesses to expand rapidly.

Classification of the Kiosks

Classification-of-the-Kiosks

There are so many different types of self-service interactive kiosks however the main classifications are standard kiosks and the tablet or iPad kiosks. Both types of kiosk machines have their different utility and obviously, the cost is also a huge difference in both types. Both types run on different software platforms. Both the standard kiosk and the tablet or iPad kiosk have different applications and are suitable for different purposes. Let us compare both kiosks in terms of technology and their application:

Standard Kiosk Technology VS iPad Kiosk Technology

Standard-Kiosk-Technology-VS-iPad-Kiosk-Technology

Here is a quick comparison of standard kiosks and tablet of iPad kiosks on the bases of the technology they are made of and their technical specs.

Standard Kiosk Technology

A standard kiosk usually comes with a computer PC board in it with all the advantages and power of a full-fledged Windows/Linux computer. All sort of peripheral devices and accessories can be installed and customized as per the client’s requirements. The screen-sizes are also not standard and any size of the screen from 8 Inch to 85 Inch can be used as per the requirements, moreover, Facial Recognition Cameras, Thermal Cameras, RFID, Biometric Scanners, IRIS Scanners, Standard/Custom Printers and Scanners, Passport Scanners, Emirates ID Readers, Intercoms, and much more can be added to the kiosk. The standard kiosks can also be designed to with-stand outdoors, and are very efficient in UAE’s weather conditions as well.

Tablet of iPad Kiosk Technology

However the iPad kiosks are only available in the standard iPad screen sizes, the computing power is also standard and whatever the newer model of Apple iPad Tablet is available can be used in these kiosks. The iPad usually have a very limited amount of hardware accessories available as of yet. The operating system is also Apple iOS. The Apple iPads are very high quality, rigid and efficient. The hardware is also very powerful and proved to be great with customized applications for self-service interactive kiosks.

Standard Kiosk Applications VS iPad Kiosk Applications

Standard-Kiosk-Applications-VS-iPad-Kiosk-Applications

As both the standard kiosks and the tablet or iPad kiosks are built on different technologies and platforms so their usage and application are also different, sometimes in the certain application we can use both types of the kiosks but mostly both are used for different purposes.

Standard Kiosk Application and Usage

The standard kiosks are the most widely used self-service interactive kiosks. They come in all shapes and sizes, with tech specs and power as low as a mini pocket size PC and as high as a high-end professional computer or even lower-end servers. The standard kiosks can be customized for any use or any purpose and can be installed in any place whether indoor or outdoor. The standard kiosks come with a lot many software and hardware accessories, they can interact with the users and can serve as a front-end counter or service desk. The interactive kiosk industry is expanding rapidly, more industries are now adopting the kiosks to increase their efficiency and to expand their operations. The kiosks are being used mostly used to provide the services quicker and to a wider range of customers.

Where Interactive Standard Kiosks are mostly being used?

The interactive standard kiosks are mostly being used in the banking sector, healthcare, retail sector, hospitality industry, restaurants, banks, shopping malls, showrooms, airports, railway stations, mass transit and metro stations, testing labs, educational institutions, service industry, government departments, customer care centres, HR departments, and much more. Furthermore, the standard kiosk is used for advertisement purposes, marketing applications, information and wayfinding in a lot of many industries, corporate sector, government offices and other sectors.

iPad Kiosk Application and Usage

iPad kiosks are rapidly gaining popularity, and in some sectors, they are even replacing the more traditional standard kiosks. The iPad kiosks are only used indoors, which somehow limits their applications, but as the screen size and available hardware, integration is very limited so there are certain types of applications which are most widely moving towards iPad kiosks. The iPad kiosks are usually used in floor standing or tabletop modes, wall mount model is also widely used.

Where iPad Kiosks are mostly being used?

The major application is collecting customer feedback and conducting surveys, and collecting feedback. Moreover, exhibitions and event organizers, showrooms, banks, healthcare, hospitality sector, food courts & restaurants, customer services areas, and such places are where the iPad kiosks can be seen a lot. All sort of industries and sector who are using such applications are these day adopting iPad kiosks, as they are cheaper than the traditional kiosk and hence the application is not very sophisticated so such places won’t require high-end computing efficiency, therefore, the iPad kiosk is the best match for such requirements in certain industries and sectors.

Conclusion

Both the standard kiosks and iPad kiosks are very powerful interactive tools, which not only facilitate the customers and users but also help the businesses and organizations to enable them to expand rapidly with minimum cost and maximum output. If you need a kiosk that can perform certain tasks such as digital service delivery, scanning & authentication, printing, and other features that requires the involvement of a hardware device then the traditional kiosk is the best solution. If you need surveys, feedbacks, online ordering for a restaurant, event registrations, in showrooms for displaying information about the cars or booking test drive or any such small application which doesn’t require large screens or which doesn’t require any additional hardware integration then the iPad kiosk is the best and extremely cost-effective choice.

Moreover, it also depends upon your software application and features, it is always wise to get a suggestion or consultation from a professional interactive kiosk provider in Dubai, such as RSI Concepts. You can leave a comment in the comment box below or simply contact us using our Contact Us page and we will help you find the best cost-effective and more reliable solution for your needs.

Check this out: Services of HR Self Service kiosk in Dubai

Posted in iPad Kiosk, Standard Kiosk | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Services of HR Self Service kiosk in Dubai

HR Department of any organization is the backbone of the business. They are not only responsible for hiring the skilful staff but also responsible for managing them to maintain a healthy work environment and steady production capacity. Hence, they are continuously busy in regular activities and it is always critical to maintain a certain level of satisfaction of the employees to ensure quality work and growth of the business. HR Departments all across the industries in Dubai and the other Emirates of UAE are rapidly adopting services of HR Self Service kiosks to get benefits of the digitalization.

Services-of-HR-Self-Service-kiosk-in-Dubai

HR Self Service Kiosks not only allow the HR Departments to efficiently implement the organization’s strategies and policies but also reduce workload from the HR department. This brings employees’ satisfaction and happiness and helps organizations to cultivate a productive culture. The HR Self Service Kiosks also allow the organizations to facilitate their employees on multiple convenient locations, such as on-site or in residential blocks, where usually maintaining an HR desk is not convenient, this increase the desk-less workforce of the HR Department and also reduce the burden from the administration.

Why HR Self Service Kiosks are Gaining Popularity in Dubai, UAE?

Why-HR-Self-Service-Kiosks-are-Gaining-Popularity-in-Dubai,-UAE

Why HR Self Service Kiosks are gaining popularity in Dubai, UAE? As the technology is evolving the self-service kiosk industry is innovating new features and the cost is also reducing so the return over investment ratios are improving rapidly. Earlier only fewer functionality can be achieved and the general public was also not much familiar with the interactive self-service kiosks, but nowadays, everyone living in Dubai, UAE have had used an interactive kiosk for any purpose, such as the utility bill payment kiosks, or mobile recharge kiosks, or simply the token dispensing kiosks at any customer service centre, everyone is familiar with the bright glowing touchscreen machines. This is another reason why businesses and organizations are installing more interactive self-service kiosks in various sectors.

What kind of Services of HR Self Service Kiosk can be provided?

What-kind-of-Services-of-HR-Self-Service-Kiosk-can-be-provided

There are a variety of services the HR self-service kiosk can provide it depends upon the requirements and other factor related to the organization itself. As the technology is advancing there is a variety of scanner and printer that can be attached along with a lot many communication add-ons and other software and hardware accessories. The HR self-service kiosks are mainly powered by powerful computing hardware along with a core server application to allow automation and human-less or agent-less operations at the kiosk. There are a variety of automated services that can be provided through HR self-service kiosk, in this blog we will discuss a few very popular and commonly used services by organizations and businesses in Dubai, UAE, such as:

User Authentication Service

User-Authentication-Service

 

The users can authenticate themselves with their identity cards, RFID based employee IDs, QR Codes, Login credentials, Emirate ID Card Reader/Scanner, Passport Reader/Scanner, biometric scanner, IRIS scanners, facial recognition system and much more. It entirely depends upon the organization’s preferences.

 

Issuance of Salary Certificates

Issuance-of-Salary-Certificates

Once the user/employee is authenticated and signed-in to the system they can navigate through an interactive menu to navigate to their desired service. The salary certificates are the proof of the salary and other benefits which is a very basic service and the HR department received so many requests, if the HR self-service kiosks are placed on convenient locations and places then the employee does not have to visit the HR department to request for the salary certificate. Instead, they can easily print it through the HR self-service kiosk.

 

Leave Applications Submission

Leave-Applications-Submission

Leave application submission is another most frequently used service by the employees and the HR department always get overwhelmed by leave request. By automating such requests the businesses and organizations can save a lot of time and resources at the same time while providing a very convenient service to their employees. The HR self-service kiosk can print leave application forms and then let the employees to scan them along with any other relevant documentation such as doctor’s prescription in case of medical leave, etc.

 

Air Ticket/Travel Requests

Air-Ticket-Travel-Requests

Travel requests, annual leave requests, official or personal travel requests or any such other requests which may or may not require urgent processing, can also be submitted and marked as urgent or regular from the HR self-service kiosk for the perusal of the HR department. As the whole operation is digitalized and the basic mainframe information centre got updated in real-time so such requests can reach the concerned staff immediately. This not only saves time and hustle for the employees to travel to the HR department and wait in queues but it also helps the staff to organize and prioritize urgent tasks.

 

Attendance, Time Clock, Schedules

Attendance,-Time-Clock,-Schedules

The HR Self Service Kiosk also allow the employees to access their attendance, schedules, timings, and other relevant information instantly with a few taps on the touch screen of the kiosk. This information is usually important for the employees but due to working on a remote site or getting posted away from the head-office or HR department they usually can’t access such information easily. With the HR self-service kiosk available at their site and/or their resting places or residence they can easily access such information.

 

Overtime Calculator, Loans and Other Benefits Calculator

Overtime-Calculator,-Loans-and-Other-Benefits-Calculator

In routine, the employees will have to visit the HR department or their admin staff to get information about their overtime, loans and other benefits they might seek or simply want to check their eligibility, which in case if they will have to visit the HR department they will usually avoid or found it difficult to manage time to do such tasks. But in case of HR Self Service Kiosks, they can easily get those details by simply authenticating themselves to the system and taping a few buttons on the touch screens. As the whole operation is automated and there is no human involve so the chances of error are slim to none.

 

Smartphone Applications

Smartphone-Applications

As in the United Arab Emirates, almost everyone owns a smartphone and had access to the internet so, introducing smartphone applications for Android and Apple iOS could help your employees a lot and provide them further freedom and convenience. The Smartphone applications coupled with the HR self-service kiosk can further automate a lot many services without putting extra load on your internal IT department. In fact, a complete version of HR Kiosk’s software functionalities can be replicated in the smartphone applications along with additional benefits of other online services.

 

Information Center, News and Updates

Information-Center,-News-and-Updates

The HR Self Service Kiosks can be used to display and propagate instant news, updates and other valuable information in real-time. The kiosk is a very advance piece of technology, the bright screen always attracts attention. When the HR self-service kiosk is idle it can be used to display valuable information. The information can be controlled from the head office, branch or HR department itself. Whatever media or information the organization wants to display can be fetched to the kiosk screen instantly. Apart from that, different kiosks can be used to display different data and information depending on their placement and physical location.

 

Scanning and Printing Facility

Scanning-and-Printing-Facility

The HR Self Service Kiosks in Dubai, UAE can host a bunch of printing and scanning accessories, such as a standard A4 size printer and scanner, Emirates ID card scanner, Passport scanner, Thermal printer, special printer. Forms printing and scanning, documents scanning and much more. It entirely depends on the HR department’s requirements. This not only reduces the workload of the HR staff but it also provides convenience and facilitates the employees.

 

Read Also: How HR Kiosks help managing the HR more efficiently?

Customer Support and Queuing Solution

Customer-Support-and-Queuing-Solution

The HR Self Service Kiosks can also provide a customer support facility with the help of various software and hardware accessories such as IP phone to instantly connect to the call centre or support centre, complaint management system integration and much more. Furthermore, if an employee is working on a remote site and wants to visit the HR department they can also sign-up for the queue and dispense a token or ticket accordingly. Appointments can also be booked for the HR Department through the HR Self Service Kiosk.

 

Read Also: How to maintain social distancing in the Human Resources department?

Conclusion

HR Self Service Kiosks with their services are the best opportunity for businesses to reduce the HR workload and staffing cost and at the same time facilitate their employees. The HR Self Service Kiosks can not only provide 24/7 access to the HR data to employees but also automate a lot many services which reduce the tedious manual process and paperwork. The organization can easily gather system usage data and stats to further evaluate their services and methodologies. The digital medium also provides a facility to communicate with their employees through a very simple and easy to access channel and collect their feedback. The HR Self Service Kiosk and HR Management System also make it easier to monitor KPIs. The organizations can reduce the HR Department’s operational cost at the same time improving the employees’ satisfaction and convenience.

Check this out: 7 Features of Self Service Kiosks

Posted in HR Self Service Kiosk | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment