Pro-Touch

The Benefits of Touch Screen Kiosks in HR

From travel and banking, to retail and hospitality, there's no denying that the digital touch screen industry is paving the way for the future of the consumer landscape. However, touch screen kiosks are not solely reserved for consumer facing sectors, and can prove highly beneficial when rolled out in corporate environments too.

Research carried out by CIPD found that engagement levels among staff have plummeted to record lows – costing organisations a fortune. The CIPD’s Spring 2013 Employee Outlook survey found that only 37 per cent of staff are actively engaged at work, a figure that drops to 33 per cent in the public sector. While the survey focuses mainly on re-engagement in a social sense, seeing companies investing in internal social media platforms, the findings can also be applied to the successful deployment of touch screen kiosks in HR departments.

New generation technologies can inject fresh takes on age old practices. Touch screen kiosks not only provide a number of ways to enhance employee experience, but they come with many other benefits too, including;

Employee engagement

As individuals become less focused and more accustomed to processing an abundance of real-time information, it is fundamental that businesses find more ways to better engage with employees. Touch screen information kiosks help to bridge the digital divide for around 30-40% of employees; who do not have daily access to desktop computers, such as those who work in manufacturing.  When placed in high-traffic areas like canteens or communal rooms, touch screen kiosks allow HR departments to connect and engage with their entire work force, without needing be present.

Time saving

A touch screen kiosk can alleviate HR staff from the inconvenience of menial tasks, that do not need to be performed by a human. For example, instead of relying on staff members to answer questions, employees can use a touch screen kiosk to access company FAQs or other relevant information; such as company policies, benefits, payslips, holiday allowances and so on. As well as this, if your business has departments which operate outside of the usual 9-5, Monday to Friday hours, touch screen kiosks can allow employees to access information and complete numerous HR tasks, around the clock. By deploying a touch screen kiosk, HR teams can spend more time on more important jobs and employees can benefit from a wealth of information at their fingertips.

Environmentally friendly

Many companies are now moving away from paper payslips, holiday request and time tracking forms as they begin to see the benefits of digital information points.The increasing costs of printer ink cartridges, versus the decreasing amount of printer ink inside the cartridges, means that they are not good value for money. Adding to this, The Environmental Protection Agency claims that we get through 4 million tons of copy paper annually; which, as we know, comes at a significant cost to both businesses and the environment. Living in the age of technology makes using less paper and ink cartridges in the office easier, with touch screen kiosks carrying out a range of tasks at a significantly lower price.

More control

Transparency is important to employees and the more control and involvement they are given in the HR process, the more empowered they will feel. With a stand alone computerised system employees can conduct human resource tasks themselves, having greater control over their benefits, work hours, holiday allowance and payslips. All of this can be managed in real time without the need of HR representatives being present.

Cost effective

When all of the benefits are considered together HR kiosks prove to be highly cost effective. Such a machine can save a company a great deal in overheads; from reducing HR staffing costs and training, to saving on printing and eliminating distribution costs. As well as this, with self serve kiosks providing a heightened level of help and support for employees, and enriching engagement, companies can aim to reduce employee turnover in the long run.

Deloitte rates only 6 per cent of HR departments as ‘excellent’ for their analytics, with over 60 per cent labelled ‘poor’. With this in mind perhaps it’s time you re-evaluated your HR department and started thinking about how it could be improved with the adoption of touch screen kiosks; to offer more satisfaction for your employees and a greater return on interest for your company.

If you’d like to find out more about how a touch screen kiosks could help your HR department, contact Protouch today.

Image source: HR management

Choosing An Information Kiosk

We live in a world of information – a world where global knowledge fits into the palm of our hand. In short, people want to have the information they need and they want it to be as easily accessible as possible.

Of course, providing this information can be made a lot easier with an information kiosk, that’s been specifically set up to meet the demands, needs and requirements of the customer or individual.

Information kiosks are all about providing just that – information. This needs to be done in a practical and easily accessed manner and can really add a lot to a business, experience or retail setting. However, though most of us understand that people want information that can be easily accessed via kiosks and similar means, understanding how to choose a kiosk can often perplex them. So, what should you look for in an info kiosk?

Function over Design

Aesthetics are extremely important, however function is number one. In the world of information kiosks this means that provision of a kiosk that offers the relevant information is the first priority.

In essence, a kiosk is only as good as the software on it and that should be the focus first and foremost when choosing an info kiosk. Deciding on whether you should choose an already developed or a bespoke software development solution is an important decision that could determine the success of the kiosk. 

Other additions such as being able to lock down the website viewing, blocking access to certain sites and being able to track the kiosk usage are also all important here and provide you with plenty of information for analysis.

You want your kiosk to offer the exact information required in a manner that’s intuitive, easily understood and accessible. Our PKM platform offers you the opportunity to have a number of different applications developed to fit in with your needs – something we see as essential.

Information Input

Interactive information kiosks need some form of input device, so deciding on whether you want to use a touch screen input or keyboard form of input is the next decision that needs to be made.

Each kiosk is different and often the input is determined by the software and the function of the device. In many cases the best way of determining the most apt input is to discuss it with us beforehand as we’ll be able to give you an idea from experience.
 

Kiosk Style

You want a kiosk style that reflects your brand, your business and the feel it should deliver. This is why it’s nice to have a wide selection of kiosk styles to choose from.

We offer kiosks in a variety of footprints, allowing you to decide on the best style and shape to reflect your brand and suit the positioning of the kiosk. 

Other considerations that reflect your choice of information kiosk are whether it’s placed indoors or outdoors – for which you have to take a number of considerations into account.

Information kiosks can provide a lot of benefits and positives to a business, providing information instantaneously, quickly and attractively to those who require it.

5 Technologies We May See In Kiosks Of The Future

Kiosks are always on the cusp of technology and we believe that if a new form of equipment provides value to the user experience, then it could be well worthwhile adding it to one of our kiosks.

Of course, it’s hard to look into the future and say what will certainly be included in the technology of the future, but we can make guided guesses from what we believe. So, we’ve compiled a list of five technologies that we may see in the kiosks of the future.

Quality Food and Drink Kiosks

Although there are plenty of food vending machines and kiosks in existence, most if not all offer a substandard experience to that of a fine barista or mixologist. Though that currently may be the case now, it most likely will not be forever. Rumours have it that Starbucks is working on kiosks that offer a quality coffee experience of the standard of a barista and if you want to see something similar in reality, Google showcased a cocktail mixing robot called ‘Makr Shakr’ at its recent I/O conference. In time, who’s to say similar technology could not fit into a vending machine?

Contactless and Print Scanner

The contactless payment option has been included on a number of our machines and it’s set for further roll out in the future. We’ve also heard tales of an Apple iPhone 5S with contactless option via NFC technology and fingerprint scanner – so, who’s to say that this technology will not be rolled out widely in time to come – not us anyhow.

Eye Control

Then again, using your hands is so tedious. The current generation of smart phones is toying with the idea of eye control and who’s to say kiosks and other devices with screens won’t soon.
Samsung’s SIV uses eye control to aid reading of webpages, watching of movies and viewing of images and who’s to say we soon won’t see something similar on our TVs and PC screens and also our kiosks?

OLED

The OLED screen is also a quite realistic tech next and may replace our plasma and LED displays within the next few years. OLEDs allow for slimmer screens, which can also be flexed and curved. This new generation of displays is brighter than current screens, don’t require backlighting and are far easier to produce in larger sizes. They’re also greener, more efficient and have larger fields of view than the current crop of screens.

3D Printing Kiosks

Anyone who keeps up to date with technology will have heard of 3D printing. Essentially, this tech layers material on top of each other to create all sorts of items and it’s becoming increasingly complex. Reports suggest by 2050 we’ll all be using the machines to print everything from electronics to clothes in our living rooms. All we’ll do is purchase the design for our home 3D printer and let it manufacture the rest. So, before then, expect 3D printer kiosks in a shop near you, allowing you to create all your needs from one amazing kiosk.

We can’t say for sure what the future of kiosks will be, however we do know it’s going to be exciting.

Protouch Merges With Cammax

Protouch is now a division of Cammax Limited.

Both companies are established as UK leaders in the supply of touch screen kiosks, monitors and software solutions. 

Like Protouch, Cammax have extensive experience within the touch screen kiosk industry, in the production and distribution of kiosk software and hardware. Specialising in providing bespoke self-service solutions, the company has become a major competitor in the kiosk marketplace.

Protouch have been working closely with Cammax recently in the manufacturing of their latest range of Xen kiosks. By teaming up with another leading supplier, Protouch can leverage from Cammax’s vast resources and expertise in this niche market.

Cammax have set positive goals for the future and will work hard to meet the ever-growing demands of the kiosk marketplace and its consumers.

Cammax contact details

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+44 (0) 1977 669 946