Did you know that disengaged employees cost around $483 to $605 billion per year in the US according to an American workplace report?
Reduced productivity of IT employees can concur huge monetary losses to companies. And what do you think is the main source of reduced productivity? Mobile devices of course! On average IT employees spend 2+ hours on workdays by browsing through cell phones and attending to unproductive distractions.
Completely banning the usage of mobile devices is not an entirely feasible description for IT companies as this could lead to lowered employee satisfaction and increased frustration. The best possible solution for such scenarios is the use of Android kiosk software to lockdown employee devices.
Using Android kiosks, IT admins can restrict the usage of applications, browsers, and mobile data on employees’ mobile devices. Such kiosk solutions can be extremely beneficial for IT companies as they increase the productivity of employees, reduce mobile data costs, and ensure security, leading to an increase in overall business profits.
Why is it Important to Improve IT Employee Productivity?
A decade back, maintaining employee productivity in the workplace was comparatively a lot simpler because there were much much fewer distractions. But today, the number of distractions are endless.
Scrolling through social media, watching YouTube videos, numerous unnecessary app notifications, chatting with friends and family, taking pictures - the IT employee distractions list is endless.
Mobile devices are helpful for IT companies for easy access to work emails, and better connectivity. Many helpful business-related apps and central management systems, when installed on employees’ mobile devices, can be very helpful to improve their quality of work. However, the same mobile devices can destroy employees’ productivity multiple folds due to access to unauthorized apps and unmonitored data usage.
Why is it important to increase IT employee productivity?
- To increase business profitability - When your employees’ productivity is improved, numerous hours of work will be increased each week. This will obviously lead to increased revenue for your IT business. Hence, by improving employee productivity over a period of time, you can achieve business growth and profits that you might have never achieved before.
- Employee growth - By reducing workplace distractions and improving employee productivity you are nurturing a place for employee growth. The growth of employees will be beneficial for both the company as well as the employees’ careers.
What is Android Kiosk and What are Its Benefits?
Android kiosk software allows you to lockdown Android devices in such a way that only the apps permitted by the admin will be accessible on the locked devices. Using Android kiosks on company-owned mobile devices will ensure that the employees work in a distraction-free environment where maximum workplace productivity is encouraged.
Here a few ways in which using Android kiosk mode can benefit IT employees:
- Customize for business requirements - Android kiosk lockdown mode gives you the advantage of customizing employees’ mobile devices in such a way that benefits the IT company. Admins can customize Android kiosk mode devices by installing the apps that are needed for business productivity such as work email apps, calendars, etc. Statistics show 92% of employees believe that technology that empowers them to do their work better improves their work satisfaction.
- Remove distractions from employees’ devices - All the social media apps, hundreds of notifications, news apps, gaming apps, widgets, messaging apps, and websites loaded on browsers can be completely eliminated during work hours using the Android kiosk lockdown mode. Without these distractions, each IT employee will work for at least an hour more in doing work that will benefit the company as well as the employees’ growth.
- Restrict mobile data usage - Usage of mobile data for unnecessary gaming and social media apps can accumulate to a lot of money over time. No company wants wastage of money on entertainment and personal apps that are not beneficial for the company’s growth. Using Android kiosks, admins can monitor and restrict mobile data usage during working hours, thus reducing the overall expenses for the IT company.
- Better flexibility - Android kiosk modes can be extremely flexible based on the IT company’s requirements. For instance, admins can lockdown employee devices in either single-app mode where the device can be configured to run only one single business application or multi-app mode that allows IT admins to configure multiple business applications on the lockdown devices. Android kiosk software can also be used to configure browser settings in such a way that only a few whitelisted websites can be loaded in the browser.
- Better management using Cloud - IT employees from different departments may need different sets of business applications to be installed on their Android devices. Hence it may not be always possible for the admins to manually configure each and every employee device based on their requirements. Through cloud management, admins can export configurations to the cloud and then simply scan a QR code for installing these sets of apps on employee devices. Using cloud management, admins can track device location and manage all employee device settings from a central portal.
- Reduces maintenance costs and efforts - With the help or peripheral locking ability, employees can exit Android kiosk mode using a passcode that is only known to the admin. Hence, employees won’t be able to tamper with the device settings and make the device vulnerable to security threats. Due to this, device maintenance efforts and costs are drastically reduced.
How IT Companies can Use Affordable Android Kiosks to Improve Employee Productivity?
Now you know what impact Android kiosk software can have on IT employees’ productivity for the benefit of IT businesses.
- Firstly, decide the application stack that would be most beneficial for your employees. Client facing employees may need a set of applications that are different from other employees. This step is important because the right set of business applications can empower your employees in a way that can maximize productivity in your company.
- Next, define clear device policies and export settings such as connected WiFi network, allowed/disallowed applications, mobile data restrictions, and browser settings to the cloud. These settings can then be imported to employee devices by simply scanning QR codes.
- Using a centralized login portal, admins can then track devices, mobile data usage, app usage, and install/uninstall apps from employee devices.
- Deploying necessary security settings is also important for reducing security risks and preventing leakage of sensitive client information. This can be done by whitelisting certain websites, restricting unauthorized access to data, restrictions on app installations that may pose security threats, and enabling password protected kiosk mode to prevent unauthorized access if the device is stolen or if it gets hacked.
- Remote device maintenance is another plus point with the use of Android kiosk software. Admins can remotely push new business-related applications or existing application updates using Android kiosk mode. There is no need for physically accessing each of the employee devices, and installing new applications and updates onto employees’ mobile devices.
Conclusion
Android kiosk lockdown solutions have been nothing but a savior for IT companies. Investing in a good, affordable Android kiosk solution can prove to be extremely beneficial for IT businesses today.
With the reduced distractions, increase in the hours of productive work, and increased business profits, the ROI that IT businesses will get in return for investing in Android kiosk solutions will be incomparable. Hence, take charge of your IT business today, invest in affordable cloud-based Android kiosk software, and watch your IT employee productivity skyrocket.