As computers and laptops have become essential pieces of equipment in the workplace, it is noticeable that tablets are creeping into work environments too. Go into a large retail outlet or a restaurant and the staff may well be using handheld tablets to access stock levels and take orders. This does make sense as tablets are getting cheaper to buy, are low cost to run, and they don’t have moving parts, which makes them more reliable than a PC or a laptop. But are they right for your business?

Practical

For a desk-based employee it’s logical for them to use a PC or a laptop, and their job probably requires that they generate work on a computer. The non-desk bound employee like a service engineer, or a sales assistant will be standing or walking and nowhere near a desk, so a tablet offers a means of communication and access to information that they would not otherwise have. A laptop could provide an answer but even though the name suggests they can be used on a lap it’s not that comfortable and is mostly impractical for someone who travels or is on their feet all day. A tablet is portable and light but has a big enough screen for most requirements.

Increased Sales

For staff that need to negotiate or sell, having a device that offers images can be the tipping point into a sale and the ability to show a customer something on a tablet can be much better than words alone. You can see how useful this would be when selling furniture for example or electrical goods. The showrooms for these items are usually vast warehouse type spaces, so showing images of domestic settings would enable the customer to visualise what they are getting and make the right buying choices. They can also be used to check stock levels and calendars in real time, which provides much better customer service.

A tablet can be very beneficial for negotiators who deal in numbers. They can illustrate coloured graphs, and detailed calculations that helps a customer understand what is being offered like a hire purchase agreement, a mortgage or an insurance policy.

Employees Love Them

If someone is doing a job that requires them to share information, a tablet is the perfect tool. You’ll make them happier too. What a treat to have their very own work tablet that has instant access to data that would otherwise need to be memorised or is difficult to find.

Being trusted with a piece of technology will make an employee with a tablet feel much more valued too. They will be more engaged because their job will be easier to do, and productivity may even increase.

Training can be given on tablets and there are plenty of software options for companies that need to educate staff. It can be done through reading material, but the best training has been shown to come through short bite size videos. Instead of sending people away on training courses, it can be done easily and at low cost with a tablet.

Better Communication

Employees with tablets will be kept up to date on current events. This means that if you have a team working on a project it can be done efficiently even if some of them are remote workers or on the road.

Sensitive HR information can be sent securely and the day-to-day schedules like work shifts and holiday calendars can be shared with tablets too. They move office life towards being paperless and keeps staff informed in an instant.

Effective Meetings

Some tablets with good spec will have the capability to run presentations in meetings. For someone who travels for a living this means they no longer have to carry a heavy bag with a laptop.

Tablets can be a useful tool in the meeting room for attendees too. There are some applications that can turn handwriting into text either straight from the screen or by taking an image and converting it into a word document. What a time saver!

Easier Accounting

It is still the case that reporting expenses involves keeping receipts and remembering what they were for. A work tablet can be programmed to store information to the cloud and can keep scanned documents organised.

If you are a client of Salhan Accountants you can get an amazing free application for your tablet that organises documents for you. All you do is take an image of the invoice or receipt and their technology indexes your uploaded paperwork without any further input from you. Click here to find out more … Invoice Scanning

For the modern entrepreneur staying up to date with technology and one step ahead of your competitors can feel like an uphill battle. Investing in tablet technology could be the next step.