Operational performance is a major issue for many companies, and with good reason. An organization can have the best employees, the most streamlined processes, the highest levels of customer satisfaction, but if these factors don’t translate into productivity—and profits—they will be ultimately be ineffective. Therefore, operations managers are constantly striving to improve efficiency and both simplify and strengthen the procedures that make their stores tick.
With more companies turning to tablets as part of their day-to-day operations, operational productivity is again under the microscope. Can using an iPad or Surface really improve organizational processes? Many businesses are discovering that the answer is yes, particularly with their mobile employees. However, to maximize the potential of tablets, a secure file-sharing platform is necessary. Here are some reasons why such a solution is so important for operational productivity:
Multiple Employees, Multiple Locations
For a company with locations and franchises spread out across the country, getting everybody on the same page can be a challenge. File-sharing platforms are supposed to solve this problem for employees, but many cloud-based solutions do not perform as well as they should on tablets. The result can be messy, with multiple versions of the same file floating around and mobile workers unable to access the documents they need. As a result, operational productivity takes a hit. Dedicated content control platforms are available that streamline the file-sharing process, thus helping ensure that employees at multiple stores can access the documents they need, as well as make changes and suggestions that can reach managers and workers at other locations.
Insecurity Issues
Portability and convenience are factors driving the increased adoption of tablet technology in the workplace, but they also contribute to slightly diminished security. Such devices can be more easily lost or stolen (after all, slipping one into a purse is possible), and users often don’t employ advanced security features, much less a basic passcode. And if cloud-based file-sharing apps are contained on a tablet and not strongly password-protected, thieves potentially have access to an entire department or company’s worth of documents. The mess will take time and resources to clean up, to say the least. A secure file-sharing solution downloads documents directly onto an iPad or Surface, so that all a thief will have access to (if he or she even gets that far) are the local files. And if a tablet is stolen, managers can easily pull documents back as needed.
Fewer Calls to the Boss
When employees have easier access to documents and managers are able to send files directly to those workers’ tablets, operational productivity improves simply because there are fewer “What do I do?” or “Where is this file?” calls and emails back to corporate. Furthermore, with the advanced collaboration features of dedicated file-sharing platforms, employees may find the answers they seek attached to a document itself, and if they don’t, they can easily ask within the solution rather than making an extra phone call or email.
The Advantage of Tablet Training
Undoubtedly, quality training processes lead to improved operational productivity. The faster and better employees learn their jobs—at the outset or with new procedures—the quicker their knowledge will translate into profits. Tablets can be a huge boost to this goal, especially those with secure file-sharing platforms. Managers send training materials directly to devices, on which documents and videos can be easily accessed and watched wherever and whenever convenient and/or logical. Moreover, the resulting learning is deeper and more efficient than it would be with a worker given a binder full of training material (which might simply be ignored).
How has file-sharing platforms helped your company’s operational productivity?
