The Value of Kiosks

[Pamela Graulich]

Look around you as you are out and about. . . how many kiosks do you see? At the airport, retail stores, banks, hotels, medical offices, your favorite restaurant. . . the list goes on. They are everywhere. Companies are leveraging kiosks to expand their reach to engage with customers.

Now, look at the workplace. Most companies today offer mobile devices or allow for 'bring your own device'. But what about those businesses that can't afford to give everyone a device and/or half their workforce doesn't have a personal device or where employees are not comfortable with technology?

In a recent customer meeting I was asked, ."I have employees who don't have a mobile device and/or aren't comfortable with technology. They don't have access to a computer while at work because they work on the production floor. How do we engage them and deliver the information they need?" Which got me thinking, how are companies using kiosks in the workplace?

Initially, I thought about manufacturing plants, distribution facilities, and production plants where they operate multiple shifts, the focus is on production and/ or distribution and access to information by employees can be limited. I realized that a kiosk could help any organization that struggles with costs and/or adoption of mobile or technology or just wants more availability for employees to engage. The power a kiosk brings is that it helps solve employee inquiries such as filling out forms, printing, scanning and submitting documents, time clock entries, time off requests, and communicating new programs. The possibilities are endless.

So, how would a company provide kiosk access? All that is needed is a computer and a place that's easily accessible. And what will make kiosk access successful and provide the most ROI is that it needs to draw in employees with an intelligent design that delivers high quality, relevant and dynamic content.

This is where ServiceNow HR Service Delivery can help. Our Employee Service Center is designed to provide quick access to multiple types of content including a company events calendar, healthcare/benefits enrollment, training videos, 401(K) information and more!

Below are a few ways in which our customers are realizing the value of kiosk access by their employees:

1) Kiosk configuration should be simple. For example, only provide access to the HR service portal, the internet, a few internal office programs, and a temp folder in order to download forms to modify, print and upload completed forms.
2) Employee secure sign in and automatic lock within 1 minute of inactivity, plus automatic clearing of temp folder and cache so that no personal information is ever stored on the kiosk.
3) Placing kiosks in areas of high traffic areas, such as employee team rooms, eating areas, locker rooms, close proximity to production sites, etc. This placement drives high usage.
4) Kiosks are a lower cost and more efficient way to offer access rather than to provide mobile devices and/or to allow mobile access on the plant/distribution floor during shifts.
5) Having kiosks increases efficiency by capturing the right information up front, providing answers through the knowledgebase and correctly routing/assigning the HR case to the right group to solve problems.

Many of our ServiceNow customers have adopted the use of kiosks, driving some to expand their original footprint of kiosks across their company. The Employee Service Center on kiosks is just one of the ways ServiceNow makes work, work better for people.