IT Productivity Center

BYOD improves productivity

Webmaster — Thu, 17 May 2012 08:09:58 -0600

The latest results from a quarterly survey of IT decision makers shows that a significant number of companies with tablets deployed are seeing productivity gains tied directly to their use.

In the survey of over a thousand IT decision-makers, 74% indicated that using tablet computers and smartphones led to an increase in productivity in their organization while 25% of those said it has led to a significant increase. In addition, half of those surveyed said they felt the use of tablets and smartphones has led to cost savings in their organization.

Addressing the so-called BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) trend, 64% of the IT decision-makers at large businesses reported that consumer technology adoption has led to cost savings, while 42% said they experienced significant cost savings.

Mobile devices put a strain on help desk staff

Webmaster — Sat, 12 May 2012 18:16:59 -0600

IT Help desks need to focus more of their resources handling mobile computing. Even though remote access is only available to one third of mobile workers and instant messaging is only available to one quarter, CIOs need to consider new technologies when providing support to workers who do not have ready access to in-person support options. Policies and performance metrics are a must.

Documenting a clear set of IT policies is a resource-intensive process for CIO and their staffs due to the research and writing time involved. And once policies are created, the next step is to communicate and gain acceptance for those policies throughout the organization. Wouldn't it be nice to start with boiler plate templates that require only minor customizing?

Meeting productivity improvement

Webmaster — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 01:41:28 -0600

Ideas to improve meeting productivity

Have agendas with goals objectives. It's considered bad business manners to send a meeting request without providing an agenda. When calling a meeting focus agenda on expressly stating the goal(s) of the meeting.
Replace the default 60-minute meeting time slot with a 20-minute meeting unit. For some inexplicable reason, people seem to naturally default to 60 minutes as the amount of time needed for a meeting. And while that may be the case in certain circumstances, it should not be the default position. In place of a 60-minute default time slot, adopt the 20-minute meeting unit. If a particular topic needs more time than that, it is up to the meeting organizer to convince the participants that two (or three, or four) meeting units of 20 minutes are necessary.
Have people stand during meeting. It is too easy to "waste time" when everyone is sitting.
Orient the meeting toward follow-ups and actions. Meetings produce lots of ideas and discussion. That's wonderful. But the real purpose of most meetings is to agree on next steps and actions. Keep a focus on targeted actions and your meetings will be productive. Allow them to become discussion forums for "important issues," and they will feel long and painful.

Labor Force Participation Rate at Lowest Level in over 40 Years

Webmaster — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 12:57:44 -0600

The BLS data shows that the participation rate in the job market is at levels that have not been seen since the 1970's. In March of 2012 the work force participation percentage of all employees (male and female) was at 63.8% according to the BLS data.

Assuming that there is a significant downsizing of the military and there are no new programs to get jobs for soldiers coming home then the true unemployment levels will not go down for some time.

Mobile device usage improves productivity

Webmaster — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 12:53:49 -0600

Today's most productive employees are not tied to a desk, an office, or a location. They are mobile. And your companys IT strategy has to be ready to support them with easy, reliable, 24/7 access to the business information they need, from anywhere in the world, across a broad range of communication devices.

Mobile contentmanagement increases user productivity, ramps up customer engagement, enhances customer service, maximizes collaboration and drives more effective business decision-making.