Best Practices for Buying Employee Technology
There are many factors to consider when investing in technology for employee use and buying the newest and greatest technology is often the most exciting option, but it can be hard to get past the price tag.
While there are ways to offset the cost of these pricey machines such as employee buyback programs, there are also other added benefits to investing in the highest performance technology your company can afford.
Providing the right tech can increase productivity, streamline processes, improve employee engagement, and skyrocket overall morale. However, deciding which solutions are the smartest for your team takes work. Below are a few items to consider when making this decision for your office.
Understand the IT environment
Just as technology is evolving, the work environment is adapting too. Before buying employee technology, figure out where people are working most. Are they in the office or remote? Do they sit all day at a desk or need to be on the move? Are they customer-facing? Or do they need more collaborative tools with internal teams?
Don’t make any IT purchases without weighing up whether the technology can handle the use it’s going to get. If someone is going to need access to the technology on a shop floor, a brand-new desktop is going to be a bust, while an employee who travels all the time for work is going to prefer a rugged but lightweight laptop.
Aim for uniformity and seek employee input
Ideally you want employees to be at their most productive level which means picking the Operating System (OS) that makes the most sense to them. “Consumerization of IT” – where the end-user has a choice is more helpful and shows benefits in the reduced need for IT help.
Develop consistent relationships
If you’re buying a lot of technology at one time you may be eligible for volume pricing. Plus, if you’re returning again to a supplier you’ve worked with in the past, you could ask about a loyalty bonus.
A managed service provider like BestMacs can help you find the right tech solutions. Their supplier relationships can lead to volume discounts, better-than-retail pricing, and improved warranties.
Technology introduces change into the work environment
Modern technology is an essential part of how people experience work. It’s easy to get seduced by a bright, shiny new device or promising feature. Instead, make decisions based on whether the technology can do what you need it to do and whether it’s going to make the employees’ work environment better or worse.
For more information or a free consultation, call/text Brian J Best, Founder & Chief Bottlewasher of BestMacs.com at 785-218-3087 or grab a time on his calendar to talk https://calendly.com/bestmacs.