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Custom Software Development vs. Off-the-Shelf Solutions: Which is Right for You?

Whether you are a small business or large enterprise or a private organization or a government entity, these days software solutions are backbone for day-to-day operations. No business can function without relying on any software application. Even if you are just using emails or WhatsApp, you are still utilizing these software. This blog is not to discuss the emails or WhatsApp, in fact we will briefly discuss about the business solutions, like ERP (enterprise resource planning software), CRM (customer relationship management system), Customer Feedback System, Customer Portals, Intranet Applications, Web-Portals, and core business applications.

Now a day’s a business’s digital eco-system consists of multiple software solutions, some are commercial off-the-shelf solutions (COTS) and some are custom software development solutions. All working in a perfect harmony to drive efficiency, performance, quality and profitability. Businesses operating in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and broader UAE are very eager to optimize their operational efficiency and expenses by leveraging the inherent properties of software applications, such as business process automation, digitalization, analytical data collection and super efficient information flow via advanced communication channels.

The digital technology is evolving at an unprecedented speed, so does the market trends, and customer demands. In order to be more competitive, businesses need to adopt to highly efficient software application. With the growth corporate data and increasing demand for operational excellence also grows, and the decision between commercial off-the-shelf solutions and custom software development has become more critical and difficult. In this blog we will do a comparison between custom software development and off-the-shelf solutions to give you a better perspective of the subject.

See Also: Custom Software for Improved Business Efficiency

Custom Software Development vs. Off-the-Shelf Solutions: Which is Right for You?
Custom Software Development vs. Off-the-Shelf Solutions: Which is Right for You?

What is Custom Software Development?

The custom software development is a process to design software application precisely as per your needs, the customized software are tailor-made for a single business or group of users at an organization. This is what makes them far more superior, efficiency and effective. Unlike commercial off-the-shelf software, which are generic solutions, the custom software applications are design from scratch, which perfectly positioned them as the most effective solution for modern business who strive for efficiency and performance.

The simplest way to understand it is to think of building house, if you commission a professional architect, you can make the house the way you want and need, you can control each and every minor aspect of literally everything. But what if you bought a built house, you don’t have much room to make changes, even if you hire someone, you will still going to have certain limitations. This is how the custom software development is different from the off-the-shelf solutions.

The custom software development process starts with in-depth analysis of your organization’s existing infrastructure, operations, internal processes, workflows and challenges that you are facing. This processes greatly improve the efficacy, efficiency and alignment with your operations. Then all key elements are carefully crafted to minimize the adoption and integration expenses, while ensuring all goals can be achieved seamlessly. With the custom software development you can design the software by keeping your goals, challenges, resources and limitations in mind.

The custom software development also tend to delivery exceptionally higher ROI over a longer period of time. But the thing most organizations doesn’t realize is when do they need a customized software application? The simplest rule to consider is to “don’t reinvent the wheel”. Your email client, such as Outlook or Thunderbolt both are off-the-shelf software, do you need to build one for your organization? Absolutely not!

See Also: Why Off-the-Shelf Solutions Fall Short: Advantages of Custom Software Development

What is Custom Software Development?
What is Custom Software Development?

What are Off-the-Shelf Software Solutions?

The off-the-shelf software solutions or COTS, are the pre-built software application, which businesses either purchase or subscribe to. Same like Outlook and Thunderbolt, there are ERPs, CRMs, HRMS, and various other organizational tools which are pre-built, and are designed for a specific industry sector. Moreover what off-the-shelf solution you are using, the chances are very high, your competitors would also be using the same. This undermine your competitive advantage. The biggest advantage of off-the-shelf software solutions is that they are ready-to-use.

The time you purchased them, you will be provided access instantly, and even if the on-premises deployment is required, these solutions can be setup up in a few days. Unlike the customized software application which require a lengthy period of development and testing. For example, Microsoft Office, QuickBooks, Oracle, SAP, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, all are commercial off-the-shelf software solutions. The big-data software market is dominated by off-the-shelf solutions, but businesses are gradually shifting towards customized big-data and AI-powered software applications.

One of the biggest reason businesses opt for commercial off-the-shelf solutions is quick deployment and very low upfront cost. Most of the off-the-shelf software solutions come with a subscription plan, the payments are done on monthly, quarterly or annual bases. The biggest disadvantage in implementing off-the-shelf software solutions is the lack of customization. Most of the off-the-shelf software doesn’t offer any customization, some large-scale application do offer customization but with very limited scope and the customization cost is also very high.

Usually these software solutions are divided into various packages and modules. Sometimes just for a single features, businesses might need to upgrade to a 20%-40% expensive module or version. Which can significantly increase the operational cost in longer run. That is not all, businesses often end-having tons of unwanted features which not only increase cost, but also tend to harm the efficiency of the staff who will be using these solutions.

See Also: Custom Software Development for Enhanced User Experience

What are Off-the-Shelf Software Solutions?
What are Off-the-Shelf Software Solutions?

Comparison Between Custom Software Development vs. Off-the-shelf Solutions

Now that we clearly understood the major differences between the custom software development and off-the-shelf software solutions, let us compare various aspects which will help you decide which solution could be more effective for which needs and requirements.

Cost Comparison: Custom Software Development vs. Off-the-Shelf Solutions

Cost is one of the most crucial and in most cases the deciding factor when business choose between the custom software development and off-the-shelf solutions. However to understand the costing of both solutions, we have to be very careful. Like I have mentioned earlier, you don’t have to re-invent the wheel. This means, for certain needs, you will surely go for commercial off-the-shelf solutions, such as Microsoft Office, Emails, Teams, Zoom, etc. However, when it comes to accounting, for example, the Quickbooks or Slack might cost you very less, but will never going to align and adopt to your emerging business needs.

There would be costs associated with upgrades, new modules/features, third-party integration and so on. Above all, if you are dealing with sensitive customer data, you will always be at risk, since your data has been stored with the vendor and technically they have full control and to some extent authority over it. The initial cost on the other hand for the custom software development could range somewhere from a few thousand dirham to several hundred thousand. Which might seem staggering comparing to COTS.

However, with the customized software application, you will have full control and authority over your data, you can customize them the way you want, you can add new features down the road, and on top of that these software has capabilities to scale, adopt and evolve along with your business needs. There would be no operational inefficiencies due to mismatching of software structure and your internal processes and workflows.

You will most likely never stuck in vendor-lock situation, and instead of replacing the entire solution, you can simply add new features, upgrade it or customize it as per your new needs. You can also easily integrate customized software with other third-party tools, databases and solutions without bearing large expenses. This makes custom software development superior than the COTS.

See Also: The Cost of Custom Software Development: Factors to Consider

Cost Comparison: Custom Software Development vs. Off-the-Shelf Solutions
Cost Comparison: Custom Software Development vs. Off-the-Shelf Solutions

Flexibility and Scalability: Custom Software Development vs. Off-the-Shelf Solutions

I would rather consider flexibility and scalability comparison as direct cost comparison. Because this has huge impact on your long-term cost. Growing businesses often end-up outgrowing their commercial off-the-shelf solutions and end-up paying huge for the replacements. The important and most crucial thing to understand is tha the commercial off-the-shelf solutions are designed for masses, and are designed as per best industry practices and standards. This means a large number of businesses would be using them, hence upgrading an application which has millions of users, and all users can have their own preference, needs, and challenges.

Under such conditions, making huge change in the software could impact millions of users, which will also impact the revenue of the vendor as well. Hence whenever a vendor will decide to upgrade or add more features, or remove some, they will have to be very careful. Therefore the development and growth is extremely slow with commercial off-the-shelf software solutions. The custom software development on the other hand is synonymous to flexibility. The customized software solutions are tailor-made for your business needs, and have potential to keep on evolving with your emerging needs. Adding a new features, removing or customizing an existing features in in your hand.

Moreover, you can do whatever you want to do, there is no restriction or limitation as far as the customization concerns. This level of customization and personalization is invaluable for businesses who want to grow and stand out of the crowd. The customized software keep on evolving with your emerging needs, challenges and growth. Your in-house developers or the outsourcing partner can customize and optimize the features whenever you need them. You can always patch your software or upgrade them to optimize the performance and impact. This way rather ending up replacing your off-the-shelf software solutions, you can keep on using the same application for decades.

See Also: Step-by-Step Guide to Planning Your Custom Software Development Project

Flexibility and Scalability: Custom Software Development vs. Off-the-Shelf Solutions
Flexibility and Scalability: Custom Software Development vs. Off-the-Shelf Solutions

Maintenance and Support: Custom Software Development vs. Off-the-Shelf Solutions

Whether you chose commercial off-the-shelf software solution (COTS) or a custom software development, both requires upkeep and maintenance. Businesses often overlooked the maintenance and support while deciding between these two, but it is a very crucial factor to consider. Especially in a fast-paced world, where the time is money, any downtime in a software application or a minor issue could significantly undermine your entire operations. Some issues need to be addressed at immediate bases, as these could have dominoes effect, where one problem or inefficiency lead to another and so on. When it comes to support the commercial off-the-shelf software solutions always lag, no matter how great the application is, the support would usually be limited to general queries and for complex issues, you might have to wait in long queues.

Moreover the support resources for off-the-shelf software are shared and depends on your licensing agreement and in some cases you have to pay extra for premium support. The customized software on contrary comes with dedicated support, the team that built them also offer dedicated support. Another great advantage is quicker problem resolution and timely patches or updates. The software development team that build your application would understand all intricacies of your software hence, they can quickly resolve issues, eliminate bugs, and even made iterations for better user experience and efficiency. You will always prioritized, and in cases of show-stoppers your support team will readily available.

The upgrades, updates, security patches, and iterations can be scheduled aligning with your operating hours, to minimize any impact on your operations. Businesses often do such activities in off-hours or at weekends, to eliminate any downtime. Since you are the sole customer, your requests are always prioritized, moreover you can have direct interaction with the developers which eliminate any communication barrio and ensures quick results.

See Also: Emerging Trends in Custom Software Development

Maintenance and Support: Custom Software Development vs. Off-the-Shelf Solutions
Maintenance and Support: Custom Software Development vs. Off-the-Shelf Solutions

Security and Data Privacy: Custom Software Development vs. Off-the-Shelf Solutions

In this modern day and age the data privacy and cyber security is one of the greatest challenge. We have witnessed many multinational businesses get completely destroyed after data breaches, most of them still haven’t recovered to their formal glory. Now a days customers are very savvy and aware of the cyber threats, on top of that the media, news and social media also played their role in spreading the awareness. Businesses too are way more conscious about the cyber security. One of the biggest drawback of off-the-shelf software solutions is that your valuable data is stored on vendor’s servers, and even if it is stored locally (which is very rate), the vendor still have full access to it.

Moreover, the vendor is almost fully responsible for the security, but you might also have to take certain measures to ensure maximum data privacy and protection. The off-the-shelf solution are more likely to get targeted due to known vulnerabilities due to the fact that millions of people all around the world have access to these solutions. However, the custom software development enable businesses to adopt to advanced security practices. In fact the security can be prioritized throughout the development lifecycle. A secure development lifecycle help adding multiple layers of security and protection.

Unlike commercial off-the-shelf software solutions, businesses have full control and ownership of their data. They can choose where and how to store their data and no one can be given access to it, outside of the organization. Since the applications are built from scratch in custom software development, your software structure and design is fully confidential and no one knows it. Moreover businesses can have frequent and regular security and vulnerability testing which help them instantly apply security patches, keep the source code up-to-date and keep on adding new security features down the road. These are the reasons the customized applications are considered to be more protective and superior than off-the-shelf solutions.

See Also: Security Best Practices in Custom Software Development

Security and Data Privacy: Custom Software Development vs. Off-the-Shelf Solutions
Security and Data Privacy: Custom Software Development vs. Off-the-Shelf Solutions

Conclusion

Choosing between off-the-shelf solutions and custom software development is always difficult. Businesses have to consider multiple factors, and majorly it depends on your needs, budget, and long-term strategy. Both off-the-shelf solutions and customized software applications have their unique advantages and disadvantages, but in most cases the custom software development tend to offer extremely higher ROI. Even on technical grounds, the customized applications are technically more superior, advanced and future-ready. For example, if you need an email client, what would be more beneficial? Developing a new email client or opting for Outlook or Thunderbolt? Obviously your needs are the major driver here, but if you need a complex application or tool, then the custom software development is much better choice. The off-the-shelf software solutions have many limitations, the application lack in offering any competitive advantage, and tend to grow at a very slow pace.

Businesses who consider the upfront cost and deployment time only, often end up replacing their off-the-shelf software solution with a more expensive and complex software application after some time. Because the commercial off-the-shelf software solutions tend to grow and evolve very slowly. The custom software development is a comprehensive process, which let businesses build their software from scratch, hence the software fully aligns with your unique and exclusive requirements. Moreover the customized software have potential to evolve along with your business needs. You have full control and authority over the source code, data and security aspects, which is a great advantage. There are no hidden fees or hefty charges for very limited customization. The custom software development is far more superior in every aspect and could be a game changer for businesses.

In this blog we have briefly discussed a few crucial aspects of software development to compare both off-the-shelf and customized software. If you want to learn more or if you want our help to design a bespoke software application for your organization, please feel free to contact us through our Contact Us page or leave a comment in the comment box below and we will get in touch with you soon.

See Also: Benefits of Investing in Custom Software Development for Your Business in Dubai


Integrating Customer Feedback Systems with CRM for Enhanced Customer Relationships

The customer relationship management is a strategic process businesses utilize to manage and analyze the customer interaction throughout the customer lifecycle. The customer feedback is a source of highly valuable insight which help businesses align themselves with customer needs and expectations. These two are most important and vital component of any business’s growth strategy. Without nurturing customer relationship business can never achieve their long-term goals and without understanding customer needs and expectations, businesses can never strengthen their relationship with customers. The customer relationship management system or CRM is a technological framework which help businesses to automate and synchronize various crucial business processes such as sales, marketing, customer service and support.

These four are the fundamental components of customer relationship, no matter what industry you operates in, you need these processes to build long-term customer relationships. Businesses operating in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and broader UAE knows how competitive the markets are and how diverse and dynamic the market landscape is. Such market conditions require a strong, loyal and dedicated customer base, which requires proactive customer relationship management. Same like any other relationship the communication is the key to success.

The customer feedback system provides a crucial source of direct communication, where the customers can freely express themselves and share their suggestions. In this blog we will discuss how businesses can leverage a customer feedback or survey system along with a customer relationship management system to strengthen the customer relationships.

See Also: What is CXM (Customer Experience Management)?

Integrating Customer Feedback Systems with CRM for Enhanced Customer Relationships
Integrating Customer Feedback Systems with CRM for Enhanced Customer Relationships

Understanding the Basics of CRM (Customer Relationship Management System)

CRM or Customer Relationship Management is an integral part of the modern businesses, it is a strategic process, usually managed by a dedicated software application which provide management and analytical tools. It provides a centralized system which host the customer data, providing an in-depth and intuitive understanding of every customer journey from first interaction to ongoing support. The modern CRM solutions also include tools to manage the leads and potential customers. The customer relationship management software (CRM) is used to streamline processes between various front-facing business functions. For example, when a salesman closed a deal, the customer service and support team is notified, the CRM do this in fully or semi-automated way, it records the interaction, conveyed the required information to the relevant team informing them of customer’s needs and expectations.

The biggest advantage of CRM solution is that it reduce errors, provides more wholesome data to the relevant teams and personals, eliminate the need of manual work, and it can manage large number of customers with extremely high efficiency. These features not only enhance operational efficiency, but also drive productivity which results in better quality services and satisfactory customer experience. The CRMs are excellent at enhancing communication and information flow within the organization and these tools can also automate communication with customer, which help businesses save a lot of resources, while instead of compromising quality or performance, boost both of them. That is why businesses tend to rely on customer relationship management (CRM) software to manage and nurture customer relationships. The CRM also keeps everything organized, well-tracked and recorded without any delay.

See Also: Why customized CRM Software is better than Off-the-shelf Solution?

Understanding the Basics of CRM (Customer Relationship Management System)
Understanding the Basics of CRM (Customer Relationship Management System)

Understanding the Basics of Customer Feedback System

The modern market landscape has become very customer-centric, businesses who failed to align themselves with customer needs, expectations and preference couldn’t compete. Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and broader UAE has a very diverse and highly competitive market landscape. Customers have multiple choices, a single bad interaction could led them to switch to your competitor. That is why it is crucial to understand what is in your customer’s mind and heart. The customer feedback system provides a window into customer’s mind and heart. The customer feedback data help businesses acquire a deeper insight to customer’s needs, challenges, issues, expectations and preferences. The customer feedback system provides a systematic framework which streamline customer feedback management, provide advanced data collection and analytical tools, which help producing actionable insights.

The customer feedback system is a digital tool based on a very powerful software application. This tools help streamlining multiple channels to collect feedback data from broader audience. Furthermore the customer feedback system has capabilities to automate the feedback management process. It also offers real-time feedback and automation which greatly improve business efficiency and reduce the human resource. The feedback data helps management understand the customer needs, identify trends, and identify the areas of improvement. Furthermore businesses can also leverage the customer feedback system to assess and evaluate the changes implemented. The customer feedback system plays crucial role in improving service quality and product development. Businesses can make informed and highly effective data-driven decisions leveraging the customer feedback data for higher success and growth.

See Also: Understanding Customer Sentiments by Implementing a Modern Customer Feedback System

Understanding the Basics of Customer Feedback System
Understanding the Basics of Customer Feedback System

Why We Need to Integrate the Customer Feedback System with CRM?

Both the customer feedback system and CRM or customer relationship management system plays a crucial role in managing and improving customer relationship. Integrating both can exponentially raise their efficacy and efficiency. Integrating customer feedback system and customer relationship management system (CRM) can provide a unified platform where the customer voice meets the actionable insights. This integration has another great benefits, it provides a more in-depth understanding of customer feedback in context to their history and help personalizing customer service and experience. Personalizing customer experience and services can greatly improve customer satisfaction and help businesses increase customer loyalty. The loyal customers tend to be good brand advocate not only giving repeated businesses, but also helping businesses in establishing good reputation.

Here are some key benefits of integrating customer feedback system and customer relationship management system (CRM):

  1. Enhanced Insight: Combining CRM and customer feedback system provides a 360 degree view of customer preferences, choices, pain points, complaints, service history, customer persona, demographics, and much more.
  2. Better Customer Retention: Requesting feedbacks after every interaction, closing the feedback loop, and regular feedbacks help building trust and strengthening customer relationship which improve customer loyalty and increase customer retention.
  3. Personalized Customer Experience: Combining customer relationship management data and customer feedback data help identifying patterns, preference and customer expectation which help businesses personalized their offering for elevated customer experience.
  4. Streamlined Communications: Businesses can leverage the combined data from customer feedback system and customer relationship management system (CRM) to establish a fast and automated communication framework.
  5. Proactive Problem Solving: The customer feedback data and CRM data help businesses identify reoccurring problems, issues, complaints and customer suggestions which help businesses proactively solve problem and even identify issues which can later become a problem.
  6. Data-Driven Decision Making: In the modern business landscape where the technology is infused deeply into our personal and work lives. It is extremely important for businesses to have correct insights to take data-driven decision which can ensure long-term success and growth.
  7. Build Customer Trust: One of the most overlooked features of a modern customer feedback system is the closed-loop feedback, where customers’ response/feedback is acknowledged and they are informed of actions taken against their suggestions, this help building trust.
  8. Improve Product Development Process: The CRM data combined with customer feedback data help businesses perform in-depth analysis of their products and services, with this insight in hand businesses can develop the products that can perfectly align with customer needs.
  9. Quick Issue Resolution: The real-time customer feedback can be provided to all relevant teams such as customer service agents, technical support team, etc. This will help them quickly resolve issues, take timely actions and escalate problems that are reported regularly.
  10. Increased Sales and Cross-Selling Opportunities: The customer feedback data and CRM data combined can unlock various up-selling and cross-selling opportunities. The inbuilt AI algorithms and analytical tools help identifying such customers.
  11. Strengthening Customer Relationship: The advanced analytical tools provide in-depth insight, the automation help enhancing communication. Acknowledging customer feedback gives them a sense of importance, by valuing customer businesses can strengthen the customer relationships.
  12. Smart Resource Allocation: Every business has limited resources, in order to maximize the efficiency and outcome, businesses need smart resource allocation. The feedback and CRM data suggest the areas where the efforts can be most impactful.
  13. Enhanced Marketing and Communication: For every business the marketing and communication is a key to success. The integration of CRM and customer feedback system help projecting the communication and marketing campaigns in right direction yielding higher profits and sales.
  14. Comprehensive Reporting: For any business actionable insights are crucial, the AI powered analytical tools can combine both feedback and CRM data to produce highly effective actionable reports, the reports can also be automated for swift action and decision making.

These are some of the key benefits of integrating customer feedback system and customer relationship management system (CRM). Businesses can leverage this integration for long-term improvements as well as leveraging it for proactive problem solving. This can greatly improve customer relationship and you gain more loyalty and build customer trust. These features can help businesses gain a great competitive advantage which can be a game-changing in such a dynamic and highly competitive market landscape.

See Also: Key Features of an Enterprise Application Software (EAS)

Why We Need to Integrate the Customer Feedback System with CRM?
Why We Need to Integrate the Customer Feedback System with CRM?

Conclusion

Integrating customer feedback system and customer relationship management system (CRM) could be a great strategic move. Especially if you are operating in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and elsewhere in UAE where the business landscape is highly competitive. These markets are subjected to change at a very rapid pace, the customer trends keep on changing frequently. In such business landscapes it is vital to have a deeper and most accurate understanding of customer behavior. Businesses should know what their customers like/dislike, what they need, what bothers them and what do they expect form their favorite brand? Businesses tend to rely on multiple digital tools, business solutions and software applications. Most of the time, these different solutions have different user group, the information and data gathered could remain in silos, which cause latency and lag. The integration empower these solutions, eliminate lags, and streamline information and data flow.

The customer feedback system is a modern software-based solution which help collecting multi-channel feedback and enable businesses to implement modern feedback strategies such as continuous and real-time feedback, closed-loop feedback, etc. Similarly the customer relationship management system (CRM) is also a digital tool which is used to streamline various operations at sales, communication, customer service, and technical support, etc. Combining both the valuable insight form a customer feedback system and extraordinary data-driven capabilities of modern customer relationship management system (CRM), businesses can streamline various internal and operational tasks, drive efficiency and productivity and take most effective decisions for higher success and growth.

The integration help fostering a culture of personalized customer experience, improved efficiency, higher productivity, proactive problem solving, improved decision making, and greater customer satisfaction. The market trends, customer preferences and expectations keep on changing, integrating customer feedback system and customer relationship management system (CRM) ensures that the business remains agile, informed, proactive, more adaptive and responsive towards such changes.

In this blog we have briefly discussed how this integration can help businesses. If you want to learn more about the subject or if you need our help to integrate customer feedback system with CRM or built a completely integrated bespoke solution for you, please feel free to contact us through our Contact Us page or leave a comment in the comment box below and we will get in touch with you soon.

See Also: 5 Techniques to Integrate Customer Satisfaction Survey with Queue Management System


The Role of Queue Management Systems in Healthcare Facilities

The patient flow management is becoming more challenging day by day due to its huge impact on healthcare delivery, patient satisfaction, operational efficiency and long term organizational success. By efficiently managing patient flow healthcare organizations can greatly improve operational efficiency, which help boosting productivity and profitability in long term. Healthcare delivery is a very sensitive sector, the patient are usually under stress, they want immediate service and attention. Crowded waiting areas are also not good from health and safety prospective. Therefore the hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, and healthcare organizations need a very efficient patient flow management system.

A modern queue management system is ideal for present day service sector’s needs. However, for the healthcare sector it needs some specific features, therefore a customized or tailor-made patient flow management system is required. A hospital queue management system or patient flow management system have all features of a modern queue management system with additional features such as integration with appointment booking tools, mobile queue management apps, healthcare and patient portals, electronics healthcare databases, and patient databases, etc. It also has to offer intuitive management dashboard where the management and responsible personals can monitor and control the patient flow.

In this blog we will discuss the role of a queue management system in healthcare facilities and how to leverage it for patient excellence and long term success.

See Also: What are the Different Types of Queue Management System?

The Role of Queue Management Systems in Healthcare Facilities
The Role of Queue Management Systems in Healthcare Facilities

What is a Hospital Queue Management System?

Traditionally a digital queue management system is a combination of software and hardware which is specifically designed to streamline the customer flow at any service center and to solve waiting line problems. Different industries utilize queue management systems and customize them as per their needs and industry standards. For example, a queue management system at banks would be slightly different than a queue management system for logistic company or for a government office. All industry sectors who are serving customer in one way or another require a proactive waiting line management system.

Whether it is retail, banking sector, logistics or transportation, government office, educational institutions, healthcare facilities, airports, every industry have different challenges, hence every industry needs a personalized queuing solution to deal with those exclusive challenges. In healthcare facilities a queue management system often includes a ticket dispensing kiosk, digital signage screens to display live queuing updates, announcement and ticket calling system, integration with patient portals, online booking systems, and in some cases integrated mobile applications as well. A hospital queue management system can also integrate multiple communication channels and virtual queuing for elevated patient experience.

See Also: What are the Basic Components of Queue Management System?

What is a Hospital Queue Management System?
What is a Hospital Queue Management System?

Benefits of Implementing a Hospital Queue Management System at Hospitals and Healthcare Facilities

Every country has a different healthcare system, the hospitals, clinics, testing labs, and other healthcare facilities in UAE are well-aware of the competitiveness and diverse business landscape. In such dynamic and diverse business landscape if a healthcare organization wants to build a good reputation, they must ensure a quicker and satisfactory healthcare delivery to the patients. Studies have shown that around 30% of the patient tend to choose healthcare facilities majorly on the bases of wait time. That is why a proactive and well-structured approach to patient flow management is absolutely essential. A hospital queue management system offer various advanced features which not only elevate patient experience but also help healthcare organizations to drive efficiency through internal processes.

See Also: Important Hardware Components of a Queue Management System

Here are some key advantages of a hospital queue management system which healthcare organizations can leverage to boost operational efficiency and to elevate patient experience:

  • Digital Check-Ins: Patient can register through online or via mobile apps, and they can also check-in via on-premises ticket dispensing kiosk. Both the online channels and the ticket dispensing kiosks is integrated with patient database, hence eliminating the need of manual check-ins and prevent crowding at receptions.
  • Real-time Notifications and Alerts: A hospital queue management system is integrated with various communication channels such as SMS, WhatsApp, email, etc. which enable it to send real-time updates, notifications and alerts about patient turn, any change in their wait time, or any other important information. It can also send alerts via online portals, and mobile applications.
  • Reduced Wait Time: Long wait time and delays are common complaints at healthcare facilities which can greatly hinder patient satisfaction. By leveraging a hospital queue management system the healthcare facilities can effectively utilize their resources and optimize their internal workflows which streamline patient flow and reduce wait time.
  • Analytical Data and Reporting: This is one of the most important feature of a hospital queue management system. The management can get deeper insights to patient flow and they can also measure staff performance. The in-built analytical and customized reporting tools help identifying bottlenecks and areas of improvement which lead to informed decisions.
  • Elevate Patient Experience: A well-organized waiting area and efficient patient flow lead to a calm and stress-free environment which let patient feel more valued and respected. Furthermore the reduction in wait time, efficiency in healthcare delivery, digital check-ins, real-time updates and various other features also help elevating patient experience and entire patient journey.
  • Boost Staff Performance: For any healthcare facility the staff performance management is very crucial. The patient experience, quality of healthcare and patient satisfaction depends on staff efficiency. A hospital queue management system empowers staff by providing them with real-time updates and analytical data which enable them to make informed decisions and avoid bottlenecks.
  • Enhance Internal Workflows: As it is integrated with internal systems, core application, and all relevant third-party solutions, it can effortlessly make data available on all relevant platforms. As a patient turn comes, their data is pushed to all platforms such as doctors, cash counters, labs, admin staff, etc. which greatly improve internal workflows and drive efficiency and accuracy.
  • Effectively Implement Queuing Policy: At any healthcare there are always some patients who need urgent attention and have severe problem than the rest. A hospital queue management system provides specialized features which allow management to prioritize different patients on the bases of severity of their problem ensuring a smooth and seamless patient flow.
  • Crowd Prevention: For any hospital or healthcare facility the crowd formation is a big challenge which not only impact patient experience but also tend to reduce staff performance. A hospital queue management system provides real-time data analysis and alerts to the staff giving them enough time to reallocate resources and avoid crowd formation at any touch point.
  • AI and Resource Optimization: The AI or Artificial intelligence plays a vital role in modern queuing. A hospital queue management system equipped with AI can help management acquire a deeper insight into patient flow, behavior and staff performance. It can predict wait time, and it can identify trends which help optimizing the resource allocation in real-time.
  • Virtual Queuing and Personalized Scheduling: A hospital queue management system supports virtual queuing integrated with remote channels, allowing patient to sign-up remotely without being physically present at the premises. Patient can chose the time of appointment form available slots based on predictive wait time and currently patient flow, which elevate patient experience.
  • Increased Transparency and Trust: When the patient are unsure of when their turn comes, they get anxious. A hospital queue management system not only provide real-time queuing updates but it also provide predictive wait time. When the patients know the queuing is managed by an automated system, they feel confident that they are treated fairly without any discrimination.
  • Scalability and Customization: A hospital queue management system comes with a centralized server-side software which makes it a lot easier to expand it to other branches or add more counters and users. The management can also customize the queue management system as per their emerging needs with nominal expense, which makes them more future-ready.

A hospital queue management system is exclusively designed for healthcare sector keeping all the industry needs and challenges in mind. The upfront cost of the deployment of a hospital queue management system might seem high, but in long-term if the ROI is calculated considering the impact it has on patient and staff performance, makes it ideal solution for modern patient-centric healthcare facilities.

Furthermore the maintenance and operational cost of a hospital queue management system is very nominal which further add value of its overall ROI. Organizations can easily scale it up, do more integration with other systems and customize its features as per their needs which increase its impact.

See Also: What is a Bill Payment Kiosk: Everything You Need to Know

Benefits of Implementing a Hospital Queue Management System at Hospitals and Healthcare Facilities
Benefits of Implementing a Hospital Queue Management System at Hospitals and Healthcare Facilities

Conclusion

A hospital queue management system is a specialized type of modern digital queue systems. It includes industry specific features which makes it more effective. That is why a hospital queue management system plays a crucial role in streamlining patient flow, elevating patient journey and experience and enhancing operational efficiency. A hospital queue management system effectively reduce patient wait time, and it offers remote check-ins and personalized scheduling or appointment booking which empowers patient. Furthermore, both the management and the patients get full queuing updates in real-time which where enhances patient experience also help boosting the operational efficiency.

The integration with other third-party software, databases, electronic health record, patient data, online channels and appointment booking tools make hospital queue management system a complete transformation tool. Hospitals, clinics, testing labs, and other healthcare facilities operating in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and all around the UAE are well aware of the competitive business landscape of the country. Studies have shown that a large number of patients prioritize a healthcare facility only on the bases of wait time. That is why a proactive and modern approach to patient flow management is crucial for a long term organizational success.

In this blog we briefly discussed the role of a hospital queue management system in elevating patient experience and boosting operational efficiency in healthcare facilities. If you want to learn more about the subject or if you need our help in deploying a tailor-made hospital queue management system for your healthcare facility, please feel free to contact us through our Contact Us page or leave a comment in the comment box below and we will get in touch with you soon.

See Also: What should be covered in a hospital website?

See Also: The Cost of Custom Software Development: Factors to Consider


Integrating Queue Management with CRM Systems

In a dynamic and vibrant market landscape, where competition is fierce and customer expectations are soaring, businesses must prioritize efficient customer flow management. A high-performance queue management system is essential to streamline operations and deliver exceptional customer experiences. For any customer service center, the customer flow is a critical factor in determining overall customer satisfaction and happiness, two key elements for sustainable business growth. In the UAE, particularly in Dubai, Sharjah, and Abu Dhabi, businesses are increasingly turning to digital solutions to optimize their queue management processes. A modern queue management system is more than just a ticketing system, it’s a comprehensive tool for enhancing the customer journey and managing the overall experience. It also help empowering the service staff and has ability to effectively improve operational efficiency.

A queue management system is a digital solution comprised of software and hardware components designed to streamline and enhance queuing processes and customer experience management. As a centralized solution, it can connect multiple branches or locations, making it ideal for multi-branch businesses. By monitoring and managing customer flow and experience across all branches in real-time, a digital queue management system empowers branch managers, senior management, and head offices to gain a comprehensive view of customer service and staff performance. Same is applicable for medium and small businesses, they can leverage queue management system for superior performance and fast growth. This enables efficient resource management and proactive measures to prevent congestion and crowd formation, which can significantly impact customer satisfaction. In this blog we will discuss how the integration with CRM System can greatly improve the overall efficiency and impact of a digital queue management system (QMS).

See Also: What are the Different Types of Queue Management System?

Integrating Queue Management with CRM Systems
Integrating Queue Management with CRM Systems

Why Integrating CRM Solution with a Queue Management System is Important?

A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system is an indispensable tool for modern businesses. It empowers organizations to analyze, manage, and enhance customer experiences throughout the entire customer lifecycle. The primary goal of a CRM is to foster strong and enduring relationships with customers. By storing and analyzing valuable customer data, CRMs provide a comprehensive view of each customer, including demographics, purchase history, and it can also capture the entire customer interaction. Modern CRMs are designed to seamlessly integrate with various channels, effectively managing both physical and digital customer interactions. This versatility makes CRMs invaluable business assets. Management teams and business leaders rely heavily on CRMs for actionable insights and business intelligence data, which are essential for data-driven decision-making.

A queue management system is fundamentally a customer experience management tool. It streamlines customer flow and enhances the overall customer journey. By capturing valuable business intelligence and analytical data from every customer interaction, the system can also be used to optimize customer relationship management processes. Integrating a customer relationship management (CRM) system with a queue management system (QMS) can significantly enhance the capabilities of both solutions. By combining CRM and QMS, businesses can streamline internal processes and workflows, ultimately leading to improved and elevated customer experiences. The integration means that both CRM and QMS will be able to access the data from one another. This data sharing or synchronization lead to advanced automation and help businesses build innovative features to enhance customer experience.

See Also: Touch Less Customer Experience, Use the RSI Queue Management System

Why Integrating CRM Solution with a Queue Management System is Important?
Why Integrating CRM Solution with a Queue Management System is Important?

Key Advantages of Integrating Queue Management System (QMS) with Customer Relationship Management System (CRM)

The integration of the queue management system (QMS) and the customer relationship management system (CRM) involves connecting various data points from both platforms. This means that a certain type of data from both systems will be available to utilize by various features and components of both systems. The integration help improving and personalizing customer experience and service. The queue management system can authenticate the customer or identify them and pull all the relevant information from the CRM and from its own data repository. This enables a queue management system to personalized customer experience and journey based on their previous interactions, preferences, demographics and broader customer profile and customer groups. All these features are very helpful in improving the customer experience.

The queue management system comes with a powerful software with smart algorithms and AI. The queue management system software application offers UI for the customers which are available at interactive self-service ticket dispensing kiosks, online portals or mobile applications. Then there is a dedicated dashboard for the service staff which help them to manage and control the queues. Apart from that the queue management system also offers a dedicated administrative dashboard for the back office which can be customize as per the needs. The branch managers, site supervisors, senior management, head office staff and IT team have their own customized administrative dashboards with different levels of access and control features. These dashboard help respective staff users and empower them with control and information. When the queue management system (QMS) is integrated with the customer relationship management system (CRM) all those features can be improved and additional features can be added for better performance and efficiency.

See Also: How a Queue Management System Can Transform Your Business Operations

Key Advantages of Integrating Queue Management System (QMS) with Customer Relationship Management System (CRM)
Key Advantages of Integrating Queue Management System (QMS) with Customer Relationship Management System (CRM)

CRM Integration with Queue Management System Helps Elevating Customer Experience

In a queue management system customers normally sign-in from an interactive ticket dispensing kiosk. These kiosks also ask some basic questions such as preferred language, required service or purpose of visit, etc. However, in modern queue management systems various digital channels are also integrated such as online portals, mobile applications, appointment booking system, visitor management system, SMS and WhatsApp based system, and QR Code based sign-ins. All these channels and interactive self-service ticket dispensing kiosk can be leveraged to collect valuable insights and to empower various internal business processes and workflows which resultantly enhance and elevate customer experience. For example, these kiosks can comes with facial recognition, Emirates ID Scanner and other biometric technologies which can instantly identify the customer, this help businesses personalize the customer experience and cater to their needs and expectations.

The queue management system not only able to identify the customers’ ID but it can also tally it with the customer data base stored in the customer relationship management system (CRM). A queue management system provides a comprehensive control panel for the service agents. This dedicated agent dashboard offers excellent features to control the customer flow and perform queuing process related several tasks. This dashboard also offer features that empower service agents and help them in pre-service and post-service tasks. This also help service agent to review the past interactions and help them serving customer with better service and experience. Whether it is an existing customer (a deal) or a new customer (a lead) the queue management system can pull data from CRM or push data to CRM which triggers relevant functionalities and enable service agents to enhance service quality. All these features are only possible when a queue management system is effectively integrated with your CRM.

See Also: What are the Basic Components of Queue Management System?

CRM Integration with Queue Management System Helps Elevating Customer Experience
CRM Integration with Queue Management System Helps Elevating Customer Experience

CRM Integration with Queue Management System Boosts Efficiency

The customer relationship management system (CRM) integration with queue management system (QMS) can bring several advantages which not only help elevating customer experience but also help boosting efficiency. The integrating between customer relationship management system (CRM) and queue management system (QMS) help improving several internal processes. The biggest and most fundamental advantage of this integration is to share customer data which includes details of past interaction, purchase patterns, and detailed insights about customer behavior. This information can be a game changer if utilized effectively. The queue management system leverage this information to personalize and optimize customer journey. This information is also very helpful in improving staff performance and efficiency as it helps them in expediting and enhancing customer service. This insight also help improving customer flow and effectively managing different customer segments.

The queue management system is also capable of monitoring and measuring performance and various KPIs of service staff. This information is vital to improve customer flow management. The queue management system has ability to understand which service agent is good or more efficient at what services, which service agent is more efficient with what customer segment and various other such insights. These insights when coupled with the customer details fetched from the CRM, enable queue management system to effectively route customers for better experience and efficient customer flow. This also help management improve their resource allocation and various HR related processes. Furthermore integrating the queue management system (QMS) and the customer relationship management system (CRM) automates the data entry and the customer check-ins which eliminate the human related errors and improve accuracy.

See Also: The Role of AI in Enhancing Queue Management Systems

CRM Integration with Queue Management System Boosts Efficiency
CRM Integration with Queue Management System Boosts Efficiency

The Future or Queue Management System Integration with Other Business Solutions

We discussed the integration of customer relationship management system (CRM) with queue management system (QMS) brings a multitude of advantages which collectively result in better customer experience and enhanced operational efficiency. As the technologies are advancing rapidly, the market landscape is becoming increasingly competitive and the customer demands are subjected to evolve quickly. The integration of queue management system with other business solution is inevitable to meet the growing business needs. For example, the queue management system can be integrated with the financial system to aid transactional interactions. For businesses who require payments for their services, the interactive self-service ticket dispensing kiosk or any other digital channel can be equipped with payment features. The interactive self-service ticket dispensing kiosks can receive cash payments, and also support various digital payments and contactless payments.

The queue management system also support ability to directly integrate the appointment booking portals, mobile applications, online portals and various digital communication channels such as WhatsApp and SMS, etc. Businesses can also integrate the queue management system with Email Gateways to trigger automated emails such as acknowledgment messages or online surveys, etc. The queue management system can be integrated with central information system, ERPs, and other business solutions. Businesses can also enable customers and visitors to submit and scan various documents which are required for any particular service. The queue management system can also be integrated with various IoTs such as printers, scanners, passport scanners, QR Code and Barcode readers, Facial Recognition cameras, POS, cash payment devices, RFIDs, and various other peripherals which enhance its capabilities and help businesses elevate customer experience via innovative features. These integrations can also greatly improve internal processes and workflows effectively driving operational efficiency.

See Also: How to Implement a Queue Management System at an Airport?

Customized CRM Software Offers Better Adoptability and Future Readiness
Customized CRM Software Offers Better Adoptability and Future Readiness

Conclusion

In a modern and highly competitive market landscape such as in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and broader UAE integrating customer relationship management system or CRM with a queue management system (QMS) is not just a technology upgrade but a great strategic move. This integration will bring a multitude of advantages which can help businesses gain competitive advantage. This integration create a powerful solution which help businesses dealing with many challenges and enhancing overall efficiency and empower businesses with data-driven decision making. By leveraging the combined strength of these two incredible solutions businesses can personalize customer experience, optimize customer journey and expedite their service delivery mechanisms. By streamlining customer flow, minimizing customer wait time, and elevating overall customer experience businesses can gain customer loyalty and achieve higher customer satisfaction. These two are the key factors for a long-term and sustainable business success.

See Also: Queue Management in Banking: Enhancing Customer Experience

The technology and digital business solutions are evolving at a rapid pace, this also open up various possibilities to integrate the queue management system with various other business solutions. Businesses can leverage the power of custom software development and integration to build innovative features which help them elevate customer experience and operational efficiency. For any business the operational efficiency is crucial it helps them minimize the operational cost while simultaneously boosting operational efficiency. The ability to leverage the combined potential of a queue management system and a customer relationship management system can put you ahead of your competition and help you strengthen your relationship with customers. In this blog we have briefly discussed the importance and key advantages of this integration. If you want to learn more about the subject or if you want our help to design a bespoke queue management system for your business or organization, please feel free to contact us through our Contact Us page or leave a comment in the comment box below and we will get in touch with you soon.

See Also: Importance of Queue Management System for Government and Public Offices


How Performance Management Systems Enhance Employee Engagement

Businesses have many challenges in managing workforce, the performance management and the employee engagements are the two most crucial aspects. Employee engagement directly impact business success, engaged employees tend to be more productive, loyal and motivated. That is why any modern performance management system is incomplete without incorporating best employee engagement practices. Traditionally performance management focuses on setting up goals and achieving them, and the employee engagement on the other hand, focuses on fostering a positive and friendly work environment.

That is the reason the performance management and employee engagement are not only intertwined but interlinked also and for business success managers need to focus on both. The employee engagement not only have positive impact on overall performance of the organization, but it also elevates customer experience, product/service quality, and employee turnover. A motivated workforce is a key to success in today’s rapidly evolving business landscape. If your employees are motivated they tend to produce better outcomes in any unconventional condition.

Studies showed that the employee engagement is declining since past few years, and businesses operating in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and other regions of UAE also felt that. This fueled the rapid adaptation of modern digital performance management system and practices. In this blog we will discuss how a modern digital performance management system can completely transform the employee performance management and employee engagement processes. Moreover a customized solution can be a great help in linking performance management with business outcomes which boosts productivity and profitability.

See Also: Performance Management System: Best Practices

How Performance Management Systems Enhance Employee Engagement
How Performance Management Systems Enhance Employee Engagement

What is a Modern Performance Management System?

A performance management system is a well-structured process to assess, evaluate and improve employee performance and the quality of the outcome produced by these employees. A modern performance management system just does the same with an addition of implementing a software solution which empower and improve each and every aspect of your performance management system. The modern performance management system is not limited to annual reviews and appraisals. It can vary in terms of complexity, design and features, but at its core it is a continuous process which includes continuously providing guidance, support and encouragement to employees, ensuring they stay on track and eliminating the obstacles which are or could compromise performance.

Businesses can design a tailormade performance management system as per their diverse and exclusive business needs. This is what makes custom performance management system more effective. A modern digital performance management system offer comprehensive tools and methodologies that continuously optimize employee performance throughout the year. Whether it is feedback, reviews, one-on-one meetings, performance evaluation, course correction or appreciation, the modern performance management system operates throughout the entire year.

Beyond only monitoring and improving efficiency the modern performance management system provides well-organized framework for employee growth and development, which is essential for trust building. With a modern performance management system both employees and management knows where they stand and do collaborative and constructive efforts to elevate overall organizational performance.

See Also: Employee Performance Management Process with PMS

What is a Modern Performance Management System?
What is a Modern Performance Management System?

Why Employee Engagement is Crucial for Business Success?

Businesses who implement employee engagement initiatives tend to perform much better than the business who still follow the traditional and outdated performance management practices. For example, continuous feedback loops, regular employee-manager interaction, including employee say in crucial internal processes and decision related to performance management, etc. All these help engaging employees, and give them a sense of importance and value. This sentiment is crucial for motivation and help HR and mentors to effectively boost operational performance and profitability. According to studies, engaged employees tend to be around 17% more productive and 21% more profitable than disengaged employees.

It is because the disengaged employees are demotivated and tend to be less efficient. Moreover the employee turnover is also greatly impacted by employee engagements, an engaged employee is 87% more likely to stay in the organization. Employee retention is one of the biggest challenge in modern performance management. Employees tend to leave for better opportunities, if you offer them great working environment, a positive organizational culture and keep them engaged, they are most likely to stay even if offered higher salaries and perks. That is why employee engagement is very crucial for businesses.

Furthermore the engaged employees has a sense of ownership and pride in their work, which fuels the innovation. The engaged employees are always the ones who came up with innovative solutions, creative ideas and tend to be more aligned with high-level organizational goals. A digital performance management system offer advanced tools for enhancing employee engagement.

See Also: Choosing a Performance Management System A Buyer’s Guide

Why Employee Engagement is Crucial for Business Success?
Why Employee Engagement is Crucial for Business Success?

How a Modern Performance Management System Increases Employee Engagement?

A modern performance management system offers advanced tools and intuitive dashboards for both management and the employees. This help businesses effectively implement their performance management strategies and polices, which resultantly amplify the impact of performance management and employee engagement processes. The modern performance management system greatly improve the following aspects to increase employee engagements:

Setting Clear and Realistic Goals Increase Employee Engagements

The modern performance management system digitalize the performance management process and various HR activities which drive efficiency. Moreover the performance management system can automate a variety of relevant processes which help improving the entire performance management process. Setting up goals, is one of the most fundamental and crucial aspect of performance management. The high-level organizational goals and strategic objectives are driven by organization’s vision, these are then channeled down to different business functions, departments, teams and till individual employee.

See Also: How the HR should select a Performance Management System?

The goals and objective give directions to employees and tell them what organization is expecting from them and how employees can succeed in achieving their goals. The modern performance management system provides tools, frameworks and methods to establish SMART Goals by collective and collaborative efforts. The SMART Goals is a complete goal setting framework which means Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic/Relevant, Time-bound. Here are a few things to consider while creating employee goals:

  • Break down large strategic objective or project into smaller, manageable and achievable tasks
  • Set realistic deadline to achieve those tasks, the accountability is a very important driver
  • Implement periodic/continuous monitoring policy, review and course correction for better results
  • Encourage employee feedback and suggestions in goal setting and relevant decisions
  • Critically analyze and enlist potential obstacles, short comings, disruptions and their solutions

Implementing SMART Goal setting framework and sensible strategy can greatly improve the success rate, it also gives employee clear understanding of their progress and build a sense of motivation and achievement. When employees successfully achieve small goals and milestones, it build a sense of success and increase their momentum to deal with bigger challenges. The sense of success, progress and achievement is a very powerful driver it keeps employee motivated, engaged and invested in their work.

See Also: The Future of Performance Appraisals: 6 Innovations and Changes [Quick Guide]

Set SMART Goals and Objectives
Set SMART Goals and Objectives

Continuous Feedback, Guidance and Positive Criticism Keep Employees Engaged and Motivated

The traditional performance management systems lacks seriously on their annual review practice. The modern and digital performance management systems on the other hand offer a continuous monitoring and review mechanisms which help businesses adopt and implement continuous performance management strategies. The employee can get regular feedbacks, guidance from managers, and they can also share their concerns to rectify the issues and to remove the obstacles that are or can hinder the performance. The regular interaction with supervisors, managers and mentors help employees critically evaluate their performance and enable them to make real-time adjustments in their performance. This is also vital for aligning employees with their and high-level strategic goals and objectives.

  • Timely Feedback Means Timely Actions: When the employees gets regular feedbacks, they have plenty of time to make adjustments and to improve their work instead of waiting for months for the reviews, which not only demotivate employees but also cause more damage to their performance and progress.
  • Encourage Growth and Improvements: Whether it is professional competency or behavioral competency, continuous feedback help employees identify their areas of improvement and also provide them guidance to make improvement. These improvements results in rapid growth and put employees in right direction, helping them to choose the right career path forward.

The regular feedbacks also foster confidence and trust. When the employee see their progress and achievements are noticed, their problems are proactively addressed, they tend to be more engaged and motivated. Regular inputs from managers build a sense of importance and value, it tells employee that the managers are committed to their success and growth which is vital for employee retention.

See Also: What are the Features of a Best Performance Management System?

Continuous Feedback, Guidance and Positive Criticism Keep Employees Engaged and Motivated
Continuous Feedback, Guidance and Positive Criticism Keep Employees Engaged and Motivated

Rewards and Recognition Engage Employees and Foster a Productive Work Environment

Rewards and Recognitions plays a crucial role boosting morale and improving performance. In fact these are some of the most powerful motivators. When employees’ accomplishments are acknowledged they feel a sense of value and pride which not only motivates them but also other employees to perform well in future. When the employees are appreciated they are more likely to work with more commitment, responsibly and with higher dedication.

Businesses operating in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and other regions of UAE always struggle with high turnover, a well-thought reward and recognition strategy could not only help attracting top talent but it will also be very helpful in retaining experienced workforce.

See Also: 5 Performance Management Problems and How to Solve Them

Appropriate rewards and appreciations help in:

  • Boosting Morale: Recognizing employee’s achievements, hard work, and efforts not raise job satisfaction but also boost their morale, which keeps them motivated for higher productivity.
  • Motivation for Others: When high-performing employees are recognized and rewarded, it also motivates others to strive for excellence.
  • Reduce Turnover: Reducing employee turnover is crucial for any business’s success, rewards and recognitions are two most impactful factors to keep employees satisfied and loyal.

A good performance management system not only help businesses build effective reward and recognition strategies but it also help them evaluating the impact of these strategies which is an excellent feature to make improvements in future. Some proven reward and recognition strategies are:

  • Tangible Rewards: The tangible rewards can be offering merchandises, gift vouchers, movie tickets, meals, cash bonuses, and such things can be a great motivator for higher performance.
  • Intangible Rewards: Non-material rewards can boost morale and drive high performance such as, additional vocations, flexible work hours, opportunities for personal development, etc.
  • Social and Public Recognitions: Recognizing employee’s achievements publicly such as in meetings, company-wide email notification, or at social media can be a great motivator.
  • Personalized and Private: Customizing the recognitions as per individual employee’s preference or acknowledging their achievements in private/direct communication can be a great motivator.

The modern performance management system makes reward and recognition more impactful by linking them with the specific goals, milestones, or any other professional or behavioral competency. Which not only increase employee engagement but also amplify the impact of the reward and recognition program.

See Also: How to Customize Performance Management System

Rewards and Recognition Engage Employees and Foster a Productive Work Environment
Rewards and Recognition Engage Employees and Foster a Productive Work Environment

A Well-Structured Communication Framework Empower and Engage Employees

A modern performance management system comes with a comprehensive software application. The performance management software is a very smart and intuitive tool, it offers tons of in-built features along with ability to customize as per your business needs. Businesses can customize any workflow or process as per their needs, which align well with their organizational goals and objectives. However, when it comes to employee engagement tools, the communication is one of the most crucial aspect. Without an effective communication strategy a business can never engage its employees. The performance management system ensures honest, open and productive dialogue between managers and the employees.

It also encourage employees to approach managers to discuss their concerns and needs. Easy communication and a well connected organizational culture help fostering a culture of collaboration and collective efforts which elevates performance and productivity. A performance management system not only help establishing strong communication channels but it also help implementing various communication strategies for elevated performance.

See Also: Top 5 Performance Management Trends

  • Regular One-on-One Meetings: The performance management system (PMS) provide a structured framework where the manager and policy maker both can setup a communication policy. The one-on-one meetings are considered to be very effective in increasing employee engagement. The managers can discuss employee performance, goals, obstacles, concerns and needs in one-on-one meetings. The performance management system automates scheduling of meetings, it ensures a safer and free environment is provided to the employees to express themselves freely. Later on the transcripts, minutes of the meetings, key discussion points, etc. can be utilized for timely feedbacks, coaching, training and mentoring.
  • Effective Review and Feedback Mechanisms: The performance management system offers a variety of feedback management tools. Whether it is manager-employee feedbacks, whether it is a full-on 360 degree feedback, the performance management system convers all. The performance management system provides a fully or semi-automated feedback delivery system. It not only facilitate manager’s feedback but it also provide employees a chance to share their thoughts, and even anonymous feedbacks can also be facilitated to encourage more honest and fair discussion. The performance management system can also implement the feedback policy, a customized feedback form can be triggered upon a specific event, etc.
  • Leveraging Technology and Digital Tools: The performance management system provides intuitive and bespoke tools to facilitate communication. That is not all, it also provide tools and features which help managers and employees to track progress. Businesses can integrate various third-party tools, such as appointment booking, video conferencing, company’s internal communication tools, emails, and much more. The management can automate various processes, which save them a lot of time and at the same time it makes communication more effective and impactful. By leveraging technology, businesses can foster a culture of honest and open communication, build trust and encourage collaboration which amplify employee engagements.

A good communication is essential for building trust and trust and openness is one of the most effective aspect of employee engagement. When the employee feel heard, their opinion valued, and their concerns addressed, they feel more valued, motivated and connected with their duties and objectives. A modern performance management system not only provides a variety of communication tools and mechanisms to enhance communication, but also provide effective tools to gauge the progress.

See Also: The Risk of Poor Performance Management and How to identify it?

A Well-Structured Communication Framework Empower and Engage Employees
A Well-Structured Communication Framework Empower and Engage Employees

Personal Development Programs (PDPs) for Employee Growth and Engagement

The personal development programs or PDPs are a great tool to enhance and elevate employee performance. Every employee wants to grow, everyone wants to improve and elevate their professional competencies and skillset. Businesses leaders and HR needs to develop employee development programs that can personally target each employee, hence personalized personal development programs are always more effective than any generic training program.

The employee development programs are developed on the bases of skills needed to perform a task with at most efficiency and to align employee’s skills with the organizational needs. However, a performance management system offers tools which not only include employees in personal development programs but also engage them in whole process.

By closely monitoring the employee performance, identifying their strengths and weaknesses, businesses can develop personal development programs that not only help employees grow but also make them more productive and efficient asset for the organization.

See Also: Why do businesses need both the performance management and performance appraisal?

Here are a few key benefits of personal development programs that are focused on employee growth and well-being:

  • Increased Employee Engagements: When a business offer employee-focused personal development programs, the employee feel more valued, trusted, connected, motivated and engaged. It encourage employees to deliver their best and perform well.
  • Boost Employee Performance: When business start focusing their development programs on covering the gaps between performance and goals, the employee acquire competencies that support them achieve their goals and results in great improvement in performance.
  • Better Employee Retention: For any organization retaining the top talent is a big challenge. By developing personalized development programs, businesses can show their commitment to employee’s individual growth, which help retaining high-performing employees.
  • Long-term Business Success: By personalized employee development programs, businesses can foster a highly motivated workforce with up-to-the-mark skillset. This also help businesses growing in a diverse, dynamic and highly competitive market landscape.

A modern performance management system offer comprehensive tools and features for both managers and employees to assess and evaluate performance with higher accuracy. The employee KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), their alignment with goals, their progress and feedback, are all designed to empower both employees and managers.

  • Guidance and Mentoring: The performance management system provide in-depth performance analysis which enable managers to deliver personalized and targeted guidance and mentoring for the employees in much needed areas.
  • Setting Up Realistic Expectations: A performance management system is equipped with AI (artificial intelligence) and smart data collection tools, which provide in-depth analytical data and insights that enable managers to set the most accurate and realistic expectations of PDPs.
  • Identifying Learning Needs: The performance management system not only help managers identify the learning needs, but it also help employees to evaluate their progress by themselves. They can also give their inputs in showing their interest which makes PDPs more appealing.
  • Creating Action Plans: The performance management system not only provides SMART Goal setting framework but it also offer tools to make a comprehensive plan-of-action, which help identifying the needs of resources, skills and training needs to achieve those goals.

Employees in general value personal growth a lot, when organizations start developing personalized development programs it empowers their employees. The employee feel valued, they trust the organization and become more loyal. This also help organization in fostering an up-to-date workforce, which can not only help them outperform competitors but also help them dealing with emerging challenges and changing market trends. Well-trained, engaged and motivated employees help fueling the innovation and achieving higher employee autonomy which are two major contributor for success.

See Also: Employee Performance Management is a small part of Performance Management System

Personal Development Programs (PDPs) for Employee Growth and Engagement
Personal Development Programs (PDPs) for Employee Growth and Engagement

Conclusion

By adopting and implementing modern performance management systems businesses can revolutionize their workforce management practices, which not only help them increasing employee engagements but also make them more competitive, efficiency and productive. The operational efficiency is a key to innovation and profitability which are the two key metrics for a successful business. A modern performance management system is a combination of highly advanced performance management practices, strategies and a performance management software. Businesses can yield real-time performance monitoring and management by implementing a modern performance management system and levering its highly engaging features to bridge the gap between employees and managers.

By encouraging honest and open communication between employees and managers, businesses can foster a culture of engagement and collaboration. A modern performance management system offers advanced tools such as continuous and real-time monitoring, feedbacks and reviews. These tools provide in-depth understanding and a variety of analytical metrics, which help managers take more informed and data-driven decisions to course correct, make performance adjustments, identify resource and training needs, etc. Clear and realistic goals, well-structured communication mechanisms, and frequent guidance from managers keep employee engaged and motivated. The engaged employees not only perform well but also tend to be more innovative and adaptable for emerging challenges.

Furthermore the performance management system drives transparency, fairness and accuracy in employee evaluation, assessments, and reviews. This help gaining employee trust, which also help fostering a culture of loyalty and collaboration which help organizations in retaining the top talent. The transparency and in-depth smart analytical data driven decision making also enhance and improve employee reward and recognition programs, it also help improving the development and training programs and help elevating the overall competencies of individual employees. When employees feel empowered, valued and trusted, they tend to be more engaged, motivated and loyal with their work. Cultivating a positive and collaborative culture help organization success in long term.

See Also: Why Performance Management System is a Necessity for Companies in Dubai

Adopting a digital and modern performance management system not only help organization retain top talent, but it also help organization in leadership development. Businesses can identify the potential in employee to become efficient managers and leaders in future. This helps management to direct and focus their resources to groom such employees who have higher potential and skills. Businesses can not only enhance and elevate the performance but they can also improve the entire workforce by fostering a culture of appreciation and collaboration. Implementing a modern performance management system doesn’t mean to have a more complex and sophisticated accountability tool, but it is an investment in the future of the organization which make businesses more competitive, productive and profitable.

Businesses operating in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and broader UAE know how rapid the market trends changes, and how competitive business landscape is. In such markets it is extremely important for a business to leverage the full potential of the talent and resources thay have in hand. For that the efficiency, productivity and adoptability are crucial. A modern performance management system aided with a customized software application can help businesses position themselves for sustainable and long-term growth. In this blog we have briefly discussed how performance management systems can help enhancing the employee engagement and overall organizational culture. If you want to learn more about the subject or if you want our help to design and implement a tailor-made performance management system for your business or organization, please feel free to contact us through our Contact Us page or leave a comment in the comment box below and we will get in touch with you soon.


Why Custom Software Development is Essential for Digital Transformation

The business landscape is undergoing a rapid transformation, driven by escalating customer expectations and intensifying competition. To thrive in this dynamic environment, organizations must prioritize efficiency, performance, and productivity. Digital solutions have emerged as a strategic imperative, enabling businesses to streamline internal processes, optimize human resource management, and enhance overall operational efficiency.

Digital transformation is a comprehensive approach that involves integrating digital technologies into every aspect of business operations. By leveraging these solutions, organizations can fundamentally redefine how they work, operate, and deliver value to their customers. From elevating customer experiences to empowering employees and reducing costs, digital transformation offers a powerful means to drive innovation and achieve sustainable growth.

Digital transformation empowers management by automating routine tasks and streamlining workflows. Through digitalization, businesses can reduce manual labor, minimize human error, and gain valuable insights through advanced monitoring tools. Regardless of size or industry, embracing digital transformation is essential for navigating the competitive business landscape of today. In this blog we will discuss why custom software development is essential to leverage the full potential of digital transformation.

Why Custom Software Development is Essential for Digital Transformation?
Why Custom Software Development is Essential for Digital Transformation?

What is Custom Software Development and Why it is Important?

The custom software development is a process of building and crafting software solutions and tools which are designed for a very specific user groups. The customized or bespoke software solutions are designed to perform very specific tasks and in a very specific way. This ability let businesses integrate the software solutions seamlessly without requiring their staff and management to make any change or big changes to their workflows and practices. Traditionally businesses tend to rely on commercial off-the-shelf software solutions also knows as COTS.

The commercial off-the-shelf software solutions are designed for masses and are widely available, it means your competitors will also have access to the same tools and solutions. For example, Oracle Net Suite, Quickbooks, Salesforce, SAP, and even Google Workspace and Microsoft Office Suite are all commercial off-the-shelf software solutions. These solutions are great tools, but when it comes to specific business needs or challenges your workforce is facing, then you need out of the box approach. All off-the-shelf solutions offer very limited customization and integration abilities.

See Also: Why Off-the-Shelf Solutions Fall Short: Advantages of Custom Software Development

What is Custom Software Development and Why it is Important?
What is Custom Software Development and Why it is Important?

What Makes Custom Software Development Essential for Digital Transformation?

Due to various inherent limitations of commercial off-the-shelf software solutions, businesses often end-up utilizing multiple solutions which raise cost and also make integration more complex and difficult. The customized or bespoke software on the other hand are very flexible, they are exclusively designs as per your business needs in mind, and therefore these solutions tend to drive efficiency and performance while being cost-effective, more scalable, accessible and adoptable. The custom software development is a process which involves:

  1. Requirement Gathering: The first step of custom software development is taking and understanding customer requirements. It help development team to understand the problems and challenges business is facing and also help them to propose solutions for the same. The development team also understand the wider IT infrastructure and select technological platforms and frameworks which are more aligned with the business needs.
  2. Designing Process: The design team design the software layouts, screens and workflows which is part of the UI (user interface). These designs are shared with the customer and the user group and allow the businesses to optimize them as per their needs and best efficiency.
  3. Development Process: The development process is the actual programming where the developers write and compile the source code of the software. The software platforms and frameworks such as programing language, operating system support, integration with other systems and databases and everything else is done at this stage.
  4. Testing: Both the software development team, the end-users and the project coordinators facilitate this testing process. It helps further refining the software which results in higher efficiency, performance and security.
  5. Deployment: The deployment is going live and installing the software at the server or at the end-users’ computer/network. The deployment stage brings the software to the production and the end-users start using it at this stage.

This process help aligning the software application with specific business needs, and it also keep the end-user engaged in the development process. Which gives them more control over the software design, features and working. These advantages make custom software development most crucial for the digital transformation and modernization.

See Also: Custom Software Development for Enhanced User Experience

Big Data Helps Personalizing the Software Solutions
Big Data Helps Personalizing the Software Solutions

Custom Software Development Increase Efficiency and Productivity

The digital transformation require businesses to integrate technology in every aspect possible to drive the efficiency. For example, if it is a production unit, there is a team of 4 employees who is doing the packaging of the produced products and you deploy a machine which automatically perform this tasks and output packaged products in carton that is automation. Now think of another application, for example let us consider a document approval process, a document is generated by a team member which has to go to the team lead/supervisor, then to manager, and at final to the GM or MD. If you are doing it manually, then a staff has to take the document physically form one desk to another through the pre-set work flow and then the final approval can be taken.

Similar can be done through the software, the software allow the staff to create the document, push it to supervisor, then to manager and then to the GM and this can be done seamlessly, as soon as it got approved form one desk it is immediately available to the upper desk and so on this makes the process very efficient, quicker and require very less human efforts. In these two examples, we saw how introduction of technology can greatly improve the efficiency, accuracy and productivity in these processes. With the integration of technology very less efforts are required, the process itself become very efficient and fast and the cost too can be reduced effectively.

See Also: Custom Software for Improved Business Efficiency

Custom Software Development Increase Efficiency and Productivity
Custom Software Development Increase Efficiency and Productivity

Custom Software Development Aligns Perfectively with Business Needs

The custom software development fits in to your business needs like a glove. Even the most popular and large-scale commercial off-the-shelf solutions doesn’t align with 100% business needs. Businesses develop over the time, along with that their internal culture, operating procedures, business processes and workflows also evolve. The commercial off-the-shelf software solutions are designed as per industry standards and best practices, this means that these software doesn’t evolve or change along with your growing needs and increasing challenges. This is what render these solutions ineffective over the time, even when you implement COTS you have to make several changings in your internal workflows and processes, you have to train your employees to adopt to new processes and functionalities.

However, the customized software seamlessly integrate to your existing business needs, organizational culture, employee demands and business processes. When you deploy a customized software application you doesn’t have to make any change in your processes, workflows or anything. This is what makes customized software more efficient and a better candidate for your digital transformation drive. For example if you think of the above example of document processing system, if you implement a commercial off-the-shelf software, you must have to follow the industry standard.

For example, a document has to pass through 5 people, while in your organization you only require 3 people or maybe you need to appoint 8 people to process that documents. The COTS will not support your with this workflow, you have to do manual work to get the task done. While the customized software application will do exactly what you want it to do and how you want it to do.

See Also: Leveraging Big Data in Custom Software Development

Custom Software Development Aligns Perfectively with Business Needs
Custom Software Development Aligns Perfectively with Business Needs

Custom Software Development is Cost-Effective and Returns Higher ROI

Another great advantage of custom software development is that it is much more cost-effective than COTS and it tends to offer much higher ROI over a longer period of time. As I have described the custom software development process, it is easy to understand the initial cost would be relatively high. However, if we consider the benefits and impact of the custom software development it will be much more cost-effective. When it comes to digital transformation you doesn’t only consider the initial cost but you should keep in mind the ROI over a longer period of time. Here is a quick comparison of Custom Software Development and Commercial Off-the-shelf software solutions in terms of cost-effectiveness:

Cost Consideration or Initial Cost

  • Upfront Cost: The customer software development has higher initial cost comparing to COTS solutions but this could be misleading in most of the cases.
  • Hidden Cost: The custom software development doesn’t have any hidden cost, while commercial off-the-shelf software solutions may require additional expenses. For example, in terms of customization, workaround to fit in with existing IT eco-system, and integration.
  • Reoccurring Cost and Fees: The commercial off-the-shelf software solutions comes with subscription fees, licensing cost, and upgrade cost which will accumulate over the time.
  • Vendor Lock-In: The COTS will limit your ability to migrate to other vendors, they will bound you with one vendor and when you want to move you will have to bear additional migration cost and you might have to build intermediary applications to meet your all needs.

See Also: The Role of AI in Custom Software Solutions

Return Over Investments (ROI)

  • Bespoke Solutions: The custom software development fully aligns with your 100% needs resulting in higher productivity, efficiency, customer satisfaction and profitability. Which is near impossible to achieve with any off-the-shelf solution.
  • Scalability and Flexibility: The COTS are always expensive to scale, sometimes you end up purchasing full packages just for a few features. The custom software development on the other hand easily adopt to your growing needs, and doesn’t have additional upgrade or licensing cost.
  • Long-Term Cost Saving: The COST may have lower upfront cost but have higher long-term cost. The scalability, customization, integration and upgrades always have additional cost with regular reoccurring costs. The customized software doesn’t have such expenses, which makes them very cost-effective over a longer period of time.
  • Application and Data Ownership: The COTS are always owned by the vendor/service provider and you are bound to their policies. However, the custom software development offers full ownership rights to the application and data to the businesses. As it is exclusively designed for your organization, so you will have the full ownership of the software application and the data.

The commercial off-the-shelf software solutions may seams cost-effective initially considering the upfront cost but due to their inherent limitations in terms of customization, integration, scalability, upgrades, and long-term cost these solutions tend to return lower ROI comparing to customized software solutions.

See Also: Step-by-Step Guide to Planning Your Custom Software Development Project

Custom Software Development is Cost-Effective and Returns Higher ROI
Custom Software Development is Cost-Effective and Returns Higher ROI

Conclusion

In this blog we have discussed the impact of custom software development and commercial off-the-shelf software solutions on the digital transformation. In conclusion the custom software development is not just an option but apparently it is a very effective enabler for businesses embarking on digital transformation. By leveraging the custom software development businesses can build tailored tools and solutions which fully align with unique business needs and help them dealing with the challenges they are facing. The custom software development results in higher operational performance, it empowers management, results in higher customer satisfaction and at the same time it helps businesses minimize the cost and achieve higher profitability.

The commercial off-the-shelf software solutions apparently seem very cost effective (considering the initial cost) but tend to be much more expensive than customized software solutions. The COTS also tend to have several limitation which sometime could become very challenging form growing businesses and could have huge impact on their progress and growth. The customized software solutions on the other hand offer full ownership rights, which help businesses raise security and efficiency of these tools.

Furthermore the custom software development enable businesses to build future-proof solutions with innovative and efficient features which also gives them a great competitive advantage. If you want to build a bespoke software for your business of organization or if you want to learn more about the topic, please feel free to contact us through our Contact Us page or leave a comment in the comment box below and we will get in touch with you soon.

See Also: Benefits of Investing in Custom Software Development for Your Business in Dubai


How to Use Performance Management Systems for Leadership Development

Performance management means improving the operational performance, productivity, customer service, quality of products, and overall profitability of a business. A right performance management approach can gain a great competitive advantage and help businesses sustain long-term growth. A performance management system is a combination of software application, analytical tools and strategy which provides a comprehensive framework to align individual performance with high-level organization goals and strategic objectives. Traditionally the performance management system relies on annual reviews or biannual reviews, however, the modern performance management systems offer continuous performance management.

In-depth performance data collection, KPIs, OKRs, SMART Goals management and various other intuitive tool to facilitate the performance management process. For any organization the primary goal of implementing a performance management system is to make improvements in both individuals as well as internal processes and workflows. The leadership is crucial for the efficiency and productivity. A modern performance management system comes with specialized tools that help businesses elevate employees based on their true potential, talent and commitment. Businesses who have internal mechanism to produce business leaders tend to perform well.

High-performing employees who are working for an organization for years with flawless record, have great potential to become a good leader. However, it is very hard to identify such individuals. This is where a performance management system steps in. In this blog we will discuss how businesses can leverage the modern performance management system to produce new leaders and high-performing employees.

See Also: The Risk of Poor Performance Management and How to identify it?

How to Use Performance Management Systems for Leadership Development
How to Use Performance Management Systems for Leadership Development

Role of Performance Management in Leadership Development

For any healthy and high-performing organizational culture, the leadership plays a crucial role. The leadership is responsible for building strategies overcoming shortfalls and mitigating problems. The strong leadership not only effectively implement company’s policies but also guide workforce and help them achieve their goals and objectives. Good business leader also keep the employees engaged and reduce the employee turnover rate. A modern performance management system consists of software tools and modern strategies which provide a structured framework and well-organized mechanisms to nurture talent and groom high-performing employees to become new leaders.

A performance management system help businesses unlock the true potential of the employees, it keep them engaged, address their pain points, provide them opportunities and help building effective development plans. The performance management system help fostering a culture of continues improvement, learning and engagement which help improving employees’ potential.

See Also: The Impact of Performance Management on Organizational Culture

Role of Performance Management in Leadership Development
Role of Performance Management in Leadership Development

Every business grows and evolves on a different pace, this eventually develop a unique business identity which not only reflects on their products and services, but it also shape the internal business processes, workflows and overall organizational culture. Here are some key advantages of a modern performance management system which businesses can utilize to identify high-performing talent and groom them to be able to work in corresponding leadership roles:

Goal Setting and Leadership Development

The goal setting is one of the most crucial process of the performance management. The employees should be provided with the clear and achievable goals. For example, the SMART framework which means Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound. This approach helps employee understand what is to be expected from them and on top of that the performance management system also facilitate communication, continuous feedbacks, and employee engagement tools. These tools help businesses to closely monitor the efficiency, team management skills, and decision making abilities and learning abilities.

This also help businesses course correct, and take timely actions which ensure employee perform well. The performance management system also provides tools which help businesses identify the obstacles, and perform contextual and predictive analysis which further help understanding employee potential and enable businesses to build effective learning and development plans.

See Also: Linking Performance Management to Business Outcomes

Goal Setting and Leadership Development
Goal Setting and Leadership Development

Continuous Feedback: A Key to Leadership Development

The continuous feedback is a crucial part of a modern performance management system. It helps businesses engage employees more frequently through a structured feedback framework. The digital tools also enable businesses to record one-to-one meetings and feedbacks which further improve the quality of review. The regular feedbacks also help employees understand their strengths and weaknesses and provide them vital guide from managers and seniors to improve their performance. Regular interaction with supervisors, managers and senior management is crucial for employees aspiring to take leadership roles.

The continuous feedback help employees to adjust their behaviors, improve their professional competencies and stay aligned with the organizational goals and objectives. The digital performance management system also ensures transparency and accuracy which help building employees trust and it also improves decision making processes.

See Also: What is Continuous Performance Management? Complete Guide!

Continuous Feedback: A Key to Leadership Development
Continuous Feedback: A Key to Leadership Development

360 Degree Feedback Help Improving Leadership Skills

The traditional performance management system fell short at feedback, as these systems only rely on the annual or biannual reviews and doesn’t have any room for 360 degree feedbacks. For employees who are either aiming to work on leadership role or have potential to become future leader, can leverage the 360 degree feedbacks. The 360 degree feedback is a tool to collect feedback on a much wider spectrum. Modern performance management systems offer intuitive tools to collect and analyze the 360 degree feedback.

The 360 degree feedback is not limited to reviews from managers, but it also includes feedback from peers, managers, seniors, customers, suppliers, cross-team peers and managers and any other relevant person. This is very important for future leaders as the 360 degree feedback helps them to understand how other perceive their leadership skills. It also help them understand and improve their professional, behavioral competencies, communication and management skills.

See Also: Choosing a Performance Management System A Buyer’s Guide

360 Degree Feedback Help Improving Leadership Skills
360 Degree Feedback Help Improving Leadership Skills

Impactful Training, Learning and Development Programs

The traditional performance management system are perceived as accountability mechanisms. Because the traditional performance management majorly focuses only on assessing and evaluating employee efficiency, productivity and their contribution in the high-level organizational goals. This is where the modern performance management system tend to be much superior and conventional approach. The modern performance management system not only focuses on accountability and evaluation but it also deeply focuses on developing and designing learning, development, and skill building programs for the employees.

With the AI-powered advanced analytical tool businesses can not only accurately identify the strengths and weaknesses of the employees but they can also evaluate their current skill building, learning and development programs to make them more beneficial for the employees which eventually results in making more high-performing and skilled managers.

See Also: Employee Performance Management Process with PMS

Impactful Training, Learning and Development Programs
Impactful Training, Learning and Development Programs

Tracking Leadership Development and Identifying Right Leaders

The modern performance management systems are a combination of integrated software application and modernized performance management strategies. These solutions can autonomously monitor and track various KPIs with ability to track both standard and customized KPIs. These tools provide businesses ability to specifically track skills which are associated with the relevant leadership role as per employee’s qualifications, job role, technical skills and experience. This help businesses set expectations and identify the right talent for the leadership position. Businesses can also identify any disruption in progressing employees and can take steps to enhance their performance and learning skills.

The modern performance management systems not only offer leadership competencies assessment but also help businesses identify the employees with great talent and potential to become leaders in future. The higher management can easily identify the employees who consistently meet or exceed their goals, and show development in their leadership skills such as problem-solving, communication, critical decision-making and collaboration with various other technical and behavioral KPIs.

See Also: How to Design a Modern Performance Management System?

Tracking Leadership Development and Identifying Right Leaders
Tracking Leadership Development and Identifying Right Leaders

Conclusion

Businesses operating in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and all around the UAE are well aware of the highly competitive market landscape and ever increasing customer demands. This demands form businesses to effectively utilize the resources in hand to be able to achieve higher productivity. The human resource is one of the most crucial factor in any business’s success. No matter how much you invest in your production facilities, equipment, IT infrastructure and marketing, if their workforce is not up-to-the-mark then they can never achieve their goals and objectives. Therefore businesses tend to utilize various different types of performance management systems.

A performance management system is a complete framework which monitors employee performance, allow businesses to set and communicate goals with employees and then at the end of performance cycle it helps them in appraisal and various other HR tasks. However, as the technology tend to develop and the market trends tend to evolve the business practices also keep on evolving and changing to meet their needs. The performance management system has also evolved a lot, the modern performance management systems are much more complex and sophisticated, aided by AI-powered software application and advanced data analytical tools.

A modern performance management system not only help businesses implement the modern performance management strategies and methodologies but it also makes performance management much more efficient, cost-effective, accurate and impactful. The leadership development is one of the integral part of the performance management. A modern performance management system provides a multitude of features such as continuous feedback, digital dashboards, real-time monitoring, KPIs, OKRs, 360 degree reviews, and structured approach to collect and analyze performance data. This help businesses identify the high-performing talent and enable them to specifically monitor and groom the leadership competencies of employees.

In this blog we have discussed how businesses can use the modern performance management system for leadership development. If you want to learn more about the subject or if you want our help to design and implement a bespoke digital performance management system for your business or organization, please feel free to contact us through our Contact Us page or leave a comment in the comment box below and we will get in touch with you soon.

See Also: How to Customize Performance Management System?

See Also: 5 Performance Management Problems and How to Solve Them

See Also: How the HR should select a Performance Management System?


Security Best Practices in Custom Software Development

The cyber security has become one of the biggest concern for both businesses and customers. That is due to the rising sophistication of cyber threats and the following consequences of the data breaches. We have recently witnessed some global levels of data breaches in well-known multinational and some of the world’s largest enterprises. The mainstream news and TV channels are discussing the cyber security threats and attacks in the prime time transmissions. The words hacking, phishing, ransomware, identity theft, computer viruses and other technical terms have become very common. No matter if someone know the meaning of it, but everyone of us have heard and read those terms. This led to the skyrocketed concerns for cyber security.

Businesses operating in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and broader UAE tend to utilize multiple software applications to streamline their operations. When it comes to business operating systems, ERPs, information systems, software applications and management tools, businesses have to routes, the commercial off-the-shelf solutions (COTS) or the custom software development. Businesses have realized the importance and impact of customized software applications. Hence businesses are moving to customized software solutions day by day. In this article we will explore the best practices software development companies and teams should follow to ensure reliable and secure software solution. Businesses should ensure their software development team is following these best practices.

See Also: What is custom software development?

See Also: Why Off-the-Shelf Solutions Fall Short: Advantages of Custom Software Development

Security Best Practices in Custom Software Development
Security Best Practices in Custom Software Development

Custom Software Development Best Practices for Elevated Security

The custom software development and cyber security are two most sophisticated topics. If you are not qualified enough you might not able to comprehend these two subjects. Therefore I will try to explain it in a very simple and less technical manner. When a business decides to build a customized software solutions such as a customer portal, intranet application, customer relationship management tools, mobile applications, payment portals or interactive self-service channels for their customers, the very first step is to understand the basics of the software security. The first and most important step is to draw a security requirement outline.

It doesn’t matter how well you understand software development or cyber security, you just need to understand the basic working of the application and data management. You can engage a professional software developer either form your team or from your outsourcing partner’s team. Just sit with them and ask them what data will be collected from the users, what will be stored within the software application and what data will be transmitted or fetched from other software solutions or databases. This will help you understand the criticality of various data types. For example the personal identification information and the financial information requires the highest security possible.

See Also: Why the Custom Software Development is Good for Your Business?

See Also: Benefits of Investing in Custom Software Development for Your Business in Dubai

Custom Software Development Best Practices for Elevated Security
Custom Software Development Best Practices for Elevated Security

Once you have all these data types you can now begin with the development of the application and at the completion you will have to sit with the team again to see if the following crucial cyber security best practices are followed correctly or not. Early security planning and identification of compliance is crucial. Moreover different industries also have different security compliance, required by relevant government authorities. Identifying these requirements early on will not only help you make your custom software solutions more secure but it will also save you time and cost of redesigning later. Following these best practices will also help you eliminating flaws and vulnerabilities from your tailored software solutions:

Use Secure Coding Techniques

The custom software development is a technique of building software applications and solutions form ground up. Most of the times these software tools are built using various different software stacks and frameworks. This means that the software development team will have to do a lot of coding and programing to achieve the desired functionalities. Writing secure code and following secure coding methods is crucial to ensure the ultimate security of the customized software. When the security best practices are implemented from the very beginning, it results in better and strong security of the application. For example:

  • Input Validation: All inputs should be validated before sending them to the system or database. This practice will help you minimizing the chances of SQL injections and cross-site scripting. These two are most common threats for software applications.
  • Data Sanitization: This one is also relevant to the above point, but it will help you elevating the security. As the name suggest the data sanitization means ensuring any data or command entering to the software is sanitized, hence ensuring no code injection or unauthorized access.

It is crucial to ensure all team members are well-versed with the above best practices and methodologies. Furthermore businesses should also check and review the code at every milestone or at completion of every module. Moreover once your customized application is complete, you should conduct a thorough security analysis.

See Also: Custom Software for Improved Business Efficiency

Use Secure Coding Techniques
Use Secure Coding Techniques

Implement Strict Access Control and User Identification

When businesses opt for custom software development they tend to have requirements from a particular user group or department. This means that there could be so many different users who will be operating your customized software application. The access control is simply a mechanisms to manage who can access which part of your software application. The access control will dictate the policy to grant various accesses to different features and functionalities. You should ask your custom software development team to build control mechanisms and features which allow you to define multiple job roles with ability to give them access to different parts of the software.

The role-based access control features will allow businesses to create multiple job roles with different levels of access. For example, the system administration role is usually designated to IT team and the system administrator has full system access, including ability to create other job roles and configure various different levels of access. For example, some user might only have access to read the data, some might have access to write it and some might have access to certain future. It is crucial to implement the rule of “least privilege” this will ensure everyone will only get access to the features and data they need. Therefore fool proof user identification and authentication mechanisms should also be implemented.

See Also: Leveraging Big Data in Custom Software Development

Implement Strict Access Control and User Identification
Implement Strict Access Control and User Identification

Data Encryption at Both Storage and Transmission

Businesses often doesn’t realize the importance of encryption. Encryption at both storage (at rest) and transmission (while transferred) is extremely important. It can greatly improve the security of the solution as well as it can also prevent people with malicious intent to access or intercept your data. The encryption technologies has become very advanced, now a days if you apply encryption properly, it is nearly impossible to decrypt them without proper access and decryption protocols. Encrypting any data would take very less computer resources, in fact almost none. But when you try to decrypt any data without decryption code and protocols you might be needing some very powerful super computers to be able to find the right pattern to decrypt it. Thus the encryption can greatly improve security.

The encryption ensures that your data will remain protected even if it is accessed by unauthorized means, or intercepted during the transmission. In case if someone even gets access or intercept your encrypted data, they would never be able to decrypt it. This will prevent any unauthorized access to your sensitive data. All important data types should be encrypted, especially the personal information and financial must need strong encryption. You can utilize Advanced Encryption Standards or AES which is international standard for encryption. For data transmission it is absolutely essential to transmit data through a secure connection by utilizing the SSL/TLS (Secure Sockets Layer/Transport Layer Security). This will ensure your data will remain secure and protected.

See Also: Custom Software Development for Enhanced User Experience

See Also: Custom Software Development Progressive Web Apps – Beginner’s Guide

Data Encryption at Both Storage and Transmission
Data Encryption at Both Storage and Transmission

Implement Secure Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

The secure software development lifecycle or SDLC is not just a technique but a complete strategy. It states that the security should be implemented and prioritized at each and every stage of the software development lifecycle. Starting from planning to designing and then deployment and even for maintenance, incorporating checks and balances at every stage should remain the top priority of the software development team. Here are some best practices to incorporate security at each and every stage of the software development process:

  • Planning: During the software planning process, two important things need to be prioritized. First the security requirements and compliances should be accounted at very early stage. Then the risk assessment and threat modeling should be conducted to identify potential threats, vulnerabilities and risks to ensure all these threats and vulnerabilities will be neutralized effectively.
  • Designing: The design considerations and security architecture should be embedded at the core of the application. Best practices like, secure coding, encryption and system access should be incorporated in the design of the software. A thorough threat modeling should be conducted for different design choices to ensure maximum security and protection.
  • Development: It is extremely crucial to ensure that your custom software development team should be well-versed with the best security practices and secure development techniques. The secure coding practices can eliminate the chances of some of the most common attacks such as SQL injection, buffer overflow, and cross-site scripting, etc. Furthermore the advanced code analysis tools both static and dynamic should be used to find any potential vulnerability in code.
  • Testing: Businesses should ensure the project managers and relevant personals keep testing the application throughout the development phase. Furthermore a full-on security testing round should be conducted after development completion and before going live. Automated tools should be used to simulate attacks, and other testing methods such as penetration testing, security audits, and vulnerability testing should be conducted before going live.
  • Maintenance: Once your customized software is developed, tested and deployed, then you will be needing maintenance which is a continuous process. Usually software applications require periodic maintenance, however, ongoing monitoring and patching is crucial for security. Businesses should have incident response policy and protocols in place. Furthermore any updates, customization and integration would also require in-depth security testing.

Businesses should strictly incorporate security in their software development lifecycle. This will not only make their application more resilience towards threats and vulnerability but it will also ensure the protection and safety of the data of your customers and employees. A secure development lifecycle also encourage cross-functional collaboration between the security and development team which also help improving the security and resilience of your customized software applications.

See Also: The Cost of Custom Software Development: Factors to Consider

See Also: Step-by-Step Guide to Planning Your Custom Software Development Project

Implement Secure Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
Implement Secure Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

Conclusion

The information technology have advanced so rapidly that it is very difficult for a common person to keep up. With the advancements of computer technology the software has become much more complex and sophisticated. For example, there was a time when 1GB RAM and 40GB storage was more than enough for a common PC user, now a days we have smartphones with 16GB RAM and up to 1TB of storage. This all happened in just two decades. This made technology much more complex, so does the security and safety of the user data. As the technology is evolving rapidly the cyber criminals are also adopting to innovative and very sophisticated techniques to attack on businesses and people. This is what made everyone more concerned about their security and data protection.

This rapid development of technology also compelled businesses to adopt to modern software solutions and tools to keep up with the emerging needs. When it comes to software businesses tend to utilize multiple software application to streamline their entire operations. The custom software development is the ideal route for growing businesses, as it can cater to their exclusive business needs and can offer them a great competitive advantage. The security is one of the most critical aspect of custom software development, as there is a common misconception that the commercial off-the-shelf software solutions are more secured. However, this is not true always, in fact the by adopting to modern and best security practices in your custom software development you can greatly improve security and data protection.

Strictly implementing a secure software development lifecycle strategy can help you elevate security of your bespoke software solutions. Businesses should ensure adopting and implementing secure coding methods, continuous security testing and monitoring, risk assessment and threat modeling and various other best practices discussed in this blog. The software development itself is a very sophisticated subject let alone the cyber security. Therefore I have tried to simplify the security best practices to make them understandable by avoiding technical terminologies and methodologies.

If you still want to learn more about the subject or if you want to explore the possibility of developing a highly secured and tailored software solution for your business of organization, please feel free to contact us through our Contact Us page or leave a comment in the comment box below and we will get in touch with you soon.

See Also: How to Develop a Custom Software in Dubai?

See Also: Emerging Trends in Custom Software Development


The Impact of Queue Management Systems on Government Services

The government entities, offices and service centers plays a crucial role in delivering public services, and their performance directly impact the public’s perception of the government. The UAE has a large number of foreign companies and businesses and the country is also a tourist hotspot in the entire region. In such diverse and vibrant market landscape the government’s image is crucial in both attracting foreign investments as well as the tourists. Therefore adhering to the highest standards of customer service is critical for the government entities, offices and service centers.

If you are living in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi or any other part of UAE you would have at least once interacted with a government service. This also indicates the huge traffic at government service centers. Hence the government services need a digital and efficient queue management system to ensure higher customer satisfaction.

The customer happiness is one of the most critical KPI for any government entity in UAE, whether it is federal government or regional government, all government entities focus a lot on customer satisfaction. A good government perception not only build trust but also attract more investments and tourism. Moreover as the private sector is rapidly advancing and becoming more customer-centric the customer demands and expectation from government services are also rising.

This demand a highly efficient and effective solution that can help government entities, offices and service centers to proactively streamline their customer flow, minimize customer wait time, and make their services more efficient. In this blog we will discuss the impact of a digital queue management system and how it can benefit both the citizens as well as the government service centers.

See Also: What are the Different Types of Queue Management System?

The Impact of Queue Management Systems on Government Services
The Impact of Queue Management Systems on Government Services

What is a Digital Queue Management System?

A digital queue management system is a technological solution which is designed to efficiently manage and streamline customer flow. Whether the customers are in physical queues or virtual queues a digital queue management system guides them, while effectively reducing the wait time, and elevating the overall customer journey and experience. The digital queuing is common in banks, healthcare, telecom, retail, government service centers and various other industries. The government entities, agencies and offices can effectively reduce the congestion, streamline customer flow, expedite the service delivery process and increase customer happiness by implementing a digital queue management system.

The queue management system also help improving the staff performance and overall quality of the service. The queue management system can automatically implement the queuing policy with utmost efficiency. A queue management system consists of two parts, one is the software and the other is the hardware. The queue management software is the brain of the system, it monitor queuing, help implementing queuing policy, manages customer as per their priority level and it also collects in-depth analytical data. The hardware of a standard queue management system consists of an interactive self-service ticket dispensing kiosk, digital signage screens, counter plates, announcement system and in some cases physical queuing management instruments.

Whether it is stepped service, or single-counter-delivery, the queue management system can effectively manages all. It can further be customized as per the business needs. Hence if you want to integrate more IoTs or hardware devices, or if you want to build more creative and innovative features, you can tailor-made a queue management system as per your needs.

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What is a Digital Queue Management System?
What is a Digital Queue Management System?

Why Government Services Need a Digital Queue Management System?

One of the most crucial aspect of all government services is to ensure the happiness and satisfaction of the citizens. Long wait time, disorganized queues, crowded service centers and poor communication can lead to dissatisfaction of the citizens. The long waiting lines and overcrowded waiting areas can lead to slower service delivery, which also prevent organizations to leverage the full potential of its human resource. That is why the government entities, agencies, offices and service centers need a digital queue management system.

A digital queue management system not only help addressing customer pain points but it also empower management and service agent which results in better performance and efficiency. Here are some key advantages of implementing a digital queue management system at a government office, entity, agency or service center:

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Reduce Customer Wait Time

One of the biggest challenge at government service centers is the management of customer wait time. Customer often complaint about wait time and this cause discomfort and dissatisfaction. A queue management system is a great tool to reduce and optimize the customer wait time. The queue management system monitors customer flow in real-time, take real-time decision, direct citizens to the right counter, and it provides real-time queuing updates which expedite customer flow and help reducing wait time. The queue management system also help service agent in various aspects, effectively reducing the service delivery time, which also reduce customer wait time.

The queue management system also have smart algorithms which enables it to calculate the estimated time to turn, this help minimizing the negative wait time perception. Hence the queue management system not only help reducing the wait time but it also help improving customer experience and happiness.

See Also: Importance of Queue Management System for Government and Public Offices

Reduce Customer Wait Time
Reduce Customer Wait Time

Elevating Reputation and Fostering Public Trust

When citizens went to a government entity, agency or public office they expect the highest level of transparency and equal treatment for all. Poorly managed queues, crowded waiting areas, limited staff, and slow service delivery can cause serious dissatisfaction which overall undermine the reputation of any government entity. Especially when the customer lines are managed manually, the line jumping, confusion and customer complaints are common. All these factors not only annoy your customers but also damage your reputation as a government entity.

However, when a digital queue management system is deployed, everyone knows the tokens and customer flow is managed by a computerized system. This means everyone is treated equally, moreover the customers have clear view of what is happening. The customer flow and entire journey is well-organized and smooth, this help fostering customer trust. The customer happiness and trust help government entities elevate their reputation and public perception.

See Also: What Is Virtual Queuing? A Guide to Virtual Queues

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Elevating Reputation and Fostering Public Trust
Elevating Reputation and Fostering Public Trust

Boost Employee Performance and Productivity

At government entities and offices, the front-desk staff is always overloaded because of large footfall. When the staff has higher workload, they tend to perform poorly and their work quality could also decline. This has become a serious problem in various service sectors. A queue management system greatly improve the customer flow, it manages most of the queuing tasks and it also help optimizing customer journey. When the queue management system divide the workload of the staff, the staff can focus more on high-priority and more productive tasks.

Furthermore the queue management system provides real-time queuing data and analytical data which help managers take swift actions and help them in effective human resource management. This also help management and service staff to address issues and avoid bottlenecks before escalation. The queue management system also capture various employee KPIs which further help refining and boosting staff performance and productivity.

See Also: Paperless Queue Management System

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Boost Employee Performance and Productivity
Boost Employee Performance and Productivity

Increase Accessibility and Inclusivity for All Citizens

The government is responsible to serve all citizens, this means the government services and service channels should be accessible for people from all walks of life. The government service centers should be able to meet the needs of diverse customer base, it could include, elderly people, people with special needs, and citizens from diverse cultural backgrounds. The digital queue management system has interactive self-service ticket dispensing kiosk, which can offer adjustable screen, touchscreen-optimized UIs, multilingual interfaces, voice-activated support and various such features which help people with special needs to utilize the system with ease and comfort.

The queue management systems also have digital signage displays with live queuing details and audio announcement system. These system can have multilingual support to cater to the needs of diverse customer base. Special service counters and channels can be leveraged effectively to increase accessibility and inclusivity.

See Also: How a Queue Management System Can Transform Your Business Operations

Increase Accessibility and Inclusivity for All Citizens
Increase Accessibility and Inclusivity for All Citizens

Virtual Queuing for Elevated Citizen Experience

The advanced queue management systems also support virtual queuing. The virtual queuing offers digital channels which enable citizens to sign-in remotely without requiring to be physically present at the branch. The digital queue management system can integrate with online appointment booking channels, citizen portals, Email, SMS, WhatsApp, and even with mobile applications. This enable citizens to sign-in to a virtual queue even without arriving at the service center. Furthermore the virtual queue management system provides live queuing updates, notifications, and alerts through integrated communication channels.

The virtual queuing help citizens to spend their wait time anywhere they want, even they can plan their visit and arrive when their turn comes. This can literally reduce the wait time to none, elevating customer experience, giving them more freedom and comfort. The virtual queue management system also collects valuable insights which help management elevate citizen experience.

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Virtual Queuing for Elevated Citizen Experience
Virtual Queuing for Elevated Citizen Experience

Business Intelligence Data for Improved Service and Efficiency

That queue management software not only capable of collecting a wealth of valuable business intelligence data but it can be integrated with various other government services and digital channels. The government offices and agencies can even integrate the citizen identification system and payment solutions within their queue management system to streamline the payment process. The queue management system collects various types of statistical and analytical data from each and every touch point.

For example, the management can effectively track the service trends, individual and average wait time, peak hours, customer flow, staff KPIs and even citizen’s feedback. The queue management system also offer in-built analytical and reporting tools which help generating actionable reports. The insight and reports can also be relayed to a central system via integration to incorporate it in the decision making process which lead to elevated customer experience and better staff efficiency.

See Also: Pros and Cons of Queue Management System

Business Intelligence Data for Improved Service and Efficiency
Business Intelligence Data for Improved Service and Efficiency

Conclusion

The UAE has large expat populations in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and other emirates. The country is a very attractive business and tourist hub. This results in huge burden on government services and the government is very focused and serious in ensuring great service experience at all its service centers. A queue management system at government service center can have profound impact on the citizen’s experience, service delivery efficiency and overall operational performance. The government agencies, entities, service centers, offices and entities are always keen on fostering citizen’s trust for better reputation and public perception. This is also crucial for overall public perception of the entire government.

With the rapid advancement in self-service channels, and digital technologies the entire world is facing increased demand in efficiency, accuracy, and transparency. A digital queue management system is the ideal solution to deal with these challenges as it can greatly reduce customer wait time while significantly boosting staff performance and service delivery processes. This lead to higher customer happiness and satisfaction which is essential for fostering public trust and building positive government perception. Long waiting lines, disorganized queues, and crowded lobbies can greatly undermine the customer experience, resulting in unhappy and unsatisfied customers.

A modern digital queue management system offer innovative features such as virtual queuing, automated customer routing, and real-time queuing data which help improving the entire queuing process. The queue management system also offer features which help management in improving the performance and also help reducing the workload of the service agents. The integration allow government entities, agencies and service centers to integrate multiple channels, services and databases with their queue management system to streamline various workflows and internal processes.

In this blog we have discussed the impact of queue management system on government services, if you want to learn more about the subject or if you want our help to develop a bespoke queue management system for your organization, please feel free to contact us through our Contact Us page or leave a comment in the comment box below and we will get in touch with you soon.

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