August 2022 - RSI Concepts - Top IT Solution Provider Company in Dubai, UAE

August 27, 2022

Which one is better Standalone VS Integrated Software?

Businesses have to grow they have to compete and they have to evolve to stay relevant in the market. The market trends, customer’s needs, internal processes and a lot more factors demand businesses to keep improving their performance and efficiency. For any business the ideal situation is to maximize its productivity, performance and operational capabilities at the same time, optimize the cost and resource consumption. On top of that, with the passage of time, the businesses keep expanding and growing, which make the management and operation more complex and sophisticated. Now a days’ in Dubai or anywhere else in UAE the businesses will have to be more efficient and productive in order to sustain growth in such a competitive environment. The business software, applications and systems help digitalizing the business processes, automate several steps and streamline communication and workflow. If all these tasks are done manually they would require a huge amount of resources and time which not only increase the cost but also delay the work and make things more sophisticated and difficult for the employees.

Another great benefit of using the software and digital systems is the capabilities of monitoring and capturing the data. With manual processes and paperwork it is very hard to process data and perform analysis but with the software or digital systems the reporting, problem solving, problem identification and data analysis have become a very simple and swift task. The software and application doesn’t only effect large-scale operations, in fact they can boost performance and efficiency from individual employee level to the overall performance of the entire business. There are so many different types of software a business uses such as HR & Payroll Software, ERP Systems, POS/Sales System, Inventory Management System, Internet Applications, Supply Chain Management Tools, Production Tools, etc. There are so many different tools and software that a business might need to operate properly. There so many different types and kinds of these software and digital solutions, however all can be classified in two major groups, the standalone software and the integrated software. It could be confusing to choose a solution from any class. In this blog we will discuss both the standalone and the integrated software to provide our audience a brief understanding of both to help them choose the best software type for their business.

What is a Standalone Software?

The simplest definition of standalone software is the software which can work at its own and doesn’t come in a bundle software or doesn’t need any help from any other software or computer process to run. There are further several more types of standalone software such as the software or apps that doesn’t require internet, software which are not part of a bundle package, a portable software/application, USB or media based software that doesn’t need to be installed on a computer, and a software that doesn’t require support from any other software or computer, are all standalone software. Traditionally the standalone software are installed on a local system or local network and businesses used such application to limit the access. Now a days the standalone concepts have evolved slightly, the modern day standalone software is the software or applications which is not linked to any other software, system, application or central information center of the enterprise.

What is Integrated Software?

The integrated software is not just a single software, in fact it is a collection of software packaged in a single bundle/suit or a modular based software application which can have several modules at a time and data flow and information sharing is superfast and possible among all or desired modules. Usually all the software are deployed in an organizational network with the aim to increase data sharing and information flow. Businesses need this to connect several functions and processes and to make all information available for everyone without requiring any format conversions or such problems. Usually integrated software used a single centralized information center, even if there is no unified central information center, each software’s data can synchronized and made available for the other instantly via several integration techniques and modes. Such software are usually hosted in a single network or interconnected networks. The software bundles such as ERP can have various tools and modules for different business functions and group of users is also an example of integrated software.

Standalone Software VS Integrated Software

Now that we got a full understanding of standalone software and integrated software, we can easily compare them on the bases of pros and cons for more clarity:

Pros of Standalone Software

Cost-efficient and longer lifecycle
Customized and tailor-made solution
Perfectly match with business needs
Offer better functionality and simpler operation
Offer superior security
Simple upgrade and scalability

Cons of Standalone Software

Very limited scope of operation
Businesses need multiple standalone software
Integration is difficult, problematic and costly
Manual data transfer and conversion is prone to errors
Multiple solutions make daily tasks difficult
Decrease overall productivity of the business
Businesses will have to manage multiple vendors
Multiple solutions and multiple vendors raise the overall cost
Often work offline and in local network which limits the usability

Pros of Integrated Software

Centralized information center and unified database
Multiple software and tools can be acquired as bundle or suit
Business can easily add more modules or add-on whenever needed
Low cost of the overall business management solution
Instant data sharing, faster operation and simpler interface
Intuitive and unified interface increase employee performance
Provide better monitoring and significantly improve management
Seamless, automatic and error-free data integration, no manual work
Instant access to information and functionality for all employees
Efficient workflow aid day-to-day tasks and boost productivity
Easy upgrade, scalability and cost efficient customization
Share usually same technology which reduce maintenance and operational cost

Cons of the Integrated Software

The biggest drawback is security, one compromised system can compromise the entire company data
Businesses can stuck with one vendor which can result in disputes, problems and delays over the time
Initial cost is high, the deployment requirements are complex need larger IT infrastructure
Upgrade and customization may require changes in several modules and sections of the software
High security requirements and complex network needs pose additional cost and expense
Unified database means errors and mistakes can have larger impact across multiple functions

When a Business should use Standalone Software and Solutions?

The standalone software and applications are simple, intuitive, easy-to-manage and low cost. Businesses use standalone software and application when they need to improve a particular business process or exclusively designed software for a group of people who have demand to use a customized application. Another great advantage of the standalone applications is the simplicity, cost-efficiency and security. As the standalone apps are completely disconnected from any other software or enterprise solutions, the chances of security breaches are none. Even if the standalone software got compromised, it will have no impact on any other part of the IT infrastructure of the business. Usually such applications are used when the security conditions are not fully manageable. Let say a business is organizing an event or a conference, for that they can acquire a self-service registration portal or an interactive kiosk. Which will be placed in a public place, and people might be able to connect media storage devices and other stuff, which can be used by cyber criminals to compromise any system. In such scenarios the standalone software provide a greater protection.

It is easier and much more secure to extract the data from a standalone application manually and plug it in to the main information center or any other relevant software. Another best scenario for having a standalone software is when the business doesn’t want to link any tool with their internal network or central information center. Same is applicable when a business wants to process highly sensitive data within the organization but want to limit the access to only a few users. In such cases standalone software are good choice as they are not linked with the main network, and usually standalone apps are also offline, so they can provide great security. Even in cases if the main network is breached or compromised the sensitive data can still remain isolated and protected. However, when a business wants to integrate a software or its data with another software, the standalone software are not a good option as they don’t integrate well with other standalone or integrated software. Businesses will have to use middleware, which are small application use to bridge the integration and compatibility gaps, which also have additional cost and complications.

When a Business should use Integrated Software and Solutions?

There are several scenarios which compel a business to seriously think replacing all its standalone software with a single and unified integrated business management software solution. When businesses start growing, their requirements also start increasing, over the time they deploy various standalone software and tools at various places. Down the road a time comes when all these standalone software become entangled with each other and the integration could become impractical. On top of that the standalone software solutions are designed to be isolated, they inherently doesn’t support integration. That is when a business should seriously consider replacing all standalone and separate software solutions with a better integrated business management software solution. Another drawback of using standalone software or multiple software solutions is their impact on efficiency. Due to no or very low integration, the manual work is increased, the repetition, poor visibility among different business function could have devastating effects on the overall performance and efficiency of the employees in their day-to-day tasks.

Poor performance and efficiency not only cost a business time but it can also slow down the growth and a time comes when a business no longer able to maintain optimum productivity and performance to sustain growth. Businesses also face another big issue when using standalone and separate software solutions, which is that their data is stored in separate databases, which are isolated and built on different structures, which cause big time compatibility issues even when data is extracted from a system and uploaded to the another software manually. This could cause a lot of problem which can have serious financial consequences as well. For example, the data formats have to match which require conversion and manual labor. The data duplication issues are there which could have impact on the performance and productivity. Businesses usually do such format conversions manually which put extra workload on employees and make processes inefficient, time consuming and expensive.

The integrated software and business management solutions can avoid all these problems. No matter if you are a small business or a large enterprise the integrated software could be the best option to leverage automation and digitalization. Businesses management software is considered to be the backbone of any business. In present day in Dubai and all around the UAE the businesses have become more efficient and the competition in the market is rising day by day. If a business want to make sure they scale smoothly and obtain maximum performance, productivity and profitability, the integrated software are the only solution. The standalone software can’t support in such environments. Now a days the software development companies in Dubai, UAE like RSI Concepts can provide you a great integrated software and business management solution. Mostly the customized integrated software and commercial off-the-shelf software comes in modular structure. Let say if you only require accounting tools, you can only acquire that, later you can add customer relationship management software and tools, HR & Payroll tools, and many more one by one.

The integrated software are much more efficient and intuitive comparing to the standalone tools. In case of standalone software the employees will have to use multiple dashboards and UIs to perform multiple tasks, however, in integrated software the employees can access any data and perform any task utilizing in-built modules and a single intuitive dashboard. There is no additional integration problems and costs, there is no additional training requirements, and the business doesn’t need to deal with multiple vendors. In long term the ROI of integrated software solution is much higher than the standalone apps. For all business management solutions and system the integrated software is always a superior option. For small applications, which also doesn’t require integration and are for external users with limited scope the standalone software can work well.

See More: Why do Schools Need Queue Management?

Conclusion

In this blog we have discussed the standalone software and integrated software solutions in details. Each software category has its own advantages and drawbacks. The integrated software provide better operation, performance and more control and monitoring. The standalone software can offer customized functionalities and better security. Both are different from each other and can be used when the right need arise. For large-scale or core applications, the integrated software are the best solution as they can significantly improve workflow, data sharing and management across multiple business functions. The standalone software are usually used by a limited number of users and mostly required by a particular purpose or objective in mind. In order to achieve better performance, security and cost-efficiency the businesses can utilize both integrated software and the standalone software to establish a high-performance IT infrastructure. RSI Concepts is a leading software development company in Dubai, UAE . If you want to learn more about the subject or if you want our help to develop any type of software solution 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.

Check out this: How to Set Goals for your Employees in Performance Management System?

August 26, 2022

Why do Schools Need Queue Management?

Here in Dubai and all around the UAE the schools, colleges, universities and other educational establishments are far advanced and technologically superior comparing to other regions of Gulf and MENA. The government and education ministries are proactively taking measures to improve the educational system of the country. The schools themselves are eager to improve the environment to promote education and healthy growth of the pupils. However, attending classes and working on assignments is not the only task a student will have to do at school, college or university, in fact the student might have to deal with several other matters too. For all such matters, related to admission, accounts, sports and other offices, the students usually visit the front office of any such department, where they are served. Usually these departments and offices doesn’t have any queue management, it would be just a first come first served based service operations which means mostly the queue are not managed or managed manually. The schools and other educational establishment must use a digital queue management system to save time of the students and to improve service quality.

Manual queue management or poorly managed queues not only make it complicated but also result in longer wait time. Which put extra strain on your students and the staff as well. Students have limited time in the day, if they will have to visit any office or department to avail a service or for any other matter, they might have to take permission from their teachers to skip the class or else they will have to do it in their free period or spare time, which is always very short. However, this could make them more anxious and it is hard to deliver a satisfactory service to anxious customers. Sometimes the student might have to leave midway due to any important class or other activity, which means they will have to visit again later. On top of that due to poorly managed queues, the service staff might also have to work double, or even more to manage everything, which make them unsatisfied too and results in poor quality service. Such scenarios not only cause issues for the students but also damage school’s reputation and eventually parent and students both could get fed up and they might move to another school as well.

Let us see how a digital queue management system can solve a lot of problems and improve the service quality.

Which Departments at a School can Benefits from a Queue Management System?

Here in Dubai and all around the UAE the educational system is very advanced and modernized, it is designed to meet all international standards and it is far superior then other MENA regions. In schools, collages, and educational establishments the queues are not only common in admission offices or student offices, in fact there are several other places where queues can form. The biggest problem is overlapping schedules which made it difficult for students, teachers and faculty members to manage several activities. Here is a generic list of most common functions form a standard school in UAE which can benefit from a digital queue management system:

Admission Offices
Student Affairsand Sport Offices
Testing Centers and Facilities
Study Rooms and Libraries
Accounts and Financial Aid Offices
Computer and Science Labs
Dining, Presentation and Conference Halls
Student Success Offices

These are just the few most commonly found sections and departments of a school however, there could be several more departments where a centralized queue management system can be implemented to facilitate the visitors and to maximize the performance of the department as well.

Queue Management System Reduce Waiting Time

Whenever someone talk about a queue management system the waiting time or wait time is one of the most beneficial advantage of it. In case of schools, colleges, universities and other education institutions the students are already occupied with very busy schedule, whether it is back to back lectures, labs, home works, or any other activity the schools can be very time consuming and tiresome. The last thing any student wants is to end up in a long queue without knowing how much time it will take. On top of that the pressure of next activity/task could make student anxious and stressed out. This results in poor experience. The staff also have to do additional work while manually managing the queues, which can distract them form their primary tasks and results in delays and longer time for the service delivery. However, a queue management system can streamline the student flow and automate the journey, which significantly reduce the wait time. The staff can also focus on their primary tasks and expedite the service delivery process. Overall all these benefits lead to a very quicker and smoother service delivery.

Queue Management System Improve Service Quality

With the aid of a queue management system the schools, colleges, universities and other educational institutes can significantly improve their service quality. The queue management system automates the student flow and various student/customer journey steps which not only reduce the overall wait time but also help staff focus more on their primary tasks. When the students are served immediately or relatively quickly the stress due to wait factor can be significantly minimized, which help students get more time to communicate with the staff. Since the staff also don’t have to focus on queuing or any other task, they can also give more time to students and focus better on their problems. This have huge impact on service quality and help management improve service quality and student/customer experience. Furthermore the queue management systems also collect data and monitor staff performance which help management to utilize resources more effectively and help them improve the performance of the department.

Queue Management System Improve Student Experience

Another main cause of building stress and discomfort among students is the experience they are getting. It doesn’t matter if it is student enrollment and admission department or if it is student affairs office, the student experience matters equally across all functions. Students can have a variety of different needs and quires some of them can be straightforward and some can be complex. Usually with the manual queues, the school management have appoint a main reception with one or two staff. Who are the very first interaction with the students, students will have to form queues to reach to the counter or reception. Then they ask some basic questions about their needs and direct them to the correct person to assist them further. However, this could be a very time consuming tasks. However, with the help of a queue management system the students can be provided with a ticket dispensing kiosk which provides an intuitive UI (user interface) and allow students to interact with the system with a touch screen.

The students can choose the right options and they can also answers some questions to further clarify their need. This way the queue management system can automatically route each student to the right department. This not only improve student flow but it also help the staff to improve their service quality and offer a better solution to the student’s needs. The queue management systems can take decisions in real-time and also help school management in implementing their strategies and policies. All these feature help improving the student experience and also improve the service quality.

Queue Management System Offers Better Control and Monitoring

The biggest advantage of any digital solution is that it can capture a lot of valuable business intelligence data. Control and monitoring are the two key aspects of better management. If a school want to improve its internal business processes or any other business wants to make improvements they need to be able to identify the area of improvement and gain more control over internal processes and all the mechanics that is impacting on that particular subject. For instance if the school management wants to improve the student enrollment and admission department, they first will have to be able to gain better control and ability to move things from their organic way to according to their strategy. This can only be achieved if the school management is capable of closely monitoring each and every moving part that is involved in the targeted business process.

A queue management system is a very capable tool which can collect system usage stats and analytical data from each and every touch point of the student/customer journey. Which makes it a great companion for the management who wants to keep improving their performance and efficiency. The queue management collects queuing data and staff performance KPIs to provide management a deeper insight to their queuing process. For example, average and individual waiting time, service delivery time, employee performance such as average and each service time, pre-service preparation time, post-service tasks, busy hours, busy days, etc. Such data help management understand the queuing process and identify the areas of improvements. This way the management can get highly accurate and actionable reports which can be incorporated in the policy making and strategy building process to achieve the performance goals.

The management can also effectively utilize resources at their full potential with such information which help them optimize performance. The performance management enable a business to improve productivity, reduce cost, and maximize efficiency.

Mobile Queuing and Virtual Queuing can Have Huge Impact on Student Satisfaction

Schools, colleges, universities and other educational establishment can leverage the modern technologies to further improve their queuing processes. For example, the mobile queuing and virtual queuing are two modern and most effective features of a queue management system. These days the smartphones have become an essential for everyone, whether students, professionals or parents. Here in Dubai and all around the UAE almost 99% of population is using mobile phones. People tend to spend hours on their smartphones, this is what compelled businesses to focus more on smartphone based interactions and facilitate their customers by offering them mobile phone portals, responsive websites, and smartphone applications. Schools can utilize queue management system smartphone applications, SMS, online student/parent portals, website appointment booking and such digital channels to allow the students and parents to utilize virtual queuing to save more time.

The virtual queuing allow students and parent to sign-up remotely for the queue, instead of coming at the relevant office and wait in the long queues, they can sign-up remotely and get notified when their turn come.The queue management system allow several digital channels to sign-up for the queues, it keep informing the students, parents and visitors about the on-going queuing and send them automated alerts and notifications to inform them about their turn. This help them to arrive only at the time of their turn hence the wait time can be reduced to absolutely none. No need to stand in long lines, or spare hours to get a simple service or paperwork, everyone get served instantly as they arrived, so no chances of crowd, congestion or the problems inherited by a manual queuing. Furthermore it significantly improve staff performance. When the staff worked under a balanced workload their morale and motivation rise and they tend to perform better. Hence schools can significantly improve their queuing process.

How Poor Queue Management is Impacting Schools and Students in Dubai, UAE?

The long queues and frequent complaints about waiting or poor quality service will eventually push your students out of the school. Parents who are sending their kids in a school, college or university are expecting from the educational establishments to provide high quality service and a better environment where the students stay focused on their studies and healthy activities rather wasting time in waiting lines and complaining about the staff for poor service. Students might not file an official complaint to the administration, especially the youngsters, but they tend to discuss everything with their parents. Which led them to believe that the school might not be treating them well and raise concerns about the education quality as well. This could be very harmful for any school, once your reputation is damaged it take tremendous efforts to repair it and build a trusted name again. Here in Dubai and all other cities of UAE mostly the school districts are separate, where usually 5 to 10 schools are available and in some cases even more. It is a lot easier for students and parents to switch school. So, poor queue management could have long term impact on a school and its growth.

Moreover when schools, colleges, universities and educational establishment doesn’t focus on their queuing processes and student journey. It also impact the students and their performance too. If you think from a student’s prospective the long wait time can build stress, could also cause them to skip classes or other activities which can have long lasting bad impact. Eventually the students also get tired of such things and start considering changing the school. In the modern world of social media, students tend to post about their schools and educational institutes over the social media and internet. Which is also an important aspect of branding and brand image. Moreover the schools usually think that the admission and student enrollment is once-a-year activity, so it might not have any impact. However, that is not true, the student admission whether schools, colleges, universities or any other educational institute, it is very critical because it is the very first interaction for new comers. If a school fails to build a good first impression, then they might lose the student which can have long term impact on the business as well.

See More: Comparison between COTS and Custom Software Development

Conclusion

Schools, colleges, universities and educational establishments tend to invest huge in improving their education quality and facilitating the students but they often neglect the queue management which is a crucial part of student experience and have huge impact on the brand image and reputation. Poor queue management can impact students and portray a bad image of the institution. Especially for the admission and parents interaction can have very negative impact on the business if the schools don’t proactively improve their queuing processes and queue management. Let us just admit, no one likes long waiting lines, for example if you keep waiting for long time at a bank, a time will come when you will think about changing your bank just because of this inconvenience and bad service experience. Same is the case for the schools, colleges, universities and educational institutions. That is why schools must have to adopt to modern queuing processes and technologies to keep students and parents satisfied. The queue management systems also help schools to improve the staff efficiency. Smart resource management help optimizing cost and improving productivity.

A queue management system can have huge impact on your internal processes, staff productivity, student/parent experience and more importantly brand name and reputation. RSI Concepts is a leading queue management system provider in Dubai, UAE. If you want to learn more about the subject or if you want us to help you school, college, university or educational institute to improve their queuing process, 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.

Check out this: How to Reduce Queues in Banks?

August 23, 2022

Comparison between COTS and Custom Software Development

Here in Dubai and all around the UAE the markets are fairly modern and more technology savvy comparing to any other country in GCC or MENA region. The presence of multinational enterprises and corporations have helped modernizing the markets and business practices. No matter if you are in UAE or anywhere else in the world, the technology has become the essential part of a business operations. Now a days without digital solutions and systems in place a business can’t even function properly. The growth and progress is impossible without leveraging the benefits of digital technologies and solutions. The flow of data and information is absolutely crucial for businesses. In order to speed up work flow and operations businesses need automation and digitalization. That is why several systems and solutions can be utilized to improve various business processes. Digital assets and IT infrastructure of a business is vital and can have huge impact on business growth and performance.

There was a time around 15 – 20 years ago when the commercial off-the-shelf software or COTS were absolutely dominating the market. At that time the needs were limited and the market evolution was slower, however, as time passed the custom software development gain momentum due to its abilities to offer exclusive and very specific solutions for businesses. As the market start evolving and the needs start growing the COTS due to their general purpose structure start lagging behind and the custom software industry start growing. Both COTS and custom software development offers several advantages and also have their own downsides and limitations. This is what made it difficult to decide which software solution type will fit best for your requirements.

In this blog we will discuss both COTS and customer software development in details to provide our audience a better understanding of both paths so they can easily decide which software type would be the best match for their requirements.

Let us start with COTS:

What is COTS and when you should go for it?

The COTS stands for Commercial Off-the-shelf Software, it is also referred to packaged apps, ready-made solutions and is publically available to purchase for commercial and personal use. The popular examples of the COTS for personal use are MS Office, Antivirus and such applications. However, in this blog since our focus is on businesses so we will discuss about the business solutions only. The COTS are designed for a large audience and is publically available for everyone. Business can quickly deploy COTS software solutions and doesn’t require to involve in designing and development process. That is the simplest definition of the COTS.

When a Business should go for COTS?

As the COTS software and solutions are designed for a larger audience so before going for a COTS software it is crucial to understand your requirements and the features the COTS is offering. If your requirements can be full filed by the features and functionalities of the COTS then no need to go through the hustle of developing a customized software solution. However, here are a few benefits of COTS that most businesses consider while choosing between a COTS or Customized software solutions:

Most of the time 70% to 80% of the needs can be met with the COTS
Simple and easy deployment with cloud prevent businesses to manage additional IT infrastructure
Cost-effective solutions with flexible payment plans (monthly, quarterly or yearly payments)
Excellent solution when the customization is not required or can be done internally
No cost of R&D, businesses can get highly researched and market proven solutions
Help businesses to adopt to market trends and improve internal business processes accordingly
A large clientele base ensures most of the businesses are satisfied with the features
COTS are very stable software and tend to offer flawless, smooth and bugs free operation

Basically the COTS software solutions are not designed for your exclusive needs and goals in mind. Sometimes one-fits-all is not enough for some businesses and some needs. That is why business have to look up for alternates, either they will have to acquire multiple solutions for different needs and tasks, which prolong simple processes and cause repetitive work and unnecessary delays in work flows. In such situations customized software solutions are a better choice.

Let us see what customized software development is and when businesses decide to go for it.

What is Custom Software Development and when you should go for it?

The customized software development is path businesses choose when they need to develop a software or solution exclusively for their very specific needs. Usually such needs can’t be fulfilled with the traditional COTS solutions. Obviously the COTS are designed for a large audience and are general purpose tools, however, each business have a very different and unique internal culture which over the time evolved into different business practices and methodologies, the COTS are unable to meet all needs, that is why businesses need a customized software which is tailor-made for their needs and offer them a 100% compatible solutions. This makes customized software development far superior than the COTS.

When a Business should go for Custom Software Development?

The custom software development is a software that a business or organization develop at their own and doesn’t require a service provider. However, most of the time the internal IT department is limited due to the workforce and skillset that is why business outsource it to third-party software development companies in Dubai, UAE such as RSI Concepts. The main aim behind custom software development is to get a precise solution to very specific needs and the custom software solutions only serve a particular set of users or organization and it is also not available for anyone else.

Get tailor-made solution to meet all your needs

For COTS software and solutions businesses always follow an 80/20 rule. It means if the software meets 80% of the needs and doesn’t address 20% of the needs or problems it can be acquired. Each business has different structure and different business processes which are result of organic evolution and growth. However, the commercial off-the-shelf software can only meet up to 80% of the needs. The features that are offered out-of-the-box or later developed with customization are still unable to meet the 100% needs of the business. The customized software development is exclusively done to meet all the needs of the business. It means all the features will be designed to meet the needs. Another greater advantage of this is that the businesses don’t have to modify their internal processes or work flows to achieve compatibility with the software features.

Get more control and customizability

The COTS software and solutions are also customizable, however, the level of customization and the cost is a major drawback. The COTS sometimes are limited due to technology or implementation or any other matter which limits the customizability of the software. In addition to that the customization with COTS is usually done by implementing small patches and modifications in different modules, however, the core can’t be modified. The custom software allow in-depth modification and customization facility. Businesses can freely chose the technology they want or they can acquire a consultant to help them selecting the best technology for their outsource project. Furthermore the custom software are capable of evolving at the same pace as the requirements and needs evolves. The COTS also offer third-party plugins to support and improve customization and integration abilities of the software.

However, this could lead to more cost, separate agreements and eventually business could get stuck with more vendors. However, the custom software doesn’t have any such problem and allow businesses to keep improving their software to achieve higher efficiency and performance.

Custom Software Offers Superior Security

Business often believe the commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS) have better security and as the service provider is providing services to a large clientele sometimes globally but the reality is the COTS are more prone to internet pirates. Basically the COTS are widely used and also widely available, the criminal minded people or group can easily get familiar with the COTS. However, the customized software are exclusively designed for the business and only a limited people have access to the applications. That is why the customized software are more secure and have better protection against internet attacks. The source code is well protected as the developers and only limited people have access to its source code. Furthermore the business and the development team have full control over the software and its source code so they can also implement more techniques and include better security features.

Custom Software Offers Full Ownership Rights

One of the biggest problem of the COTS is that the businesses never get ownership rights, the software always remains the property of the service provider. Which could cause several issues, however, the biggest issue is that if the service provider ends the product or closed the entire business the customers will end up abandoned and helpless. Obviously that usually doesn’t happen but it happened in past and it could also happen in future. However, the custom software development doesn’t have any such problem. As the software is exclusively designed for the business by either their internal software development team or outsourcing partner. The business have full ownership rights over the product. The business gets all core files, source codes, algorithms, integrations and each and everything.

As the software is exclusively designed for the business so it has full ownership of the entire software, no matter if the outsourcing firm got closed or the maintenance and management team got changes, the business will remain the owner of the software and there would be no harm to the data and/or application.

Custom Software Development Offers Better Cost and ROI

Here in Dubai and all around the UAE the most common belief is that the custom software development is expensive than the commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS) solutions. However that is not the case, in reality if we calculate the ROI over a period of time, it will be much better than the COTS. The commercial off-the-shelf software might have less initial cost, but the running, customization, updating the COTS is way too high. Mostly the COTS comes with annual subscription, licensing or customization fees and such costs which raise the overall cost of the commercial off-the-shelf software. The COTS always have too much operational cost, however, the custom software doesn’t have any such costs. In fact the operational cost of the custom software is very less and in some cases there could be no operational cost at all if no third-party components are used to develop the software.

Personalization and Compatibility

One of the most important advantage of the custom software development is that it offers greater levels of personalization and offer better compatibility. The COTS are often designed for general purpose which require them to develop a universal interface which help businesses all over the world, however, one-fits-all is not true always, most of the time some users feel the lag or personalization and customization. The custom software development allow businesses to customized the UIs (User Interfaces) and UX (user experience) to make it more intuitive and also allow users to customize the interfaces and user experience as per their needs and desires. The COTS are also rigid and most of the times businesses doesn’t have their internal processes and work flows as per the features of the commercial off-the-shelf software. This means that businesses will have to make changes to internal processes and workflows to attain the full compatibility with the available features.

However, this is totally opposite for the custom software. The customized software are tailor-made as per the needs of the businesses, they are designed after studying all such needs and requirements, hence when a custom software is deployed it doesn’t require businesses to make adjustments or changes to any of their internal processes or workflow. This can significantly improve the efficiency of the custom software however, on the contrary when such changes are made in case of COTS those changes could also harm the performance and efficiency.

Integration and Scalability

For any business solution or tool the integration and scalability are the most important features. The COTS also offer a certain level of integration and customization. Sometimes when a business is using multiple software and tools, the direct integration between them might not be possible, hence businesses will have to develop and deploy middleware or other integration techniques to bridge the gap between two software and tools. However with the custom software development there is no such issue. Since the entire source code and everything can be controlled and modified, the integration become seamless. No matter whatever kind of integration is required the custom software can easily do it. The COTS do support scalability but it is very expensive and it increase its operational cost. However, the custom software solutions are very flexible towards scalability and doesn’t have any licensing structure which could cost you. This makes custom software highly cost-efficient and very superior than COTS.

Custom Software Development VS Commercial Off-the-shelf Software (COTS)

The best way to decide whether you need a custom software development or the commercial off-the-shelf software solution, you must first have to understand what you need and which solution will be able to meet your needs. Of course cost is a major factor too, so it is better to choose a software type which can meet your both technical and commercial needs. Here are some pros and cons of both of the software types, which will further help you taking a decision:

Pros of the commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS)

Cost-efficient and much affordable in terms of initial investment and deployment
Better technical and mostly larger community support is easily available
Require less training, simple to operate and easy to maintain
Save a lot of time, cost and resources on product research and development
A wider range of competitive products is available, and by comparing a few of them a business can get a better product with better functionality and affordable price
The wide user-base ensures a flawless and bug free product

Cons of the commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS)

Mostly the commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS) comes with hidden cost and additional expenses down the road
Furthermore the COTS comes with additional costs for upgrades, scalability and customization
The COTS offer limited or absolutely no customization or modification facility which could interrupt several business processes by forcing them to adopt to the new structure of the COTS
Doesn’t offer competitive advantages as most of your competitors might also be suing the same COTS solutions
Sometimes the upgradation might demand upgrading your existing IT infrastructure and other existing systems in place
Doesn’t offer much support for the customization and innovation hence a business could feel stuck and limited by the COTS demands
Always comes with unwanted features as a bundle with other required features, that is why a businesses can never fully satisfy its needs

Pros of the Custom Software Development

The biggest advantage of custom software development is that it is capable of meeting 100% needs of the business
The custom software allow easy and flexible modifications, upgrades and evolve and grow as the businesses evolve and grow
Businesses have full control and can keep modifying and upgrading the custom software over the time to improve functionality and to support growth
Custom software can be designed as per the needs of the users hence it can offer greater user experience and better usability of the system which results in better performance
The custom software development is a one-time investment and there are no hidden charges, licensing fees, and per user cost
As the technology grows and market demands increases the business can instantly made changes, modifications and upgrades to leverage the new circumstances
Integration with third-party software and systems is very easy and more flexible, businesses can align their software easily to integrate with existing software and systems
Since the custom software is exclusively designed for your business, it can provide a greater competitive advantages
Custom software can boost employee performance, internal processes and operational capabilities

Cons of the Custom Software Development

The biggest drawback of the custom software development is its high initial cost
Apart from higher initial cost, the custom software also require proper research and brainstorming to establish a roadmap of the features to achieve the desired outcome
In-depth testing and repeated tests are required to make the system bug free
Custom software development is a time consuming task and couldn’t meet very urgent needs
It could take a fairly longer time to bring innovation and to upgrade the software
Another challenge a business faces while opting for a custom software development is to choose a right partner and service provider who can understand and meet your software needs

Conclusion

If a business wants to sustain growth and prosperity they must have to adopt the modern methods and industry trends. These days’ businesses heavily rely on IT and digital infrastructure to compete and grow in the market. The Dubai and in fact the entire UAE is a very competitive market and on top of that the customers are also very savvy and demanding. These trends and factors help evolving the society, hence the businesses will also have to evolve and upgrade to keep up the pace. When a business wants to upgrade its digital arsenals the biggest challenge is to decide among the commercial off-the-shelf solutions and customized software development. In this blog we have described both and we also listed all important aspect so the both methods. RSI Concepts is a leading custom software development company in Dubai, UAE. If you want any more help on the subject or if you want us to develop the next performance and success oriented software solution for your exclusive needs, 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.

Check out this: How to Set Goals for your Employees in Performance Management System?

August 17, 2022

How to Set Goals for your Employees in Performance Management System?

For any business the performance management is absolutely crucial. Especially in Dubai and in fact all around the UAE the markets are very competitive and the industry standards are comparatively higher comparing to any other country in GCC or MENA regions. Obviously each industry sector have different challenges however, performance management is equally important for all business and organizations. Whether you are a large enterprise or a small business achieving maximum productivity and quality of the work will help you levitate in the market. Every business is centered on its customers, the customers need high quality products and excellent services. Which can only be achieved if your employees and internal business functions are performing well. That is not all the effective performance management also help reducing the expenses and improve outcome. It also help improving resource management and planning which tend to produce high quality work and better performance. Performance management systems help businesses improve their workforce over the time and gain competitive advantage in the market.

For any performance management method the most important point is setting up goals and objectives. Setting up performance oriented goals not only ensures high performance and produce better outcome but also benefit your employees. The goals and objectives have a huge impact on employee performance, unclear and unrealistic goals not only decline performance but demotivate your employees and lower their morale. The performance management system is a digital tool based on a powerful software application which provide better employee engagement, enhance communication and help businesses effectively implement performance management strategies. Modern day performance management heavily rely on data flow and structured information. That is why the performance management system is used instead of traditional and manual methodologies. In this blog we will cover how a business whether large or small can effectively create result oriented goals to boost employee morale and achieve higher performance, productivity and profitability.

Align Employee Goals with High-level Business Goals

Each business have high-level goals and objectives that they want to achieve. The employee goals should be aligned with the high-level organizational goals. When the employees knows what the organization is wanting to achieve and what is expected from them in order to achieve those goals they tend to perform well. When the high-level goals and individual goals are communicated clearly to the employees and they know how their goals will contribute to the high-level organizational goals they understand the importance of individual goals and they get a sense of importance and value. This way the employee work with passion and focus more on their goals and objectives. Basically the employee engagement is very important to motivate them for better performance. When the business goals are communicated effectively and consistently the employee understand them and feel more connected with the business, this gives them motivation and raise their morale. The performance management system provides a complete framework to set up goals and also help managers communicating those goals to the individual employees.

Another major obstacle in improving performance is the accountability. Employees are usually not comfortable with high accountability. But when the high-level organizational goals and objectives are communicated to them and the importance of their work and performance is clear to them they can tolerate more accountability as they know how their performance can impact the overall performance of the entire organization. Usually the business goals and objectives are derived from its vision and mission. Then these goals and objectives are used as a reference point to build strategies and these strategic objectives and goals are scaled down for the teams, departments and various business functions. Then these goals and objectives are further fragmented into individual goals and objectives. This top-down approach is more effective and help communicating the high-level organizational goals and objectives to individual employee. When individual goals and objectives are perfectly aligned with high-level goals the business can achieve the desired performance objectives.

The performance management system help managers improving employee engagement and provide a variety of features that support communication between employees and managers/supervisors. Furthermore the performance management system is capable of continuously monitoring the employee performance and progress towards pre-set goals throughout the entire appraisal period. This allow managers to immediately detect any deviation from the original employee goals and let them take steps in time to correct course and align employees with the high-level organizational goals. The Performance management system offers several other features and monitoring tools which can alert managers about any discrepancies and obstacles the employee might be facing which is deviating them form the original goal. This help managers identify and rectify the problem in time and prevent any long-term negative impact on the overall performance for the entire appraisal period.

Set SMART Goals for the Employee Using Performance Management System

Setting up goals is one part of the problem, the other part is to build plan of action to achieve those goals. For that businesses tend to utilize SMART framework. The SMART framework is a method to build goals that can be tracked and achieved easily. One of the main reason of failure of an employee is poorly crafted goals. If the employee create goals for themselves they might not be able to create realistic goals, they either tend to create goals with very high outcome or either as per their own convenience. In both cases ultimately these goals will fail the employee as their performance is associated to their contribution in the high-level organizational goals and objectives. That is why the businesses tend to implement SMART goals strategy, which help them create realistic goals, made them more achievable, and enable them to build result-oriented action plans. Here is what SMART stands for:

S: Specific
M: Measurable
A: Achievable
R: Relevant/Results
T: Time-bound

SMART Framework: Specific

It is crucial to create very specific goals that can clearly explain what is to be achieved, why it has to be achieved and how it can be achieved. When managers ask their employees they tend to get confused or gave very vague answers, which doesn’t usually specify outcome either. That is why it is crucial for the managers to set a very specific goal and outline the plan of action to achieve it. Furthermore in order to increase employee engagements and to encourage them it is also important to explain them why you would want them to achieve that goal and how it will contribute to the high-level organizational goals. It is prime responsibility of a manager to explain the employees how they can achieve their goals. In fact the managers should not only make step by step plan, but also coach them to let them be more confident and motivated in achieving their individual goals.

SMART Framework: Measurable

Each goal should be measureable or a criteria should be established to quantify the outcome. These criterions indicates the progress towards the desired goals. The measureable aspect of the SMART framework is very important as it provide a mechanism for accountability and also indicates the progress accurately towards the goal, which help keeping employees on track and keep the motivated. If employee get engaged during the goal creation process it can boost their morale and increase their motivation. The manager can also learn about their ambitions and what they want to achieve in terms of growth and progress. Furthermore the managers can discuss the goals in details and let them understand what indicators and what mechanism will be used to track their performance and what indicator will indicate their success.

SMART Framework: Achievable

A specific and measureable goals should also be achievable so that the employee can realistically improve their progress to achieve it. This can be done by closely analyzing the capabilities and competencies of the employee. Managers can also check their previous performance and they should also discuss it with the employees as well. Most of the time managers and employees both don’t consider the possible obstacles or limitation that can prevent them from achieving the goal. It is crucial to understand the limitation and obstacles that an employee is facing or could face while working to achieve their goals. This will make goals more realistic and achievable. When employees are given achievable goals they tend to perform well, as they understand they can achieve it and in case if they have to work harder, they don’t hesitate. If the goals are over-complicated or doesn’t look achievable, most of the employees lose hope immediately and doesn’t even try to achieve them.

SMART Framework: Relevant

The SMART Framework encourages managers to create relevant goals that are not only relevant to the high-level organizational goals but also relevant to the employees as well. This way the employees can understand the importance of the goal and they can also understand the benefits for them in achieving that goal. This also makes it easier to explain them how the goal will contribute to the high-level business goals and objectives. Furthermore it is important to see how relevant the goals is to the business’s broader visions and if it is relevant to the current priorities. Mostly businesses keep improving step by step, for example, a business is more focused on marketing at a time and on the other time it might focus on reducing the customer churn rate or improving the customer support department, etc. Although all such goals are achieved in parallel however, at a certain time certain things are more important than others.

SMART Framework: Time-Bound

Each and every goal should be time bound, whether it is high-level organizational goal or individual employee’s goal a clear sense of time should be there for example, if a business wants to increase their sales by 10% in a particular region, then the time should also be defined such as 10% in sales in Ras Al Khaimar by the end of 2022 or 2023. Similarly the sense of urgency and time limitation motivate employees more to work harder to achieve the goal. A manager should clearly specify the deadline for the goal and explain employee why it is important to achieve the goal during that time period. The performance management system is used to boost performance and productivity, time-bound goals gives a sense of urgency and also clarify the importance of the goal which encourage employees to work harder in order to achieve the goal in time.

That is how the SMART Framework works and it can significantly improve the performance management process. A modern performance management system provide intuitive features and customized features to allow businesses implement SMART goal setting framework. The performance management system can also provide the previous data and other analytical data which can help managers predict the possible outcome, hence they can further optimize the goals and make them more realistic, achievable and impactful.

Include Employees in Goal Setting Process & Set Consistent Goals

The managers always want to set goals that can improve productivity and efficiency. As the primary focus is to achieve those goals with a better performance it is better to engage employees in the process as well. Usually managers have certain ideas and plans in mind for each employee and they set goals accordingly to maximize their progress and performance. However, discussing them with the employees first can provide a greater insight. Managers can directly ask the employees to identify the goals or suggest the goals relevant to their position and skillset. Moreover when the employees and the managers are on the same page the goals are more likely to be achieved successfully. Imposing goals on the employees and asking them to suggest goals for themselves which aligned with the high-level organizational goals are two different things. When goals are imposed the major problem is it is extremely difficult to convince employees that the goals is worthwhile and it will add value to their personal experience.

Furthermore another most important aspect of employee goals is consistency. It is always best to assign similar goals consistently. This will gradually increase the employee performance and skills and it will also give them a sense of direction and help them set their career path for future. Such goals help managers to achieve better results and also encourage employees to improve their certain skills. This also prevent competition and rivalry among employees and maintain a healthy and productive work environment. If a certain goal is assigned to an employee next time the same employee should be assigned that goal. The managers should never encourage competition and rivalry as it cause frustration, resentment and lower down the morale of the employees and prevent them from working at their full potential like they can do with consistent goals and tasks.

Reward, Recognition and Accountability

It is an important part of performance management to recognize and admire the employees who achieve their goals or exceed them. The performance management system provides a dedicated dashboard to create, implement and improve reward, recognition and appraisal processes. The reward and recognition program show employees how much respect is given to them and how valuable their work is for the business. Such things help improving their morale as well as it helps motivating others. It is important for the managers to prepare a plan for reward and recognition based on the actual achievements of the employees. As when employees knows no matter what they accomplish their efforts would not be acknowledged, they lose motivation and their morale declines which result in poor performance. The reward and recognition processes should also be transparent, hence no employee feel discriminated.

As much as the reward and recognition is important the accountability is also equally important. If the employees know no one will ask them about their poor performance or no one cares to correct them or confront them, they tend to get lazy and start losing aim and ambition. This could result in gradual decline in employee performance over the time. The performance management system provides a framework to lift up the entire culture of the organization and make it more productive. For that the managers frequently review the employee progress towards the goal and keep assisting them whenever needed. However, there would be some employee who will fail despite a lot of efforts are done by the managers. In such case the manager should take a very positive approach and encourage the employee to express themselves openly to understand what prevented them from achieving their goals. This way the manager can held the employee accountable for their poor performance while also encouraging them to perform better for the next performance cycle.

Conclusion

Since past few years business in Dubai and all around the UAE have started upgrading their performance management practices. During past 4 – 5 years the performance management systems have become significantly popular. The main reason is that, businesses realized the traditional and semi-digital methodologies are losing their impact day by day so much so that the traditional practices are no longer impactful as they were around a decade ago. That is why the performance management systems got rapid adaptation. Basically the performance management system is a modern technological solution for the performance management needs. It is a software that has capability to automatically collect data, streamline various performance management processes and allow businesses to leverage automation and advanced features to improve the process. Setting up goals is the first and most crucial part of any performance management cycle.

That is why we decided to wrote this article to provide our audience a basic understanding of the goal setting process and how they can improve their strategies to ensure they will achieve those goals at the end of performance cycle. If you consider the above mentioned suggestions and methods you can significantly improve your performance management strategy and its impact on the actual performance of the entire business. RSI Concepts is a leading software development company in Dubai, UAE specialized in customized and tailor-made performance management system solution provider. If you want to learn more about the subject or if you need our help to build an exclusive 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.

Check out this: Performance Appraisal System for the HR Department

August 16, 2022

Performance Appraisal System for the HR Department

The HR Department at any business or organization is one of the most important business function. The HR is responsible for the capabilities and performance of the workforce for the business. If the business have all the required skillset with high performing teams, individuals and business functions, nothing can stop it from dominating the market. Here in Dubai and all around the UAE the markets are very competitive comparing to other gulf countries in GCC and MENA regions. Tougher competition requires maximum performance and productivity. The HR department designs performance appraisal processes to boost the employee performance and capabilities of the workforce. Individual employee performance adds value to the team performance which reflects in the overall performance of the business or organization. That is why the HR department is considered to be the most important business function and the performance appraisal is the key driver for the high efficiency, quality of work, productivity, profitability and growth of the business.

In any market or any scenario leveraging employee’s full potential can provide a great competitive advantage. Whether it is lowering the cost, raising the product/service quality, optimizing the operations and management or anything else, the employee performance is crucial. Businesses have their long term goals and vision. Every business strive hard to achieve those goals and objectives. However, most of the time we noticed that the problem lies within the practices and methodology rather with the resources a business is investing or willing to invest to achieve their high-level organizational goals and objectives. The performance appraisal is the major process a business relies on to optimize and increase its performance. On the bases of performance reviews and appraisals a business perform several HR related tasks, the same are used for building employee development and training programs which are crucial for performance management. In this blog we will discuss how a performance appraisal system can solve a lot of problems and how a business can achieve their performance objectives with it.

What is a Performance Appraisal System?

The performance appraisal is a process of reviewing employee performance usually at the end of a year and on the bases of these reviews the HR department or reviewer determines the value and worth of an employee and its contribution to the high-level organizational goals and strategic objectives. This entire process is a very time consuming and often done almost manually which requires HR department to invest a lot of time and resources in the process. The performance appraisal system is a software and a digital solution which help businesses streamline their performance appraisal process and automates various steps to save time and resources. The performance appraisal system is capable of enabling businesses to execute both traditional and non-traditional appraisal processes with higher accuracy and more efficiency. The performance appraisal system also offer a variety of modern solutions and improve data flow and communication which is a great advantage.

Furthermore the performance appraisal system offers digital tools and allow HR department to evaluate the employee performance against a set of pre-determined objectives, their strengths and weaknesses, their worth and value for the business, the financial aspects of retaining an employee, and facilitates various other HR processes, especially decision making. The performance appraisal system is also capable of integrating with various other third-party tools and systems and help businesses to leverage the data more efficiently. The performance appraisal system also support modern needs and allow businesses to customize their own appraisal strategies and processes. One of the biggest advantage of the performance appraisal system is that it allow businesses to conduct more frequent reviews such as twice a year, at each quarter, monthly or even at the end of a particular project or phase. Which allow management to continuously monitor performance and take timely decisions to set course and make corrections to ensure at the end they will achieve their high-level goals and objectives.

Types of Performance Appraisal in Human Resource Management

Majorly the performance appraisal process involves top-down reviews in human resource management. Where a senior employee evaluate and review their subordinates. There are conflicting information about the origins of the performance appraisal process, however the most common belief is that the performance appraisal processes was first created and implemented during the word war I, however the corporate sector have adopted it in somewhere between 1950s. Here are a few types of performance appraisals:

Top-Down: This is the traditional employee performance evaluation technique. In this method the supervisor or line manager reviews the performance of the employees and usually the employees doesn’t have any say in the review.
Self-Assessment:In this method the individual employees rate their abilities, skills, behavior, competencies and performance by themselves. Obviously this could be biased but it has great impact on the employees and encourage them to perform better.
Peer-to-Peer:In this appraisal processes, the co-workers, team members and other relevant employees who work alongside with the individual employee review their technical, personal and behavioral competencies.
360 Degree Feedback: This is a very broader feedback and review process it includes review and feedback from peers, managers, supervisors, cross-function and cross-team feedback, customer and supplier feedback and review from any other stakeholder.
Negotiated Review:This is a more detailed employee performance review, it considers the employees tasks and what they were doing before the review, and it also allow employees to give their opinion/explanation along with the review. Great to resolve disputes.

Key Advantages of Performance Appraisal System for the HR Department

The performance appraisal system allow the HR department to closely monitor and optimize the performance of the entire business across all its functions. Here in Dubai and all around the UAE various performance management methods are adopted by the businesses. The performance management system is a very powerful digital tools which doesn’t restrict you to follow only certain methods or practices, in fact it allow businesses to keep evolving and improving their appraisal methods and practices over the time. Here are the key advantages of the performance appraisal system:

1. Collect Valuable Feedback

The feedback is the core of the performance appraisal. A good performance appraisal system provide multiple channels to collect feedback from multiple resources and combine it in a single dashboard to provide a quicker and broader view of the employee performance with high accuracy and reliability of the data. The performance appraisal system allow businesses to improve the transparency of the process and collects data from multiple streams which further improve the accuracy and quality of the feedback data. The performance appraisal system not only collect feedback data but it digitalize it and allow HR to perform several analysis with in-built tools and let them generate actionable reports. Which not only improve the quality but also enable them making more informed decisions with positive impact on the overall performance of the business.

2. Set SMART Goals and Objectives

SMART goals and objectives are crucial for performance management, most of the time the HR Department failed to achieve their performance goal because their goals and objectives are not properly set. The SMART goals and objectives means Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Realist/Results, and Time-bound. The SMART goals and objectives are a very popular technique and performance appraisal system allow businesses to effectively execute it. Furthermore the performance appraisal system allow more in-depth monitoring, historical data and comparison features which help businesses to improve their goals and objectives too. When employee are given SMART goals, they tend to perform well. It gives them a sense of focus, encourages them to outperform themselves and others and help boosting their morale.

3. Improve Promotion Process

For any business or organization it is extremely important to bring the right people at the tops and keep everyone at the right place. For that the businesses follow promotion processes which is mainly based on the employee performance appraisal. The performance appraisal system makes this process more efficient, accurate, and transparent and help HR department to accurately and more closely understand the strength and weaknesses of an employee. Only employees who deserve promotion should get it, it will keep the morale of the others high and will encourage them to follow their footsteps. If wrong person got promoted they will eventually failed, and the other employees especially who deserved promotion will feel a sense of left-behind, their morale will decline and they will also lost over the time. Despite having required talent the HR department might have to hire new people which put extra strain on the business.

4. Improve Reward and Compensation Process

Another great advantage of employee performance appraisal system is that it help the HR Department to improve the reward and compensation process and methods. The performance appraisal system provides in-depth performance data and also monitor several KPIs (key performance indicators), hence the reward and compensations are not only awarded on the bases of the supervisor’s reviews, but a lot many other factors are also taken into account. Which improve the reward and compensation process and ensures the employee who work harder throughout will get the most benefits. Rather than on the bases of just one mistake or just one last performance they rewards and compensation or salary raise is not given. Which encourage employees to perform well throughout the appraisal period and help HR Department to improve the overall performance.

5. Improve the Effectiveness of Employee/Individual Development and Training Program

For any business who wants to grow it is crucial to up-skilling their employees and keep their workforce up-to-date. The performance appraisal system help HR Department to closely monitor employee performance from various different prospective to understand their strength, weaknesses and potential. The performance appraisal system makes it easier to collect all the feedback and performance data from various different competencies, such as technical skills, behaviorally anchored reviews, ability to deal with unexpected situations, decision making abilities, and much more. Hence the training and development program is not only limited to the reviews, but it is designed considering a lot of factors which help HR department to build a more beneficial training and personal development program. According to several studies the training and development programs are a key driver for employee retention and are equally important as rewards, compensations, promotions and non-monetary acknowledgments.

6. Help Retaining Best Talent during Downsize or Right-Size

The performance appraisal system collects feedback and data from various sources, it can also help HR Department to accurately estimate the financial impact on an employee for example, how expensive the employee is and what financial value he/she is adding to the business. Furthermore the performance appraisal system provides HR Department with the most accurate data about employees and their capabilities which help them to understand the worth of each individual employee and their impact on performance of their team, department or the overall performance of the entire organization. There could be many reasons for downsizing, such as financial difficulties, new competition in the market, overall market conditions, etc. Which force businesses to lay-off some of their workforce to optimize the expenses. Right-sizing is a relatively new turn, it also means laying off employees but not due to external factors. In fact it accounts internal factors, such as an employee become non-productive over the time, their behavior got changed and is impacting others, or their skill might not be needed.

Mostly due to new technologies and automation business might not need certain skills. Whatever the scenario is if a business will have to lay off some of its employees, the performance appraisal system ensures that the business retains the best talent and only lay off the poorly performing or low-performing employees with least impact on the overall operational capabilities and performance of the business.

7. Improve the Impacts of Coaching and Mentoring

The managers at each business are expected to coach their sub-ordinates and teammembers. If a manager is saying the right thing, the employees will keep inspiring from them and it will become easier for the manager to become a good mentor for the employees. However, this is not as simple as it may sound. It is very difficult to understand the actual difficulties and problems an employee is facing and where they need support to make improvements. However, with the help of performance appraisal system since everything is digital and a huge amount of data is available for the managers with interactive reports and intuitive performance dashboards. This enables them to understand the obstacles an employee is facing but is unable to express. The performance appraisal system also help them understand the strength and weaknesses of the employees in terms of technical, behavioral and knowledge competencies. Which let them communicate better with the employees and help them encourage to perform well.

8. Increase Employee Engagements

Employee engagement is one of the most serious concern of the HR department, as it is very crucial for employee retention and to boost their performance and productivity. Communication is a key to employee engagements. A performance appraisal systems facilitates and encourages communication between the individual employees and their supervisors or managers. Furthermore the ability to collect 360 degree feedback also allow individual employee to review the performance of their supervisors and managers and also let them provide feedback about them. Which not only help improving the performance of the supervisors and managers but also tell employees that they are important and their opinion matters too. The digitalization help improving in-person and digital communication which also let the managers and HR Department understand the problems, issues and strengths/weaknesses of the employees and let them address the issues.

The performance appraisal system also help communicating the individual and high-level organizational goals and objectives to the individual employees and tell them about their value and contribution in the high-level goals. Which increase employee engagements and also help HR Department to reduce employee turnover.

9. Improve Employee Retention

For any business retaining the employees is a key factor in maintaining a great workforce. When businesses hire an employee, they invest on them, the employee themselves gain experience over the time, they get integrated within the organization and understand its internal processes and culture. However, the new recruits will take time to learn and understand the internal processes, culture of the business and many things, hence they take a lot of time to reach to the performance level of their predecessor. This entire process costs a lot of resources and have significant financial impact too. That is why employee retention is very important. The key factors that plays role in employee retention are reward and compensations, individual development programs, and the communication. If the employee knows they are valued by the business and their say will be listened they feel more connected to the business and become more loyal. The employee loyalty doesn’t only increase employee retention but it also drive performance.

10. Help HR Department Dealing with Legal Situations

Here in Dubai and all around the UAE the federal and local governments have very strict laws and regulations against discrimination and employee rights at workplace. The federal and local governments have great policies in place to protect employee rights and have several government departments to ensure the workplace environment is supportive for the employees. Discrimination or favoring an individual employee due to personal bias or any other reason could lead to a lawsuit. Hence having a proper performance management system in place could provide you an advantage and let you provide all the data to prove no misconduct have happened. Such claims could have devastating impact on the business’s reputation and could also have a significant financial impact too. Which is why a proper performance appraisal system will help you dealing with such situations. In fact the performance appraisal system ensures greater transparency which help preventing any such situation.

What are Key Objectives of a Performance Appraisal System for HRM?

The employee performance appraisal system is a tool for human resource management which helps to implement performance management strategies and to achieve higher performance across the entire business. Basically the primary objective of the performance appraisal is to align all available resources with the high-level organizational goals and objectives to maximize the contribution of each individual employees in the business goals and objectives. The rapid adaptation of new technologies and digitalization in the business practices have completely changed the dynamics of traditional performance appraisal methods. Now a days’ businesses are practicing more modern performance appraisal methods which are mainly aided by a digital solution or software since the manual processes tend to be ineffective and prone to errors and issues which can cause a variety of very serious problems for the HR Department. Here are the five key objectives of using a performance appraisal system:

	1. Set and Communicate Goals Effectively Setting up goals is the very first step towards performance appraisal process. The SMART goals and objectives are the modern form of goals, however, setting up perfect goals and objectives that align individual resource with the top-level goals and objective is not enough, being able to communicate those goals and objectives to the individual employee is a key to success. Communicating what each employee will have to do and what is expected from them will encourage them and provide them more clarity which results in great improvement in overall performance and efficiency.
	2. Continuous Feedback Collection Feedback at the end of each year will only help you identifying the issues and problems and on top of that mostly the traditional year-end appraisals are largely influenced by the latest performance rather than the overall performance throughout the year. Performance appraisal system offer continuous feedback and allow managers to correct course during the appraisal period and evaluate several time to ensure everything is on track. This makes easier to achieve the high-level and individual goals by the year-end.
	3. Identify Strengths and Weaknesses Today’s world is rapidly changing, businesses have to keep their workforce up-to-date and relevant all the time. Technologies are coming and going at a rapid pace which is also impacting the business practices hence the employees and their job roles as well. Even small looking problems can have huge impact over the time. It is crucial to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the employees and guide them appropriately and take measures to improve the workforce. The performance appraisal system made it very simple and easy as the entire data is digital and extracting actionable reports requires just a few clicks.
	4. Talent Development and Employee Retention The talent development depends on employee retention. Employee retention can be increased by increasing employee engagement and offering transparent reward and compensation programs. Furthermore the talent development is done by conducting good training programs, coaching and mentoring. The performance appraisal system help building a complete framework to achieve all that and improve the outcome of all relevant efforts. It is much more expensive hiring a new employee comparing to retaining an employee and developing them gradually over the time.
	5. Reward and Recognize Performance Recognizing the performance of an employee means rewarding them for their good performance. The performance appraisal system not only monitor employee performance but it regularly collect data which help managers and supervisors to understand various obstacles an employee is facing. It remove bias and make reward and recognition processes more transparent. When an employee’s good work is acknowledged by either monitory or non-monetary compensations it encourages them as well as others to perform better.

Conclusion

The HR Department at any business is one of the key component which is responsible for ensuring a smooth operation and sustainable growth. The make sure that the business have required skillset and a high performing workforce to achieve maximum productivity and profitability. The performance appraisal is one of the core process of the HR Department. Traditionally the performance appraisal was done at the end of the year, and mostly it is a manual process. It takes a lot of time, requires a lot of resources and due to manual process the problems and issues are very common. However, the performance appraisal system is a digital solution and software which has ability to automate and simplify the performance appraisal process. It increase transparency and accuracy of the appraisal and help boosting the performance of each individual resource, departments and entire organization. RSI Concepts is a leading performance appraisal system designing and development company in Dubai, UAE. If you want to learn more about the subject or want us to help you building a high quality performance appraisal system exclusively for your needs, 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.

Check out this : Software Development: In-house vs Outsourcing

August 16, 2022

Brand for Less Group Have Acquired RSI Customer Feedback System

RSI Concepts have completed deployment of customer feedback system and QR code based surveys for the customers and visitors for Brand for Less Group. The customer feedback system is installed at all major branches in UAE (25 branches till date) with an aim to collect valuable customer insights which will help BFL Group to further improve their customer’s experience and happiness. The rapid growth and long term success of the Brand for Less Group is due to their policies and strategies to satisfy their customers and to offer them the best products and services. The Brand for Less Group was established in 1996 in Lebanon and later entered into UAE market by 2000. Since then the popularity and operations of the BFL Group have increased rapidly. If you are living in UAE you must have heard or visited Brand for Less store at least once, it is very popular across the country. The quality products, exceptionally discounted prices and wide range of popular brands make BFL the best choice for families and regular shoppers. The Brand for Less offers up to 80% off from the original retail price of the products, but the price is not the only reason of attracting such a large scale audience. In fact it is product’s quality, the level of customer service and customer satisfaction along with exceptional prices which keep BFL growing at such a rapid pace.

In order to step up their customer happiness strategy the Brand for Less Group has decided to implement a system to collect customer feedback across several branches in UAE. The primary goal of the customer feedback system was to deliver the required feedback data with utmost quality and in large quantity. For any customer feedback collection campaign the feedback data quality and quantity determines its success. For that the Brand for Less have approached several top rated custom software development companies in Dubai, RSI Concepts was one of them. Thankfully due to over experience in the field and our strong clientele, we have earned the trust of such a prestigious organization. The Brand for Less management conducted intense scrutiny of all the vendors who were submitting their bids, and finally RSI Concepts was selected for the project. The initial stages and requirement gathering phase were done quickly followed by a rapid pace development for the customer feedback system.

The system was fully customized to meet the very specific needs of BFL Group. The Customer Feedback System was designed to utilize two major channels, in-store tablets/touch screen and QR Code based online surveys with ability to scale up in future if needed. The visitors and customers can instantly provide their feedback about their experience by a single tap on the touch screen. This makes the feedback collection process quick and customer-friendly. The QR Code module was also designed to simplify the feedback submission process for the customers to boost the quality and quantity of the customer feedback data. Customers can easily scan the QR Code pasted on strategic locations at the branches, where they are taken instantly to a feedback submission page. The customers can submit their opinion about various subjects and in case if a negative or unhappy feedback is detected the system can request the customers to provide additional information for later follow ups. Everything is done and managed through our Centralized Customer Feedback System and there is no need of any assistance or support from the staff for feedback submission. There are tons of in-built features that further simplify to analyze and process the feedback data for the management and head-office.

Here are the remarks of our Sales and Marketing Manager, Ms. Maheen Waheed. Who was the leading the project and done a remarkable job in delivering such a great customized feedback solution:

“Brands for Less Group is a very popular and prestigious business group in UAE and also in GCC. The project management team was highly professional and very cooperative at each stage of the project. This enabled us to deliver the project in a very short deadline. The initial response after the UAT was very satisfactory, everyone in the team loved the functionality and features of the customer feedback system. We will look forward for a long term partnership with BFL Group.”

RSI Team is always craving for customer satisfaction. Our customer’s happiness is our top priority which we achieve by delivery the best products and solutions. The Brand for Less Group was looking for a customized solution for their customer feedback collection needs. Our customer feedback system is already trusted by top-notch businesses and brands in UAE and all across the GCC. Our experience in the relevant projects and our highly skilled team enabled us to deliver the best solution for our customer’s needs. We will look forward to expand our partnership with Brand for Less Group in future and we will keep up our hard work to delivery best customer satisfaction solutions for our customers.

Check out this: How to Reduce Queues in Banks?

August 11, 2022

How to Reduce Queues in Banks?

Here in Dubai and all around the UAE the banks have exceptionally higher standards and service quality comparing to the other countries of the region. In fact the entire service based industry in the country is considered to be the best in the entire MENA region. The overall infrastructure of the banking industry is very high-tech and advanced, however, the queue management is one of the most overlooked part of the banking sector. The queue management systems are very common, in fact almost every branch of every bank would have some kind of digital queue management system. Most of the time banks and other businesses don’t fully understand the queue management systems. Usually business owners and bank managers think that the queue management system is just a tool to improve customer flow and minimize the wait time. But in reality a queue management system is much more than that. In this blog we will briefly discuss what a queue management system is, how it can help to reduce the queues and what other benefits a bank can get from a queue management system.

A queue management system is a combination of intelligent software and some hardware components. The software is basically a server which hosts all the intelligent algorithms, source codes and various user dashboards. The hardware is mainly used to interact with the customers. In a simple queue management system setup the first customer interaction happens on an interactive kiosk machine which take some basic information and dispense a ticket bearing their number in queue and also estimated time to their turn. Then there could be several digital signage displays who continuously display the live queuing information and also used for customer calling. The ticket numbers are announced on the signage as well as via an integrated audio system which is installed all over the place. Modern queue management systems also have customer feedback collection tablet or small screens which are usually placed at the counters. That is how a basic queue management system works. However, there are a lot more features that can be added to maximize the efficiency and to improve customer experience. The primary goal of a queue management system is to reduce the queues at the bank branch to minimize the customer wait time and to streamline the customer flow.

Queue Management System Reduces Customer Wait Time

The prolonged customer wait time can destroy their experience and make them unhappy. Long wait time means slow customer flow and slower service delivery, which results in long queues and crowd formation at the bank. A queue management system allows banks to digitally and autonomously manage their queues and customer flow which help reducing the customer wait time and prevent crowd formation to reduce the queues in banks. A bank offers several services and it have several counters to enhance customer experience and to improve service delivery. Usually in banks the average customer wait time is almost 20 minutes and in some cases it can reach up to 40 minutes and beyond. No one wants to wait that long, this makes customer unhappy and eventually a bank can lose its valuable customers due to poorly organized customer flow and queues. A queue management system have in-built AI (artificial intelligence) powered software and intelligent algorithms which makes it able to effectively manage the queues to minimize the wait time.

A queue management system can collect customer information and other required details about the service they need and it can route them through the shortest possible customer journey. The queue management system can perform several analysis and take decisions in real-time to maximize the bank branch’s efficiency and performance. For example, the queue management system can recognize the dedicated counters for certain services and it can automatically route the customers to the most relevant counter to ensure they instantly get served. The queue management system can also help service agents to prepare for the service delivery by informing them in advance about the next service and it is also capable of pulling up the required information from other connected systems to facilitate the service delivery process. Such features can significantly decrease the customer wait time. When the customers have to wait less, they are directed towards the right counter and the service agent also take less time to deliver the service, the overall wait time for every customer gets reduced. Less wait time means smaller queues and less chances of crowd formation.

Queue Management System Automates and Optimize Customer Flow

Smart management of customer flow and customer routing is a key to reduce wait time and to enhance customer experience. The queue management system can offer a variety of features and automation options to allow the bank manager to automate the customer routing and customer flow based on their policy and strategy. Furthermore it is also capable of automatically managing the customer flow based on the real-time data it collects from various touch points. Bank manager can leverage the customization to further improve the efficiency. The queue management system can take customer information or the information of the service they are requesting for. This information can be used to set the route of the customer, for example, if a customer needs Service A which is offered by the counters 1, 4, 7 and 11. Then the queue management system will automatically monitor all these counters and it will direct customer to the immediately available counter. This can save a lot of time and it improves customer flow.

Some services require customers to visit multiple counters for full service delivery. Those kind of services are called stepped services. The queue management system can automatically manage customer flow between different counters and ensures each customer reached to the most quickly available counter to avoid any time delays and idle counter time. Which can also save a lot of time and reduce the overall customer wait time. The queue management system can also monitor the employee performance in real-time. It can detect which employee is taking how much time for a single service delivery and which employees are best at delivering which services, this data is analyzed by the in-built smart algorithms and accordingly the queue management system keep routing customers through the most efficient route. Furthermore there are always some exclusive customers such as corporate customers, VIPs, Premium Account Holders, and customers with special needs. A queue management system can also effectively manage the flow of such customers to enhance their experience.

Queue Management System Improves Employee Performance

Employee performance is a crucial part of the queuing process. If the employee will perform well they will be able to serve more customers in a single shift. This also means that the average customer wait time will be reduced. For example if an average service delivery time is 10 minutes and the same employee start taking 11 minutes for the same service and if you have 20 customers ahead of you, your wait time will be increased by 20 minutes. That is why the employee performance is a crucial part of queuing process. With poorly managed queues and traditional service delivery methods the average service delivery time is very high therefore the employees can’t delivery high performance. However with the queue management system a lot of business processes can be digitalized and automation further improve the efficiency of the internal business processes. For example the queues and the customer flow is managed automatically by the queue management system hence the employees don’t have to spend time on queue management.

Since a lot of steps can be automated with the help of a queue management system the employee get more time to focus on their primary tasks which increase their performance. Furthermore the queue management system can also provide additional information about the customers and their needs even before they reach to the counter. This helps service agents in preparing for the upcoming service and save a lot of time. A queue management system can also be linked/integrated with other organizational systems and tool or with the central information center which enables queue management system to automate certain service delivery processes. If the queue management system have access to the other systems and databases it can also pull the required data and information for the service before even the customer arrives at the counter, and help service agent in quicker service delivery. The quick service delivery significantly improve employee performance and make them able to deal with more customers in a single shift.

The queue management system help reducing customer wait time, it facilitates service delivery process and help service agents to deliver more qualitative and quantitative work. The queue management system frees employees from unnecessary work and allow them to focus on their primary tasks. Which not only make the employee comfortable and happy but it also help them perform better. The queue management system can monitor and capture various employee performance KPIs which help employees which can be used for self-assessment and also by the HR to create employee development and training program to further maximize the employee performance over the time.

Queue Management System offers Virtual Queuing

One of the most modern and most effective way to reduce queues in banks is the virtual queuing. The virtual queuing have gained huge momentum in the market since past 2, 3 years. The virtual queuing is embraced by various industry sectors in Dubai and all across UAE. Basically the virtual queuing allow customers and visitors to use mobile channels to sign-up remotely for the virtual queues. It means the customer doesn’t have to physically be there in order to secure their position in the queue. Furthermore the virtual queuing can utilize multiple digital communication channels to keep the user updated and informed about the ongoing queuing activities. This allows the customers to arrive only at the time when their turn will come and prevent any congestion or long queues at the bank. The virtual queuing offers multiple sign-up channels which make process simpler and convenient for the customers and it also offer real-time updates and alerts so no customer misses their turn.This way banks can significantly reduce queues at the branch.

The virtual queuing can offer multiple innovative features which not only help reducing customer wait time and queues but also help improving customer experience. The customers can easily sign-up using customer portals, online/website, mobile application, appointment booking portals, SMS, emails, phone calls, QR Code and many more. Furthermore the virtual queue management system also provide detailed information in mobile app, appointment booking module and other channels which help customers plan their visit as per their convenience. The customers can view the peak hours, expected wait time at any hour, day or date based on the historical data collected by the queue management system. The can also use mobile apps and online portals for branch navigation. This allow them comparing multiple branches in reach and let them chose the one with the lowest wait time. Hence the customer can plan their visit with more freedom. Since the customers are instantly served when they arrive, this prevent crowd formation and queuing issues at the bank branch. It also help improving employee performance and enable branch managers to smartly utilize resources for maximum efficiency.

Queue Management System Collects Business Intelligence Data

Modern problems need modern solutions. There was a time when businesses and customers are not as that concerned about the wait time, in fact a long waiting line with first come first serve queuing was enough to gain higher levels of customer satisfaction. However, world have changed now, especially Dubai and other cities in UAE are some of the most modernized societies in the entire GCC. The information technology is deeply rooted into a business success. This means the data and information are the most crucial aspects of a successful strategy. The queue management system is one of the most effective tools to collect valuable business intelligence data and deeper understanding of customers and their preferences. A queue management system can collect statistical and analytical data from each and every touch point of the customer journey and in addition to that it can also collect customer feedback data, employee performance data and offers various other information. The data can be analyzed with in-built analytical tools and bank manager can easily extract actionable reports from this data which help understanding the customers, their preferences, liking/disliking and much more. Such information can be very helpful in building new strategies and evaluating various business processes.

Conclusion

Let us admit no one likes waiting in long queues, and we all want instant service from our beloved businesses and brands. When it comes to the banks, the queue management and crowd prevention is some of the most important tasks. Actually everything revolves around the customers, and customers can only satisfied when a business meets their expectations and facilitates their interaction. That is why the queue management systems are used, they not only streamline the customer flow but also help improving performance and collect valuable business intelligence data. The virtual queuing is one of the most effective strategy to reduce queues in the banks. RSI Concepts is a leading queue management system provider in Dubai, UAE. If you want to learn more about the subject or if you want us to help you designing or deploying the most effective and efficient queue management system as per your bank’s needs. Please feel free to contact us through our Contact Us or leave a comment in the comment box below and we will get in touch with you soon.

Check out this: Software Development: In-house vs Outsourcing

August 4, 2022

Software Development: In-house vs Outsourcing

Here in Dubai and in fact all around the UAE the custom software development is getting popular day by day. Businesses have realized the advantages and superiority of the custom software applications over COTS (commercial off-the-shelf software/solutions). However, when it comes to developing a custom software, the biggest challenge a business face is to decide whether they should develop it with in-house team or should they outsource it to a third-party or custom software development company in Dubai, UAE. Businesses tend to outsource several business functions, it is not a new thing. However, most of the businesses in UAE also have an in-house IT team. As we all know the quality comes at a price. But high price doesn’t always assure good quality. For custom software development, the quality and efficiency of the solution/application matters the most but cost and the ROI is also very important. Here in Dubai and all around the UAE since past few years, businesses are more inclined towards outsourcing their IT needs. But still the in-house team have its own advantages. This is what often cause confusion and make it hard for the businesses to take a decision.

In this blog we will discuss the benefits and drawbacks of both outsourcing and in-house software development. It will help you understand which approach will work best for you as per your current needs.

Advantages of In-house Software Development

Mostly businesses have in-house IT teams with a variety of different skillsets. Mostly they are there to help and support the non-IT staff to be able to operate relevant software and systems. The most common trend in Dubai and all across the UAE is to have an IT team who can manage networks, IT infrastructure and other IT needs for the staff. Here are some key advantages of developing a custom software or application with the in-house IT team:

Better Communication

With the in-house software development team the biggest advantage is that there are no communication barrier. As the IT team also works in the same organizational environment and they are already familiar with the project stakeholders and with each other as well. So, the communication is not a problem at all. The in-house software development team knows the feedback, approval and work flow processes much better which makes communication simpler and easier. On top of that the in-house software development team also have their interest in the success of the project. The project manager, stakeholders or any concerned person can easily held face-to-face meetings, or quick discussion sessions. The feedback collection is also simpler and more convenient comparing to out-sourcing the software development project to a third-party or vendor.

Better Understanding of Cultural Values

The in-house software development team being an employee of the company are well-versed with the internal culture and values of the business. Since they are in-house team they would already know the reasoning behind various processes and practices. It is much easier to get them familiar with the new things. The outsourcing require much more onboarding efforts comparing to in-house software development team. The in-house software development team could act faster and they are more aware of company’s needs and are much better cultural fit. Furthermore they also doesn’t require intense requirement gathering and formal meetings to get everyone on track, in fact the in-house software development team can start immediately without causing any delay.

More Control and Monitoring

The in-house custom software development team offers more control and monitoring. The in-house team is always available, which makes them more accessible. The project owner or project manager can easily supervise them if needed. On top of that the in-house software development team is more aligned with the business’s philosophy. The business can also easily enforce their own quality control policy to each and every aspect of the actual development process. Furthermore there is no much issue with the compliance and development procedures. As the in-house IT team is already familiar with all those policies so they can enforce them more effectively. The project manager can examine the software at any stage along with individual tasks and performance of each team member which provide them a great control and monitoring over the in-house software development team.

Disadvantages of In-house Software Development

The in-house custom software development have some advantages but it also have some disadvantages. That is the reason why the outsourcing industry is currently witnessing a rapid growth. Here are some major disadvantages of the in-house software development:

Shortage of Skilled Staff

One of the biggest reason of outsourcing custom software development is the shortage of technical personals or the required skillset. The in-house IT team is not built for software development only, in fact it is to maintain the internal IT infrastructure and to provide instant support to non-technical staff. However, the IT team is not only network administrators and security engineers, in fact businesses also hire application and software developers to improve the efficiency and performance. But when a need arises for a custom software development, usually businesses doesn’t have enough software developer in the team. Another considerable aspect is that the software developers who are working in an in-house IT team doesn’t always have updated skills and knowledge. As they are used to of working on a limited set of software and applications.

In-house Software Development is Expensive

The biggest expense of in-house development is to fill the skill gap, which means the business must have to hire new software developers with the require skillset. Which not only add to the cost of the software but it also put extra strain on the overall budget and finance. Hiring full-time employees require additional expense which continues even after the completion of the customer software development project. That is why the in-house software development cost is very high. Another problem is that if a business assign an entire team to work on a single project, then there would no room for additional work. Which will have two negative effects, one the support to staff will be disrupted and disturbed and the second effect is on the project completion itself. In such scenarios the project completion will require more time than anticipated.

Slow Project Execution and Delays

For the in-house IT team the manager must have to maintain a balance between working on the software and catering to the regular needs of the organization. Which not only have impact on the support and service the internal IT team is providing but it also results in slow progress on the software development project. There could be so many unexpected scenarios where the IT team could get additional work, which could impact the progress. Furthermore the software developer’s turnover is also very high in Dubai and all around the UAE. Which could completely halt the progress or slow it down and hiring a new developer will take more time and resources. Due to all these reasons the in-house software development is not ideal for the businesses.

Advantages of Outsourcing Software Development

Mostly the businesses who have in-house IT team doesn’t use it to meet internal IT needs. Majorly their core specialties are not IT but they operate in other industries. That is why when it comes to develop a customized software application they usually don’t have adequate skilled staff who can build it for them or either their IT team is already fully occupied. Here are some key advantages of outsourcing software development in Dubai, UAE:

Seamless Project Execution and Quicker Delivery

The in-house IT team is mostly occupied and more importantly they could lack sufficient skilled staff, however, businesses can hire more software developer to fill this gape, even then the in-house software development tend to take more time than anticipated. However, outsourcing software development project ensures that all the milestones will be met and the project will be delivered in a timely manner. As the professional software development company will already have the pre-set workflows and project execution mechanisms which ensures a seamless project execution. This not only lift burden form the business and its in-house IT team but it also ensures a quicker delivery of the project. Since the outsourcing software developer or contractor will be bound to the agreed timelines, they will make sure the project delivers in time and all milestones met.

Mitigate the Risk Factor

Another great advantage of outsourcing the software development project is that the software developer will help mitigating the risks associated with the project. The outsourcing software development company must be experienced in the relevant software and they will be able to analyze and rectify the problems and issues with the customer’s requirements. They would be up-to-date with the current market and their experience puts them in a better place to predict future trends. Mostly with in-house software development the businesses tend to get poor scalability and sometimes the product is also built on older or even outdated technologies. However, the outsourcing software development company can not only reduce all such risks but they can even help businesses to improve their product by providing them suggestions and feedback which further increase the productivity and ROI of the subjected software.

Get Highly Professional Team

The Dubai and in fact the entire UAE is a very competitive market for the IT industry and especially for the software development. Which means that a well reputed software development company will always retain a highly professional team. As the software development is the bread and butter of the team here, so they are always up-to-date with the ongoing market trends and industry practices. This way the business can gain access to the best software developers in the market for their project.The highly professional team with enough knowledge of the market and experience can deliver the best quality work. In addition to that the outsourcing software development company can also help you to improve your initial idea and propose you several more innovative features which you might never think otherwise. Furthermore the outsourcing company can offer your much more technologies and platforms. From which you can chose the best which meets your needs and budget requirement. However, the in-house team is limited to the capabilities of the team and only offer fewer or in some cases just one option to choose from.

Outsourcing is Much More Cost Effective

Cost is one of the most important aspect of any project. For software development outsourcing the cost for in-house development is way too high comparing to outsourcing it. Businesses have to recruit new technical staff, and the employee retention requires more investments. Which makes the in-house development many time more expensive. However the custom software development industry is rapidly growing, the competition is tough and the businesses can easily find a lot many software development contractors in Dubai or anywhere else in UAE. This results in very competitive prices. The outsourcing contractors always try to offer the best price in order to beat the competition. On top of that there is no cost of hiring new staff to fill the skill gap and no need to upgrade the infrastructure, etc. This makes the outsourcing software development project value way too less than the in-house software development. The ROI is also very high and the business can get superior quality as well.

Disadvantages of Outsourcing Software Development

The outsourcing software development has various advantages and it can add a lot of value to your project. However, there are some disadvantages too, which every business should be aware of:

Slightly Difficult Communication

When a business outsource their software development to a contractor or software developer the major issue they face is with the communication. As the software development company always appoint a project manager or account manager for each project, who is responsible for all the communication, some companies also provide additional contacts from the actual software development team which could significantly reduce the communication problems. However, comparing to in-house team who is always available and mostly works under the same roof where the administration or project manager works, the communication with outsourcing software development company is slightly difficult. Arranging meetings, conference calls, or online sessions require to meet the schedules from all the involved parties which sometimes could be trickier for the project managers at both end. Usually that doesn’t cause any issue but the level of communication is not comparable to the in-house team.

Less Control over Software Development Team

The in-house software development team offers great control and monitoring, as they are easily and always accessible to the managers. The manager can call them, set regular meetings or schedule weekly updates and much more to intensify the communication and monitoring. When the managers have ability to closely monitor the software development team, they can enforce higher quality standards at each and every step of the development phase. However, when a business outsource software development project, they have less control over the actual software development team and they also get less updates and insight of the ongoing activities. Hence they will have to rely on the outsourcing contractor’s project manager for a lot of things during the development phase. However, later they can analyze each and everything and they can raise their concerns too. But during the project execution the project owner have less control comparing at the outsourcing team comparing to the in-house team.

Data Privacy & Confidentiality

Data privacy and confidentiality is also a big concern when a business decides to outsource their software development project. Because the business have to share very confidential data and crucial information with the outsourcing partner. Sometimes the breach to that sensitive information and data could compromise the reputation of the business and it could also cause a huge monetary damages as well. The competitors can also utilize such information to gain competitive edge over the business. That is why the data privacy and confidentiality is always a bigger concerns when it comes to outsourcing the software development. The business will have to depend on the measures taken by the outsourcing partners. However, in Dubai and in fact in the entire UAE the government laws and regulations provide great advantage to the business and help protecting their interests. So, the outsourcing partner will always do their best to prevent any breach or misconduct. But still the risk is there.

Conclusion

In this blog we have briefly discussed the in-house software development and the outsourcing the project to a software development company or third-party. Both have their own advantages and disadvantages. However, with the passage of time the outsourcing of software development have proven to be more reliable, cost-effective and beneficial for the businesses. There are far less concerns about the outsourcing, as for the privacy and confidentiality related concerns, they can be reduced by signing NDAs (non-disclosure agreements) and adopting to best industry practices. That is the reason the outsourcing have gained huge popularity all over the world and it is currently growing at a rapid pace. With software development outsourcing a business can significantly reduce the cost, minimize the project management efforts and they can get the best available technologies at their disposal. That is what make it more superior and beneficial from the in-house software development.

RSI Concepts is a leading custom software development company in Dubai, UAE. If you want to learn more about the subject or if you want to outsource your next software development project or need our other services, 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.

Check out this: What can a Queue Management System do for you?

August 2, 2022

What can a Queue Management System do for you?

Every business’s primary goal is to expand and grow. However, the business growth is completely dependent on its customers. The customers are the soul of any business, which is why the customer happiness and customer satisfaction is extremely crucial for a business. The customer satisfaction drives customer loyalty which is essential for customer retention. If a business have good customer retention, they don’t have to invest a lot in acquiring new customers. Gradually the loyal customers and an active marketing strategy can build a very strong brand identity in the market. The customer retention also have a huge impact on profitability of a business. In general it is almost 5 to 25 times more expensive to acquire a new customer comparing to selling to an existing customer. Furthermore if a business or organization keep losing customers they will have to invest more in their marketing & communication which could increase the cost of acquiring a new customer by many times. The customer satisfaction plays a crucial part in long term success and growth of a business. When it comes to customer satisfaction a few industry sectors stand out more than others for the need of a queue management system.

Here in Dubai and all around the UAE the queue management systems are a common site at several businesses, especially at banks, government offices, telecom service centers, etc. are the places we all visit once in a while. However, the queue management systems are also very popular in healthcare sector, public sector, retail, airports, educational institutions and many more. Think of yourself visiting a business to get a service, the waiting area is full, there are several counters and several queues, you have no idea in which queue you should be, you feel the adjacent queues are moving faster than yours, you are not sure how much time it will going to take and you have to be somewhere, obviously you will get confused, frustrated and at some extent angry too. This is what you are risking of putting your customers through being a manager, decision make or owner of the business. Let us admit, we all don’t like waiting, especially under those circumstance. People tend to avoid going to businesses where they had bad experience in past or where they know they will get a bad experience. That is what exactly a queue management system is designed for. It is designed to avoid all those things.

Here is what a queue management system can do for your business and your customers:

Reduce customer wait time
Improve customer wait experience
Improve customer flow and customer journey
Raise service quality and improve business processes
Achieve customer satisfaction and gain customer loyalty
Improve staff performance and achieve staff satisfaction
Gather valuable business intelligence data
Reduce cost and increase profitability

Here in Dubai, UAE good queue management system brand such as RSI Concepts also offer customization services. A customized queue management system can further boosts its efficiency and offers more benefits comparing to off-the-shelf queuing solutions.

Queue Management System: Reduces Customer Wait Time

One of the biggest reason of customer dissatisfaction is the wait time. Studies have revealed that an average customer start getting stressed after just 8 to 12 minutes of wait time, the longer the wait time will be the more stressed customer will get. More than 70 of the customers leave without making a purchase due to long wait time at the counters. Obviously different industries have different market dynamics but one thing is sure the long wait time results in customer frustration and increase churn rate too. The queue management system effectively and autonomously manages the queuing process and the customer flow in the service area. It facilitates customers by offering them multiple sign-up channels, reduce the average service delivery time, and it improves employee efficiency. Collectively all these factors and several others directly or indirectly help reducing the customer wait time.

Since the queuing and the customer flow is managed by the smart queue management system software so the employee can focus on their primary tasks without any distraction, which improve service delivery time and quality also. Furthermore there is no dispute, confusion or complaint from the customers who are waiting in queues, as everything is managed by system. The queue management system can also collect and store statistical data and has ability to route customers smartly which also reduce customer wait time and improve customer journey. It can also segregate various different types of customers such as VIP, Premium, Customer with Needs, etc. which also help improving the queuing process and reduce the customer wait time.

Improve Customer Wait Experience

Another very useful feature of a queue management system is that it can help businesses improving the customer waiting experience. If customer waiting experience can be improved they feel less impact of the waiting. The queue management system have integrated digital signage screens which are usually used for displaying the real-time queuing information. The queue management system allow businesses to play multimedia content or any other engaging material which can distract customers from the waiting and help reducing the waiting impact. Furthermore the queue management system is based on a very intelligent software engine which is powered by smart algorithms and AI (Artificial Intelligence). The queue management software can also predict the estimated time for each customer, which can be printed on their ticket and it can also be displayed on the signage screen. The impact of waiting is significantly reduced when the customer know how long they will have to wait.

Furthermore the queue management system also have audio announcement system. The audio announcements keep the users engaged and distract them from the wait time, each time when a new announcement is made, most of the customers tend to look up at the signage to see which tickets are currently being served and how far they are. These all features keep them busy and engaged and reduce the effects of the waiting and boredom. Since the entire queuing process is managed by the queue management system, and the customer also know that everything is controlled by the computer, so they usually don’t complain much. In case of manual queue management most of the time customers get confused, they also complain about line jumpers, or sometimes customers might think the staff is favoring someone over them, and so on. However, with a queue management system these all problems are gone, and on top of that the customer flow is managed by intelligent algorithms which reduce latency factors and improve overall customer waiting experience.

Improve Customer Flow and Customer Journey

The customer journey and customer flow have a huge impact on the customer journey. A queue management system have in-built modules to implement customer flow policy and allow the management to automate the customer flow throughout the entire customer journey. Usually a business offers multiple services and also have multiple counters. Mostly a single service is delivered through a single counter, however, in some cases businesses might have stepped services which require a customer to reach to several counters or more than one counter to get a full service. In some cases businesses have exclusive counters for exclusive services or customers, which also has to manage separately. There could be so many different variations and factors that can impact the customer flow and customer journey as well. A queue management system can automatically manage all these scenarios.

It means the businesses just need to configure their policy once and the queue management system is capable of taking decision in real-time based of the pre-defined settings and on the real-time system usage and statistical data. Businesses can also create agent profiles with their abilities to deliver different services and the queue management system can utilize this information to route the customers to the least busy counters while reducing the work of the busy counters which results in overall improved efficiency and performance which help improving customer flow and customer journey.

Raise Service Quality and Improve Business Processes

The businesses can utilize several advanced features to expedite the service delivery processes and service quality. Such as a queue management system have an integrated interactive kiosk for ticket dispensing, which can be used to take customer information, which help the system to prepare the agent dashboard beforehand by fetching the required information instantly from connected systems and databases. The queue management system can prepare the service agent dashboard automatically and instantly, as soon as the agent calls for the next customer the queue management system automatically fetch the data and information for the next service delivery hence saving precious time and reducing the overall service delivery time.

A queue management system can be integrated with several input devices to improve customer experience. For example, rather asking customer to input their details via sign-up form, the interactive kiosk can offer them Emirates ID scanner which can pull customer’s information automatically from the customer database and authenticate it with their ID. There are so many features that a business can add to a queue management system which can improve the customer journey and customer flow. The queue management system can automate several service delivery steps and it significantly reduces agent’s work which means the agents have more time to focus on the customer and the important things. This way a queue management system can raise service quality and improve several internal business processes.

Achieve Customer Satisfaction and Gain Customer Loyalty

Customer satisfaction and customer loyalty is a key to long term success and sustainable growth. Businesses put a huge amount of resource and revenue just to increase their loyal customer base. The loyal customers are a valuable assets who not only help businesses expand but also help them to establish a good brand image. Loyal customers tend to be a good brand advocate, they suggest their favorite brand to others and doesn’t leave the businesses for small problems and they also have more tolerance towards the negative or bad experiences. It is far more expensive to acquire a new customer than selling to an existing one. Furthermore the customer retention have huge impact on business’s profitability. For example if a business keep losing 100 customers a month while its marketing and sales team tends to acquire 200 new leads per month, their overall profitability will be reduced.

In addition to that the customers who will leave might also share their negative opinions about the business which harms its reputation and brand image. A business with less customer turnover and customer churn rate can yield more profits from the same efforts they are doing. Customer retention help promoting good brand image which attracts more customers hence it help optimizing the marketing cost as well. A queue management system significantly enhances customer experience and ensures much higher customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction drives customer loyalty and have a very positive effect on profitability.

Improve Staff Performance and Achieve Staff Satisfaction

Since a queue management system provides a complete framework to manage the customer flow and customer journey in a fully or semi-autonomous way. It can take a huge amount of staff work and help balancing their work load. Employees who work under balanced workload tend to perform better and produce more quality work. Usually with manual queues, the staff is mostly engaged in managing queues and listening to the customers’ complaints and resolving their problems. This distract them from their primary tasks which not only have negative effect on their performance but also on the service quality. While a queue management system not only take all that burden but it also facilitates staff by managing several service delivery tasks. Furthermore the queue management system is a very capable tools of monitoring and measuring several staff KPIs. Which can be very helpful for the HR to improve the staff performance and efficiency.

A queue management system measures various KPIs and stats. For example, how many customers are being served by an individual agent or a team or a branch, etc. The queue management system can also monitor the staff activity, such as how much time they took for each service delivery, how much time they took to prepare for the next service and customer call and several other performance matrices. All this data is automatically analyzed by the in-built AI powered smart software engine and made available for the management and for the staff also. The management can easily identify the strengths and weaknesses of the staff and take steps to improve their performance. This also help HR to develop more effective employee development and training programs.

For example, if an employee is good at delivering 3 out of 5 services and for the 2 he/she take more time than the other agents, the business can help staff to improve their skills for these 2 services. There are so many features that can help employees, HR and management to evaluate employee performance and highlight their weak points which can be rectified to further improve their overall performance.

Gather Valuable Business Intelligence Data

A modern business heavily relies on the digital solutions and its IT infrastructure. In today’s world the success and growth is heavily relied upon the efficiency to effectively collect business intelligence data and leverage it to improve each and every business function and internal processes. A queue management system is a powerhouse of business intelligence data. It can collect data from each customer touchpoint. Which help businesses analyze the entire customer journey and let them track down the chock points in customer flow. The business intelligence data also help businesses to evaluate their strategies, policies, and internal business processes which can impact customer experience and customer satisfaction. The queue management system can accurately measure the time interval between every customer journey step and allow businesses to make improvements to improve customer experience.

A queue management system can accurately measure the time of the customer interaction for example how much time it take a customer from signing up till getting the service. How much time it took to deliver the service, and how much time an agent takes between completing a service, performing post-service tasks and calling for the next customer. The system can monitor staff activities as well along with their performance and several other details. It can also collect customer feedback which can be helpful for product development and it provides deeper understanding of the customer experience and their preference. The queue management system have in-built data analytical tools which can automatically generate pre-configured reports and send them to the relevant stakeholder. The managers can also perform several analysis, comparisons and set alerts if any threshold is crossed. All these features help businesses to take timely decisions and monitor everything in real-time which make them more prepared to handle unexpected scenarios without harming customer experience and customer satisfaction.

Reduce Cost and Increase Profitability

A queue management system can manage queues, sign-up processes, customer flow, customer routing and the entire customer journey. Which eliminate the need of a lot of additional staff. Acquiring a queue management system is much less expensive comparing to retaining more staff. The operational and maintenance cost of the queue management system is very low. The modern queue management systems are built on widely available technology platforms which not only reduce the initial cost but also reduce the maintenance and upgrade costs. The value a queue management system adds to the customer journey and customer experience is unmatchable to anything else. It provides better and deeper in-sight to the customer journey, customer experience, employee performance and enables businesses to learn about their customer’s preferences, market trends and help them developing customer friendly strategies and policies.

Customer satisfaction drives customer loyalty and help optimizing the cost of the marketing and acquiring new customers. A loyal clientele is a key to long term success. Selling to existing customers is far more profitable than acquiring new customers. The ability to integrate with other marketing channels and customization allow businesses to optimize the cost of their IT infrastructure. Businesses can offer much more features at a much less cost which make queue management system one of the most cost-efficient solution for the businesses. A typical lifecycle of a queue management system is 5 to 8 years, that means the business might not going to need a new solution for a long time which itself significantly increase the ROI (return over investments) of a queue management system. Furthermore the automation, employee performance improvements, and valuable business intelligence data indirectly help reducing the cost at several fronts. These all features and benefits of a queue management system help businesses generate more revenue, achieve higher productivity and performance and gain more profit.

Conclusion

A queue management system is a very useful tool to transform customer experience, customer journey and to improve several internal business processes. It help businesses closely monitor the customer behavior, the problem they face and also help them collect valuable business intelligence data. A queue management system help businesses achieve higher performance, leverage automation and increase their productivity and profitability. It help businesses gaining higher customer loyalty and let them improve their strategies and polices to make improvements. It help businesses increase staff performance while achieving higher staff satisfaction which directly impact on the service quality and service delivery processes. A business can link queue management system with several other internal and even external systems to boost the usability of the system and to bring innovative features to improve customer experience and customer journey.

RSI Concepts is a leading queue management system provider in Dubai, UAE. If you want to learn more about the subject or if you want us to help you with you queuing needs, 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.

Check out this : How to Choose the Right Software Development Vendor for Your Business

BLOG OF RSI CONCEPTS

Month: August 2022

What is a Standalone Software?

What is Integrated Software?

Standalone Software VS Integrated Software

Pros of Standalone Software

Cons of Standalone Software

Pros of Integrated Software

Cons of the Integrated Software

When a Business should use Standalone Software and Solutions?

When a Business should use Integrated Software and Solutions?

Conclusion

Which Departments at a School can Benefits from a Queue Management System?

Queue Management System Reduce Waiting Time

Queue Management System Improve Service Quality

Queue Management System Improve Student Experience

Queue Management System Offers Better Control and Monitoring

Mobile Queuing and Virtual Queuing can Have Huge Impact on Student Satisfaction

How Poor Queue Management is Impacting Schools and Students in Dubai, UAE?

Conclusion

What is COTS and when you should go for it?

When a Business should go for COTS?

What is Custom Software Development and when you should go for it?

When a Business should go for Custom Software Development?

Get tailor-made solution to meet all your needs

Get more control and customizability

Custom Software Offers Superior Security

Custom Software Offers Full Ownership Rights

Custom Software Development Offers Better Cost and ROI

Personalization and Compatibility

Integration and Scalability

Custom Software Development VS Commercial Off-the-shelf Software (COTS)

Pros of the commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS)

Cons of the commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS)

Pros of the Custom Software Development

Cons of the Custom Software Development

Conclusion

Align Employee Goals with High-level Business Goals

Set SMART Goals for the Employee Using Performance Management System

SMART Framework: Specific

SMART Framework: Measurable

SMART Framework: Achievable

SMART Framework: Relevant

SMART Framework: Time-Bound

Include Employees in Goal Setting Process & Set Consistent Goals

Reward, Recognition and Accountability

Conclusion

What is a Performance Appraisal System?

Types of Performance Appraisal in Human Resource Management

Key Advantages of Performance Appraisal System for the HR Department

1. Collect Valuable Feedback

2. Set SMART Goals and Objectives

3. Improve Promotion Process

4. Improve Reward and Compensation Process

5. Improve the Effectiveness of Employee/Individual Development and Training Program

6. Help Retaining Best Talent during Downsize or Right-Size

7. Improve the Impacts of Coaching and Mentoring

8. Increase Employee Engagements

9. Improve Employee Retention

10. Help HR Department Dealing with Legal Situations

What are Key Objectives of a Performance Appraisal System for HRM?

1. Set and Communicate Goals Effectively

2. Continuous Feedback Collection

3. Identify Strengths and Weaknesses

4. Talent Development and Employee Retention

5. Reward and Recognize Performance

Conclusion

Queue Management System Reduces Customer Wait Time

Queue Management System Automates and Optimize Customer Flow

Queue Management System Improves Employee Performance

Queue Management System offers Virtual Queuing

Queue Management System Collects Business Intelligence Data

Conclusion

Advantages of In-house Software Development

Better Communication

Better Understanding of Cultural Values

More Control and Monitoring

Disadvantages of In-house Software Development

Shortage of Skilled Staff

In-house Software Development is Expensive