Improving productivity is a key driver of many technology solution purchases. Companies seek to optimize employee time and performance to reduce waste.
Approximately 36% of companies plan to spend money to improve IT operations and system performance post-COVID-19, and 44% plan to accelerate their digital transformation.
The challenge for many companies is balancing the cost of improvements with the payback. Investing in the long-term is necessary, but smaller businesses are often looking to find solutions that can provide a fast payback in terms of productivity and improved business performance.
If a solution is great but costs so much that payback is extended several years out, it’s not so attractive to companies needing a boost right now.
One often-overlooked technology upgrade is in the hardware area and it can impact just about everything an employee does when on their computer.
We’re talking about adding a second monitor to employee desktops and laptops.
This is a low-cost investment that can provide payback in less than a month in time savings and improved efficiency.
Performance Statistics & Benefits of a Dual-Monitor Setup
You may be surprised to know that simply adding a second monitor to a computer can increase productivity by over 40%.
The reason is that adding additional screen space impacts any program or web application a person is working in. So, adopting dual screens can make it easier when working on documents, creating presentations, researching online, and all other computer-based work.
Statistics from Dual-Monitor vs Single-Monitor Studies
A Dell whitepaper on adopting 2-monitors versus 1-monitor looked at studies from several universities. It found that overwhelmingly, users preferred the two-monitor setup and said it was easier to work with, made finding information easier, and was overall more pleasant to use throughout the day.
Here are some of the findings:
- Using two monitors boosted productivity by 44% for text tasks.
- Using two monitors boosted productivity by 29% for spreadsheet tasks.
- Users working with an additional monitor completed short knowledge-gathering tasks 2 minutes faster on average.
Some of the comments that users provided about the two-monitor setup were:
“I was having to switch back and forth between multiple windows, so this configuration gave me the most screen space, allowing me to view four windows at one time easily.”
“The two-screen layout made finding information easy and quick.”
Here are some of the reasons to consider switching to a two-monitor setup for your company computers.
Low Cost, Big Payback
The cost of adding a second monitor is low when compared to other technology investments. New monitors cost in the neighborhood of $160-$250, depending upon size and quality.
If you get even half of the 44% productivity noted for text tasks, at a 22% productivity boost for an employee that makes $20 per hour, that’s a savings of about $176/week. That equates to payback in just two weeks or less, after which you can enjoy an ongoing return on your investment via improved productivity.
Reduce the Need to Switch Between Windows
Employees can lose as much as 30 minutes per day from having to constantly switch between windows. And that doesn’t include the mental cost of switching focus constantly throughout the day, as one app is minimized and another one opened.
When employees use two monitors, it allows them to have more windows open at the same time. So instead of having to click constantly between windows, they can simply glance from one window to another, saving a lot of time and making their work easier.
Video Conference Like Pro
When you’re presenting a webinar or participating in a video meeting, your screen is typically taken over by the video meeting window. It’s difficult to refer to notes, take notes, or even keep an eye out for any urgent emails coming in.
When you use two screens, you can designate which of the two you share. This allows you to have other information open on the other monitor that no one can see, such as email or your presentation notes.
If you’re a meeting participant, you can take meeting notes without having to lose focus from what’s being shown on the meeting screen.
Side-by-Side Work Is More Fluid
Several tasks require side-by-side work in two different windows. You may be referencing a webpage for content in a Word document you’re writing. Or you may need to compare a list of feature requests with what a developer actually built in a program.
When you lack enough screen real estate to have your two comparison windows open fully at the same time, this type of side-by-side work can be laborious and frustrating.
Using a second monitor makes the process go much faster because you don’t have to fight with small windows or switching constantly between the two documents, trying to remember what you just looked at.
Get Help Setting Up Dual-Monitors for Your Team
B-Comp Services can help your Denver area business find the best and most cost-efficient monitors for your team and have them set up for you in no time to power higher productivity.
Contact us today to discuss your hardware needs. Call at 303-282-4934 or contact us online.
