When I was a SharePoint consultant at Microsoft my clients would often ask me about the best way to improve employee productivity and company efficiency. What I told them shocked them. You see, I didn’t plug the latest Microsoft product or sing the praises of the latest version of MS Office. Instead I let them into a secret that the financial sector have known for years, but the rest of the world is still catching up with. And it’s this simple: Add a second monitor to everyone’s PC.
And by everyone, I mean everyone, because the people who can most benefit from this are often the ones in support roles. In law firms that means back office staff, legal secretaries, paralegals etc. who are busy researching, cutting and pasting and comparing drafts of documents.
Dual Monitor ROI
The Costs
In an ideal world everyone would have a dual head video card, but an external USB Video Adapter like this one works great as an alternative.
Add to that a second monitor for each person and capital outlay is around £300 per head.
The Return
Studies show that depending on what you are doing, dual monitors increase productivity by between 9% and 50% with an average 20% productivity boost.
The Payback
So for someone on an average salary the capital investment would pay itself back in under a month. What other IT investment could possibly give you the same ROI?
This is so true – I have had a dual monitor setup for a few years now… and I would squeeze another one if I had room on my desk! For word processing, email, time recording and pretty much everything else I do it makes the process vastly more efficient.
Agree 100% with the above, it is essential for all staff. Always make it my priority when kitting out a new team, or migrating work between locations. Don’t forget that the £300 outlay can also be depreciated away, so it becomes even more cost effective.