In this day and age, the regular office equipment from the nineties does not suffice as sufficient employee equipment, and as technology has advanced so have the essential assets every employee needs to do an efficient job. The way businesses conduct their daily work has a lot to do with what assets employees have at their disposal.
Here are a few general assets that employees should be empowered with and that need to be kept track of. GoSmartHR’s asset management system can track all employee-linked assets.
Suggested essentials:
A uniform
Uniforms or branded items are essential for employees when representing your company. Even if your company doesn’t have a ‘blue-collar’ uniform, your employees may have shirts, caps, shoes or pants that need to be branded with your company’s logo. Each item of this uniform becomes a company expense and should be monitored to ensure each employee has sufficient clothing and that they aren’t misusing this company benefit.
A laptop/tablet
Laptops and tablets are mobile and are therefore perfect for employees who are always on the road, or for business meetings that take place out of office. Laptops make it easy for employees to access work files from any place in the world – as well as staying in touch! Laptops are also a reservoir of company files and data on hand. A laptop or tablet also proves as an entertainment hub where employees can present videos, presentations and take people on company journeys they might not have been able to go on.
A company car
Company cars are essential for certain fields – such as sales. Sales representatives need a car to get to and from clients. A decent company car is important because they form impressions – the clients will think that your business is successful and therefore invest time and money in you. You may think this is a little superficial but you would never trust a brokerage company who sends their investment brokers out in an old red Toyota Tazz, would you? If your employee is using the car sales purposes, or even for deliveries it could also work out to be more affordable than always renting a hire car or reimbursing the employee for kilometres they travel based on AA rates. The employee wouldn’t suffer any wear and tear on their car and the vehicles could always be transferred to a new employee, should the existing one move on to a new position or company. Company cars could also be used as an incentive for employees to work towards.
Wi-Fi (and/or the dongle) that is stable.
Businesses today are driven by computer technology and Wi-Fi is at the centre of that technology. Wi-Fi can be accessed by employees anywhere in the building which is important if you need informatino on the spot and need to quickly Google something or watch a demonstration on YouTube. Internet access has also been made mobile in the form of a dongle, so even if an employee needs to travel to an area that has no connectivity he/she could still gain access to their emails. Wi-Fi has made the employee much more efficient. With portable Wi-Fi, employees that travel a lot in marketing or sales will always be able to use their time to their advantage even though they are away from the office.
A work cellphone
The cellphone, an item that has been changing our lives since the 1970’s. Cellphones are essential for employees as they allow an employee to be reachable at all times no matter where they are. The fact that an employee is available at all times (within reason) can lead to them generating more business as a client can have contact with an employee at all times. Employees can also schedule meetings no matter where they are – and are not confined to the parameters of their desks. Cellphones also make it possible for employees to hold teleconferences while travelling. Cellphones these days are also able to perform basically all the same functions as a laptop – or very close to one, this makes it easy for employees to access their emails anywhere or send documents at any time. Cellphones also allow an employee to be “always at the ready”, in a situation where a client insists on being sent something immediately it isn’t a problem.
A cellphone makes an employee extremely versatile and should be a standard employee asset.
As the world of business develops, so will this list of essentials – and by no means are these the only essentials. Stay ahead of the game as an HR manager by empowering your employees through innovative technology to help them be completely invested in their work and clients – no matter where they are. Technology is making the world a lot smaller and employees a lot more versatile.
