In my role as Chief Technology Officer for Mavidea, people are always asking me what the easiest thing they can do make their workers more productive. I always smile, because the answer is always the same, and always so simple.
Upgrade the size of your worker’s monitors, and put 2 (or more) monitors on every desk.
People are usually baffled when I tell them this. They are expecting answers about a new server, or faster Internet, or new software. The reality is much easier.
Why?
- A larger monitor shows you more information at one time. If you are using a 17 “ or 19” monitor right now, and you upgrade to a 22” or 24” widescreen monitor, you will end up with 25% more physical screen, and because of increased capabilities on the monitor you will see almost double the amount of information at once. (the gray box is a 17″ monitor and the green is a 19″ monitor).
- Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7 have been optimized to work with multiple monitors. If you’ve been to our office you’ll notice that every employee has at least 2 monitors (some have 3!). The reason is because it has been tested and proven numerous times that computer users with 2 monitors are 20-30% more productive than users with 1 monitor. One of my favorite articles if from the New York Times, and in their research they say the number is 20-30%. Let’s do the math on this one:
2 new 22” monitors at $300 each = $600
New video card (if needed) = $75
Installation / setup = $200
TOTAL = $875
Avg. life of new monitors = 3 years
Average employee wages + benefits = $30,000 per year (which is probably really low).
Value of a 20% increase in productivity = $6000 per year * 3 years = $18,000.
So even when my numbers are exaggerated on the low side, you still have a +$17,000 ROI on dual monitors.
And I haven’t even talked about things like larger monitors reduce eye strain that can lead to headaches / migraines! (hmm, I guess I just did….)
Larger/dual monitors are also an easy way to reward employees for performance – in our experience users are very excited to go be given upgrades like monitors or nicer speakers / keyboards / mice – it actually goes a long way towards improving morale.
We at Mavidea know this is true –almost every office that experiments with a single computer using 2 monitors will upgrade all of the rest of their computers to dual monitors within 12 months. It’s true at financial services companies and landscapers, graphics designers and order processors.
The only drawback is that people are going to want 2 monitors when they go home!
Jamie
