July 2023 - RSI Concepts - Top IT Solution Provider Company in Dubai, UAE

July 25, 2023

Why Laravel Framework is gaining popularity in Software Development?

The digital eco-system is evolving at a rapid pace, businesses will have to keep up with the changing trends, customer demands and competition in order to ensure growth and stability. A modern day business needs a variety of software tools and applications in order to maintain required productivity and performance. Business management software and tools not only help improving operations, but they also help minimizing the cost and help businesses drive innovation which gets them a great competitive advantage. Here in Dubai and anywhere else in UAE businesses knows very well that how competitive the markets are and how demanding customers could be. In order to maintain a steady growth in such environment businesses need to level up their game which is impossible without implementing right software tools and digital solutions. This need gives rise to software development industry in the country, especially the customer software development. The customized software are exclusively designed for businesses to fully align with their business needs and vision. Furthermore the upgrading and customization is a fundamental need of any custom software application.

What is Laravel Framework and Why is it So Popular?

When we talk about custom software development it is extremely important to choose the right development tools and frameworks. These days with the rise of cloud and in-depth integration of smartphones, the web-based software applications are gaining huge popularity, as they are cost-effective, require less time to develop and offer better customization and scalability. The PHP (general purpose scripting language) is one of the most commonly used programming language. We have witnessed the emergence of hundreds of different PHP frameworks over the period of last two decades. The Laravel Framework is one of the most popular framework of PHP programming language. The Laravel Framework gained this popularity due to its modular development approach, easy scalability, high efficiency and innovative functionalities. The major architectural pattern of the Laravel Framework are based on Symfony, which is an open-source PHP library featuring reusable components. The Laravel Framework is also open-source and free to use which made it best alternate to CodeIgniter, which is another rapid development framework used for web-based software development. The Laravel Framework offers more convenience, easy-to-use tools and components which makes it the most popular PHP Framework.

What makes Laravel a Perfect fit for Modern Software Development Needs?

The modern software development industry requires more robust, efficient and scalable applications which extend the lifecycle of the software and enable businesses to keep improving their applications over the time. Here are some key features which makes Laravel Framework a perfect fit for the modern software development needs:

Process Automation with Packaging System: Laravel Framework enable packaging multiple support tools and software along with ability to add pre-built libraries which help developers achieve process automation in their web-based and custom software applications. Laravel uses an advance dependency manager, a composer which manages all the packages and information needed to manage these packages and allow developers to automate processes.
Object-Oriented Approach and MVC Architecture: One of the best advantage of using Laravel Framework is that it uses MVC or model, view and controller architecture along with exceptionally easy object-oriented syntax.
Advance File System and Distributed Environment Support: The Laravel Framework have in-built support for multiple file system and it can support local storage, cloud storage and rack-space storage. On top of that the Laravel Framework offers easy-to-use APIs which remain same for all the systems and also enable developers to use all three file systems as a distributed environment.
In-built Authentication and Authorization System: The Laravel Framework offers in-built configurations for the authentication and authorization system. The developers can implement authentication and authorization to their custom software application by using only a few simple commands which saves time and is very simple-to-use.
Enable Real-time Data with Broadcasting Feature: The modern-day software applications requires a lot of real-time data broadcasting between the server-side and client-side. The Laravel Framework offer an in-built Events and Broadcasting features which enables software developer to implement real-time data and live feeds in their customized applications.
In-built Command Line Interface (Artisans Console): The Laravel Framework offers an exclusive in-built command line interface, named Artisans Console. The Artisans Console allow developers to easily publish packaged assets, migrate databases, seed and generate boilerplate code for controllers and models. The Artisans Console also support custom command which gives developer more control.
Advanced Task Scheduler: The Task Scheduler was introduced along with in-built command line interface, Artisans Console. The Scheduler utilizes Cron Daemon to execute a single Artisans Console job which executes the configured tasks. This enable developers to easily do programmatic scheduling of the periodically executed tasks.
In-built Object Relation Mapper (Eloquent ORM): The Laravel Framework offers one of the best object relation mapper, known as Eloquent ORM and it comes as an in-built utility. The Eloquent ORM allow developers to use expressive syntax to manage database relationships and to interact with database objects.
Blade Template Engine: The Laravel Framework comes with highly effective in-built templating engine, known as Blade Template Engine. Blade Template Engine also offers internally mapped control structure for PHP counterparts such as conditional statements and loops, etc. It also enable combining one or more template to produce resulting views with a data model which can greatly improve the performance of the software application.
Multiple Testing Modes: The Laravel Framework offers in-built unit testing functionality featuring multiple tests to prevent and detect regressions in the framework along with ability to integrate PHP unit testing framework. The Artisans Console, command-line utility can also be used to run unit tests on the application.

Above are some of the most commonly-used features of the Laravel Framework which make it superior to other open-source PHP Frameworks.

What makes Laravel a Perfect fit for Modern Software Development Needs?

Highly Advanced Out-of-the-box Official Laravel Packages

Here is a list of official Laravel Packages which can make integration of different features super-easy with the application built on Laravel Framework:

Laravel Passport: The Laravel Passport allow user authentication via API while utilizing the OAuth Server. The API uses token and the Laravel Passport enables full OAuth Server implantation with simple steps which takes only a few minutes.
Laravel Socialite: The Laravel Socialite is an excellent package to easily implement login and authentication mechanisms via social media sites such as Google, Facebook, Twitter, GitHub, etc. for your customer software application.
Laravel Horizon: The Laravel Horizon is a highly effective intuitive monitoring tool which enables both dashboard and code-driven configurations. It is used to monitor the output of a job along with time required to execute the job and it also tracks job failures.
Laravel Cashier: The Laravel Cashier is a great in-built package which is used for e-Commerce and payment-based software applications. The Cashier is used to manage coupons and invoices and offer a full toolkit for managing subscription billing services.
Laravel Envoy: The Laravel Envoy simplified the automating the common tasks using minimal and simple syntax. The Envoy utilizes a similar syntax as Blade template and it makes it easier to setup tasks and utilize Artisans Console commands.
Laravel Scout: The Laravel Scout is a full-text search engine which utilizes the Eloquent ORM model along with Angola as its default driver which offers excellent service. The Scout also support custom drivers to enable improving the full-text search functionality.

The features and out-of-the-box packages offered by the Laravel Framework are better than any other available open-source PHP framework which is the main reason of its popularity in software development.

Highly Advanced Out-of-the-box Official Laravel Packages

Top Software Development Trends which will Increase the Demand of Laravel Framework in Coming Years

The Laravel Framework is trusted by millions of businesses and developers all around the world and it is known for developing high-performing and featured-rich custom web-based software applications. Here are the top software development trends which will definitely increase the demand of the Laravel Framework in the coming years:

Rising Demand for Multi-device Integration
Emerging Trend of IoT Implementation and Integration
Rising Demand of Intuitive User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UI)
Emerging Trend of Blockchain, Digital Payment and Crypto Currency
Security, Encryption and Password Protection
AI Enabled Customer Service Chatbots
Rapid App Development and Cost-optimization
Increasing Popularity of Cloud-based Software Applications

These top trends of software development industry are indicating even higher demand for the Laravel Framework in the coming future which is also sensed by the software development industry and that is why the popularity of the Laravel Framework is rapidly increasing.

Top Software Development Trends which will Increase the Demand of Laravel Framework in Coming Years

Conclusion

It is important to understand that whenever a business decides to develop a customized software application they have certain goals that they want to achieve with it. However, there are certain things which every business wants in their software applications such as the software application should be fast, feature-rich, intuitive, have high compatibility, integrates with existing infrastructure, have low cost, develops quickly, require less maintenance and easy to operate. These are some fundamental requirements every business have in mind when they are planning to develop a custom software application. Here in Dubai and all around the UAE you can find tens of hundreds of software development agencies who can build your customized software applications with the desired features and functionalities. However, it is important to understand that your software application should be have certain capabilities such as easy-integration, low-cost scalability, simple upgrade and customization and should be able to stay relevant for coming years.

The Laravel Framework is the excellent if not only choice to achieve the same. The Laravel Framework is open-source, the skilled developers are available easily, and it packs a tons of modern and highly advanced features which makes it the perfect choice for the customized web-based software application development and that is the reason why the Laravel Framework is rapidly gaining popularity not only in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and other parts of UAE but all over the world. If you are interested in learning more about the subject or if you want our custom software development service for your next game-changing software application development, 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.

July 24, 2023

Redefining Queue Management: How to Enhance the Customer Experience

For any business the customer satisfaction is the prime goal, it assures long term success, stability and growth. Businesses operating in service sector understand the importance of customer flow optimization and customer journey management. Especially in Dubai and anywhere in UAE the markets are very competitive, the customers have too many options available and people usually tend to switch after getting even only a single bad experience. That is why queue management is crucial for a business’s success. Long queues, poorly managed waiting lines and crowded lobbies are a great dissatisfaction for the customers, which not only raise customer churn but also harm business’s brand image and reputation. There are several challenges that customer facing environment have, one of the biggest is delay in service and long waiting time, furthermore the management of customer service center is also complicated and collectively everything impacts the customer experience. A queue management system not only reduce wait time it also streamline customer flow, provide real-time monitoring and it is very helpful for the management and staff which results in higher efficiency and raise customer satisfaction.

What is a Modern Queue Management System?

A modern queue management system is a digital solution which includes both software and hardware components. The software is designed with AI based smart technologies which enables it to collect data in real-time, take decisions at its own to improve customer flow and it improves management. A queue management system allow to monitor, track and improve customer movement within the premises and help improving customer waiting experience and customer journey. It automates several queuing processes and capture business intelligence data from each and every customer touch point. This ability allows it to take decisions at its own to ensure a smoother customer flow. Queue management system helps both service agents and the management to effectively improve the queuing process. It not only eliminates the inefficient and manual queuing practices but it also collects valuable business intelligence data insights which can be integrated in decision making and strategy building processes to further improve the customer flow management policy and practices. In this blog we will discuss how a modern queue management system can greatly enhance customer experience to achieve higher satisfaction.

Customer Experience: Long Wait Time

Long wait time has the most impact on the customer experience than anything else. No matter how good your office or facility is, how well your staff is trained, if your customers will have to face long wait time they will eventually end up unhappy. According to several studies on an average a customer could tolerate around 9 minutes of wait time, and any minute adding to that will have toll on customer experience, so much so that a time will come when your customers will become annoyed enough that they will decide to leave without even getting the service. This is called customer churn and keeping it at the lowest possible value is crucial for your business’s success. Longer wait time doesn’t only bother your customers but there is a phenomenon known as perceived wait time, which even worsen the conditions for both businesses and customers. The perceived wait time is the wait time our brain perceived instead of tracking the real-time. The perceived time is always higher than the actual time, for example, your customers have waited for let say 20 minutes however their mind perceive it longer than that maybe 30 or even 40 minutes.

Longer wait time means even longer perceived wait time which results in bad customer experience and cause frustration. That is why it is important to control, reduce and efficiently manage both wait times. A modern queue management system not only help minimizing the wait time but it also offer features which help reducing the perceived wait time’s impact by increasing customer engagements. There is another psychological phenomenon into play which is the fear of unknown, if the customers have no clue of how long they will have to wait this will add to their fear and they think they might have to wait for long period of time. However, a queue management systems comes with a powerful software tools which is built on smart AI and advanced data processing algorithms. These features enable queue management system to monitor the live queuing situation, consider the historical data and measure the ongoing performance on the service counters and estimate the remaining time to service. Hence when the customers are given their token they are also provided with estimated time to their turn.

When the customer know how long they will have to wait, they tend to remain calm. Furthermore there are several other features which help improving customers’ waiting experience. A modern queue management system comes with a smart customer calling module. The modern queue management systems are integrated with digital signage displays and a multi-lingual audio calling system. The digital signage keep displaying the current token number at service counters, upcoming tokens and few more details which keep customers distracted from the waiting and minimize the impact of waiting. Furthermore the queue management system can automatically make audio announcement where it calls token number and the service counter allotted to that token number, usually the customer call is made in two or three languages followed by a short music tone. The digital signage screens are also not only used to display queuing information, but a modern queue management system comes with in-built digital signage management module as well. Which allow businesses to run marketing or promotional videos or any other entertaining content on the large displays along with the queuing information. The digital signage and speakers are installed at strategic locations with aim of ensuring every customer at any place in the waiting area can view the signage or listen to the audio announcement. All these features help greatly reduce the waiting stress and improve customers’ waiting experience.

Customer Experience: Quick Service Delivery

Let us just admit whenever we have to face a situation where we have to wait for some time in a queue or in waiting area, in such situation when we reach to the service counter we want to get the service as quickly as possible and leave. For any customer facing environment it is crucial to offer a quality service and in a timely manner. When the customers already waited for some time, they are in hurry and want to leave as quickly as possible. A modern queue management system help businesses minimize the service delivery time by offering specialized features to automatically manage the customer journey and to help the service staff in their tasks. A modern queue management system offers a dedicated dashboard for the service agents, it can integrate with central information center and other third-party tools to enable quick availability of the data and information for the service agents, and it monitors employee KPIs. All these features help reducing the service delivery time and ensure a smooth customer flow. A queue management system automates several customer journey steps, and internal processes which means the staff doesn’t have to worry about any such thing, in fact they can easily focus on their primary tasks which results in quicker service delivery as well as improved service quality.

For any customer facing environment it is crucial to offer a quality service and in a timely manner

Furthermore the queue management system also allow customers to sign-in using self-service ticket dispensing kiosk. Usually the ticket dispensing kiosk as the customers about what service they need this help the queue management system to route the customer to the right service counter and put them in the right queue. Most of the time customers end-up in the wrong queue which could cause a lot of problems and result in delays in service delivery. On top of that each business have its own queuing policies. Businesses always offer multiple services and apart form that there are different customer groups which are prioritized differently, for example, the VIP customers, people with special needs, elderly people, etc. All these customers are expecting a different treatment from the business, which is defined in the queuing policy. A modern queue management system help businesses effectively implement their queuing policies and provide better monitoring and control over customer flow. Some businesses also offer stepped services which means a customer is required to visit multiple or more than one service counter in order to get a complete service. All these variables can make queuing very complex for both businesses and customers and cause unnecessary delays in service delivery.

A queue management system automates several customer journey steps, and internal processes

Customer Experience: Better Service Quality

The service quality or the quality of the interaction a customer have with the service agent can greatly influence their opinion about your business. It is essential to ensure a customer have a happy and satisfactory experience with your service staff. A queue management system help reducing the workload of the service staff. With manual queuing the staff regularly have to engage in queue management tasks, which distract them from their primary tasks and result in poor quality service and more customer complaints. With the queue management system the entire queuing process is autonomous which means the service staff have more time to focus on their primary tasks, this increase their performance which improve service quality. Furthermore the queue management system also help service agents with their several other tasks which also result in quicker and better service delivery. The modern queue management system comes with advance employee performance monitoring tools which also help management track and monitor employee performance and collect valuable data which support HR decisions and help improving the workforce. All these features collectively help management improve the service quality and consequently the customer experience.

It is essential to ensure a customer have a happy and satisfactory experience with your service staff

Customer Experience: Business Intelligence Data

Data plays a crucial role in the success of any modern business, majorly due to the digital advancements, rise of online channels and customer preferences, the businesses are compelled to adopt to modern IT infrastructure in order to stay relevant and competitive. A modern queue management system can produce a wealth of highly accurate and valuable business intelligence data which can help businesses refine the customer experience by acquiring insight to customer behavior, detecting pain points and highlighting the areas of improvements. The business intelligence data covers a wide spectrum insight and information such as queue management system usage stats, customer preferences, customer footfall analytical data, employee performance data, and even the customer feedback data. The business intelligence data is collected autonomously and available in form of interactive reports. The management can customize these reports to align them with their goals and strategies. The business intelligence data can also be synchronized with central information center or any other third-party system via easy integration. When management have accurate data and insight they can make informed decisions. It also help evaluating business strategies, processes and practices and help businesses to make improvements which results in better operational performance and higher customer satisfaction.

Business Intelligence Data plays a crucial role in the success of any modern business

Conclusion

Queue management system offer a variety of features and tools which help management improve the customer experience, optimize the operational cost, improve employee performance and achieve higher profitability. A good customer experience is crucial for a business to build a good brand image. The competition is tough in Dubai and other parts of UAE, businesses proactively improve their offerings to delight their customers. The customers are also very demanding and the market trends are subjected to subtle and monumental changes. It could be very difficult for a business to keep up with these changes without having right tools in their arsenal. A queue management system is the perfect companion for any customer facing environment. It help reducing the wait time, have positive impact on employee performance, and it significantly improves the customer experience. A queue management system offers a centralized management mechanisms which enables businesses to monitor all connected branches in real-time and make sure right actions are taken and in timely manners to avoid any disruption or unwanted delay in customer flow. In this blog we have discussed how a modern queue management system can help businesses enhance the customer experience and leverage the technology to achieve their long term goals and success. If you want to learn more about the subject or if you want us to help you implementing a tailor-made queue management system solution for your business, 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.

July 12, 2023July 12, 2023

Best Features of a Digital Queue Management System for Banks

Banks offer crucial financial services for individuals and businesses which are essential for our modern societies. If you are living in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi or anywhere else in UAE, you must have visited a bank either for account opening or for business purposes. If you recall your last interaction with a bank, how was your experience at the branch? I am sure it was not as pleasing as it should be. The biggest problems at banks is the large customer influx, a customer might have to wait for 30 to 45 minutes for a service which can be delivered in 5 minutes. Obviously your appointment at bank is not something which you should expect to be enjoyable or entertaining but at least it should be comfortable, convenient and friction-less. This means that there are still some flaws and problems with the banking sector which are impacting customer experience. The average wait time for a typical bank service is around 20 minutes or in some cases even more than that, which cause stress and frustration. A digital queue management system solve all those problems and it also helps improving customer experience.

What is a Digital Queue Management System?

A queue management system is a combination of tools and strategy to improve customer flow and maximize the performance of the customer service centers. The early form of queue management systems was first-come-first-serve based waiting line. Then businesses started sorting them in multiple waiting lines. Later on technology is introduced to the queuing systems. The digital queue management system is the latest form of customer flow management systems. A digital queue management system also consists of some digital tools (software and hardware) and a queuing strategy which help banks to significantly improve the customer experience, maximize their branch productivity and profitability and it also help improving staff performance. A digital queue management system also help businesses meet the ever-increasing customer expectations and it also collects valuable business intelligence data which is very helpful for businesses.

Here are the key features of a digital queue management system for a bank:

Digital Queue Management System: Reduction in Customer Wait Time

Customer wait time is one of the major cause of customer dissatisfaction. A digital queue management system is a very capable tool which can greatly reduce customer wait time and it also help improving customers’ waiting experience. Customers can sign-in using multiple methods which makes it very easy and convenience. Once customers are singed-in they are issued a ticket number which is their position in the queue. The customers are allowed to wait freely either in the waiting areas or even outside of the bank premises. The queue management system can also communicate with customers using SMS or WhatsApp or any other channel. It sends them live queuing information, alerts and notifications which prevent customers from missing out their turn in the queue. Furthermore the digital queue management system also have a digital signage screen, usually more than one screens are placed on strategic locations to ensure every customers can easily view information on these screens. Along with queuing information, multimedia content can also be played which help diverting customer’s focus form waiting time. The frequent audio announcements also keep customer engaged and reduce the stress of waiting.

Digital Queue Management System: Customer Journey Transformation

A digital queue management system has an AI (artificial intelligence) based very powerful software engine which make it more effective and efficient. A digital queue management system is a customer journey transformation tool. It can enhance customer’s entire visit even from pre-arrival to post-service activities, a digital queue management system effectively improves the entire customer journey. Furthermore a digital queue management system is capable of collecting customer behavioral, statistical and performance data which enables it to take instant decisions on the bases of real-time queuing situation. A typical bank have multiple services which they are offering at their branches, some service counters are exclusive for certain services some are for general services and furthermore there are also customer classifications and priority levels that the bank has to accommodate. It means that the bank has a very complex queuing strategy. A digital queue management system not only help banks implement their strategy but it also improving it. It can automatically route customers to the right service counter and as per their priority level or any other parameter that is applicable it manages the entire customer journey and ensure maximum efficiency, smooth customer flow and less wait time.

Digital Queue Management System: Boost Branch Efficiency

A digital queue management system is not just designed to reduce the customer wait time. It is a very powerful tool which can help improving several processes and have huge impact on the overall efficiency and performance of the entire bank branch. The digital queue management system automates several processes and customer journey steps. For example, the customer sing-in is completely automated, customers can utilize the interactive kiosk to sign-in and get the token number or they can utilize any supported virtual channel to sign-in and get a digital token or e-ticket. Furthermore everyone is served only at their turn, there is no chance of staff giving importance to any customer, this not only help improving the customer flow but it also help gaining customer trust. Furthermore there are no disputes, line jumping or any such problem that is associated with manual queuing. This means that the customer flow is entirely managed by the queue management system and the staff doesn’t have to involve at any stage. This not only speed up everything but it also help reducing the employees’ workload. When the staff works under balanced workload they tend to perform well and deliver high-quality service which improve branch performance. The employee have more time to focus on their primary tasks and they don’t have to worry about queuing problems which save a lot of time and also help reducing the service delivery time and resultantly customer wait time. All these improvements help boosting branch efficiency, employee performance, reduce human resource cost and ensure satisfactory service delivery.

Digital Queue Management System: Collects Business Intelligence Data

A digital queue management system is capable of collecting highly valuable business intelligence data from each and every customer touch point throughout the customer journey. Since the entire customer interaction digitally managed, collecting statistical data is much easier. For example, the queue management system can provide comprehensive insight to the customer flow such as which services most customer are choosing, what is average customer wait time, what is average service time and which employee is performing better and at which stage the customers are waiting longer than expected, etc. A digital queue management system is also capable of collecting customers’ behavioral data and compile it in form of easy-to-understand reports which help management understand customer behavior trend, performance trends, footfall trends and many more useful insights. A digital queue management system can collects a wealth of business intelligence data which can be very useful in decision making processes and help management evaluate their queuing strategy, customer journey and various other processes that can directly impact the customer experience. Furthermore a digital queue management system can also facilitate customer feedback collection and help banks collecting valuable customer feedback.

Conclusion

Banks offer most important financial services which are integral for our society and businesses to work. Whether you visit a bank in individual capacity or for your business, visit to a bank is inevitable. Banks also know that very well, hence they are always investing in innovative solutions and technologies to ensure their customers and visitors have an excellent customer experience. The overall UAE market in general is very dynamic, vibrant and versatile, for customers there are so many options to choose from. This is what makes customer satisfaction crucial for banks. If a bank wants to obtain customer loyalty then they must have to level up their game at customer experience and customer service. A digital queue management system is a perfect companion for banks who want to improve their customer experience. It help banks automate several customer journey processes and improve employees’ performance without compromising the customer satisfaction. In fact queue management systems are known for delivering highest customer satisfaction in all customer-facing environments. In this blog we discussed what a queue management system is and what features it offer which can help banks achieve maximum productivity, performance and customer satisfaction. If you want to learn more about the subject or if you want our help to transform your bank branch with our customized queue management system 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.

July 11, 2023

Characteristics of a Good Employee Appraisal System

The employee appraisal is the most important aspect of performance management. Every business wants to increase its performance, with the limited resources in hand every business wants to generate more outcome with limited inputs. That is why business adopt various workforce optimization methods and implement performance management strategies to improve the outcome and minimize the operational cost. This can provide businesses with a great competitive advantage and help them grow and achieve its goals. The employee appraisals are extremely important as it will help businesses identifying any areas of improvement by evaluating employee performance and measuring the effectiveness of the employee. The employee appraisal system is a great tool for workforce optimization and performance management it help businesses implement their performance management strategy and align employees with the mission of the business by leveraging the employee performance data and various techniques that are designed to evaluate employee performance.

What is Employee Appraisal System?

The employee appraisal system is a combination of tools, strategies and methodologies which are used to measure the employee performance against a pre-set goal, and employee appraisal help setting up the goals for future and provide guidance for employee development and training programs. The employee performance appraisal provides a framework for the mangers to identify the areas of improvement, highlight the causes of failure and success and from future performance strategy. Businesses and organizations in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and everywhere in UAE are investing heavily in employee performance management solutions such as employee appraisal systems. We have witnessed this trend increasing since past five years. The actual reason of deploying an employee performance appraisal system is to unlock the true potential of the employees, enable them to perform at their best and achieve the highest organizational efficiency which drive growth and long term success.

Here are the characteristics of a good employee appraisal system:

Employee Appraisal System: Objectives

For any employee performance management strategy the most important point is to clearly define and communicate the objectives to the employees. An employee performance appraisal system does the same. It help management clearly define objectives which aligns with the organizational high-level goals and objectives. The employee performance appraisal system provide specialized tools which help management create objectives that are well-defined, aligned with mission, easy-to-understand, achievable in timely manner, and can be communicated to the employees. The employee can easily understand what success will look like, it help them understand what business/employer is expecting from them and what has to be done from their side to create valuable outcome. The employee appraisal system not only help making objectives quantifiable but also help managers to correlate the objectives with the employee’s skills, experience, capabilities, and resources they have along with a complete historic background of past performances which is a great way to set goals and expectations for future. The systematic approach and specialized tools of employee appraisal system increase the success rate.

Employee Appraisal System: Reliability

The trust and fairness is the main driver of the performance, if the employees think that the appraisal process is not fair or if the think the employee appraisal system is not reliable they will lose morale which can kill the performance and productivity. The employee appraisal system ensures transparency and fairness in the process and help gaining employees’ trust. The reliability is the key component to introduce transparency and gain employees’ trust. The employee appraisal system is a digital tool which offer intuitive features and empower both employees and the managers. It ensures that the performance metrics and data used for appraisal are valid, reliable and accurate. Usually the data is related to the employee’s progress toward the assigned goal, how much time it took them to accomplish the goal, and the status of the goal, all this data is stored in the system along with complete historic accomplishments of the questioned employee. The employee appraisal system can also provide contextual data which also help managers understand employees’ certain behavior and decisions they take during the performance cycle. Employees and managers trust the system when they have access to accurate and reliable data.

Employee Appraisal System: Standardization

Standardization is one of the most important characteristic of employee appraisal system. Obviously every business and organization is different from each other, even two businesses who operate in same domain, have same products and services and same targeted audience could have greatly different internal processes, procedures, strategies and methodologies. However, when it comes to employee appraisal the main difference occurs when the managers took two different employees to assess who belongs to a same employee set/class or category. For example if the assessment is required for two computer programmers who work on Native Application Development within the team, the assessment process, methods and criteria should be exactly the same for both of them. In manual practices and traditional appraisal methods, the managers have too much influence on the process hence the personal bias or emotions can hamper the quality of the assessments made by the same manager. The employee appraisal system completely remove this from equation, it standardize the evaluation criteria, performance metrics. Furthermore it provides a comprehensive framework which make employee fully aware of appraisal standards, process, and decisions hence everyone knows how their success is being evaluated. The standardization can greatly increase employee trust on the appraisal process.

Employee Appraisal System: Communication

The communication is the backbone of any performance optimization or workforce optimization campaign. For the employee appraisal the communication is most crucial component of the process. The employee appraisal system help businesses and organizations to enhance communication between the employees and managers using specialized tools and unconventional methods. The managers must communicate the goals, objectives, mission and vision and the criteria of appraisal to each and every individual employee. If the employee doesn’t know about the system or doesn’t have clear information about any process or step, they will lose trust form the appraisal process which can easily kill productivity. The employee appraisal system help integrating employee feedback at various stages, especially in goal setting process. When the employee and managers have shared vision about a particular goal the employees tend to perform well and their motivations and morale raises. The employee appraisal system strengthen the communication between the managers and the employees with more frequent feedbacks, discussions and interactions which help identifying and rectifying problems that employee might be facing and also help managers to correct course in order to ensure success by the end of the appraisal cycle.

Employee Appraisal System: Development

The employee development is most important aspect of any employee appraisal system. Businesses and organization always want to minimize the employee turnover rate. This is essential in order to develop a highly skilled and experienced workforce. But if your employee keep leaving the organization, then you must have to bear the additional training costs, onboarding costs, time wasted in integrating a new employee and obviously the delay in the work, sometimes when the employees from key position left they could hinder the performance of the entire team or department, especially in startups, SMEs and very specific businesses. Every employee wants to grow, everyone wants to improve their professional skills and every single employee wants to learn new things which add value and increase their worth as an employee. However, most of the time the employees are confused about selecting a right career path and the managers too rely on guessing while selecting a career path for an employee or designing a personal development plan .However, the employee appraisal system provides in-depth understanding of the employee performance, their capabilities, skills and ability to grow. That is why with the employee appraisal system managers can design more effective and attractive employee development plans which help them raise employee satisfaction and reduce the employee turnover.

Employee Appraisal System: Training

When it comes to training, businesses often focus on the employee training. However, the managers’ or evaluators’ training is also very important. The evaluator and managers who are conducting the appraisal should also be well-trained in principles and processes of the appraisal along with the employee appraisal system tools. The evaluators and managers should be trained and provided with sufficient knowledge which enable them to effectively design and conduct appraisals. Conducting appraisal interview is a very crucial part of employee appraisal process, the evaluator or manager must have proper training to be able to conduct those interviews. Apart from that the employee training is the core of the employee appraisal process. Every business or organization have such employees who just need a little training or polishing in order to unlock their true potential. But the question is how to identify those employees and how to design the training programs for them. The employee appraisal system provide insight to employee behavior, it provide highly accurate employee performance data and provide a greater understanding of employee’s skills and capabilities which are essential to design effective training programs. Effective training will help businesses achieve higher productivity and it also help gaining employee trust and loyalty.

Conclusion

Performance management, workforce optimization, employee appraisals, training programs and various such activities are a part of any growing organization. Every business wants to generate as much outcome as possible with the limited resources and inputs. High performing teams and employees are a great asset of a business and can provide a much needed competitive advantage as well as help boosting performance, profitability and growth of the business. That is why businesses conduct employee performance appraisals. However, when it comes to employee appraisals, it is a very sophisticated and crucial process. That is why businesses in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and all around the UAE uses specialized tools such as employee appraisal system in order to make the appraisal process more effective and efficient. The employee appraisal system helps setting and communicating goals and objectives, it improves communication, it increases transparency and help businesses gain employee trust and satisfaction. In this blog we have listed some key characteristics of employee appraisal system, if you want to learn more about the subject or if you want our help to design and implement and customized employee appraisal system for your business, 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.

July 6, 2023

Lafarge Acquire Truck Queue Management System from RSI Concepts

Lafarge Emirates Cement LLC is one of the most famous and reputed company offering a wide range of construction solutions with a strong portfolio and international presence in the region. The Lafarge Emirates Cement is part of a bigger Holcim Group, and share a common vision of promoting green growth. The Holcim group has strong presence in global markets all around the world with a workforce of around 75,000 employee worldwide. The Lafarge Emirates Cement is known for its remarkable contribution and initiatives to the society and environment. The company hasrevolutionized the construction sector in UAE by adopting to modern technologies and practices. The climate centric and reduction in harmful materials is the epicenter of all processes and methods at Lafarge Emirates Cement. The group is investing heavily in reducing carbon-footprint, encouraging the use of low-carbon materials and decarbonizing their current operation. These initiatives and compliance with local and international industry standards helped Lafarge Emirates Cement build a great reputation and a strong brand name.

Recently Lafarge Emirates Cement LLC have faced a problem in their delivery system, they were having issues registering the drivers who are coming to collect the cement or other mixes at their plants. On top of that the vehicle flow management also needed some improvements. For that the Lafarge Emirates Cement LLC required a modern queue management system for vehicles. They have contacted top queue management system designer and developer agencies in Dubai, UAE and asked them to propose a queuing solution to solve these problems. Thankfully RSI Concepts was awarded the project to design and deploy a customized vehicle queue management system for Lafarge Emirates Cement LLC which can improve the vehicle flow and add additional security layers to improve the authentication process at their production and distribution facilities.

RSI Concepts have offered an outdoor interactive self-service kiosk which are deployed at the entrances of their facilities. All incoming vehicles can register themselves at these kiosks. The interactive self-service outdoor kiosks are designed to simplify the process for the drivers adding support for multiple languages and automating various steps. The drivers can simply reach to the kiosk and scan an RFID based Identification Card, which will help the system to identify the person and its company/department. Furthermore the facial detection is also available and the drivers can scan their face to identify themselves, the system has ability to verify the registration status of the vehicle, driver and their company automatically to prevent unauthorized access. After completing a simple sign-in process the vehicle drivers are issued a mobile ticket via SMS which help them navigating through the next steps and getting the job done.

Here are the remarks of our Sales and Product Manager, Mr. Shehzad Asghar:

“It was a great experience working with the Lafarge Emirates Cement Team. Thanks to our skilled designers and hardworking engineering department, we have delivered the complete solution within the required timeline. Both the software and hardware were fully customized and integrated with the existing IT infrastructure and central information system which helped us including innovative and productive features in the system. We will looking forward to expand our collaboration and support to Lafarge by working at more ventures in future.”

The interactive self-service outdoor kiosk solution demand simplicity and productivity which can only be achieved with innovative features and creative ideas. At RSI Concepts we have a highly skilled and motivated team which ensures our each solution not just meet the requirements but offer maximum productivity and efficiency to ensure customer satisfaction. Lafarge Emirates Cement LLC is a well reputed name in UAE and we will look forward to expand our collaboration in coming future.

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July 5, 2023

Custom Software Development Progressive Web Apps – Beginner’s Guide

The technology is transforming our lives, whether it is personal or work, the technology is integrated to everything. For example, the laptop or smartphone you are using right now to read this article is a technology. The software is the epicenter of all modern days’ technologies, whether it is for personal use or for business use. Businesses in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, or any other part of UAE knows the importance of technology, this is the reason why businesses are investing big time in technological solutions and resources. When it comes to software there are two major types, some of the software are installed locally and some are online, for example, you install Microsoft Office in your computer, and you use your ERP or Intranet system via online with help of a web browser. We have also witnessed huge increase in the use of internet over the past decade, and according to studies there are 6.8 Billion people around the globe who have access to the internet and out of that 4.32 Billion people are preferring to use their smartphones to accessing the internet. Those figures are staggering, and that is what compelled businesses to focus on the mobile technologies and solutions even more.

Custom Software Development Progressive Web Apps 1 — Custom Software Development Progressive Web Apps

It is this trend of using smartphone for accessing the internet and deeper integration of smartphones in our daily life which results in the rise of progressive web apps (PWAs). The smartphones are getting more powerful and offering more features than ever before. Above all they are more convenient to use and wit the rise of social media and communication apps, the smartphone usage is significantly increased. In UAE almost 99% of population have access to the internet and also uses mobile phones, which is evident of the much deeper penetration of smartphone in our society than one can even imagine. That is why businesses started focusing on building smartphone apps and leveraging them to grow their revenue. Google is a key player in the internet and also in smartphones with its operating system Android used by majority of smartphone manufacturers. Google introduced Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) in 2015 with an aim to combine the features of a webpage and a mobile application to offer a better user experience with more accessibility, user-friendliness and technological superiority. According to Google the progressive web apps (PWAs) are more reliable, engaging and fast than traditional mobile applications. In this blog we will discuss what a progressive web app is and how businesses can leverage its advantages to grow their revenue and improve their customer experience.

Custom Software Development Progressive Web Apps

What is a Progressive Web App (PWA)?

By definition a progressive web app or PWA is a software application which is built using traditional web technologies and platforms such as CSS, HTML, and JavaScript but it offers a user experience similar to a native mobile application. The greatest advantage of a progressive web app or PWA is that it is not confined to a specific platform, it means a single codebase can be used for multiple platforms and the custom software or application will behave like the native application for that platform. Similarly like the websites the progressive web apps (PWAs) are compatible with multiple platforms but offers additional features such as it can be installed on local storage, it can run in the background, it works offline and it can be integrated with the software and hardware features of the device as well. In this context it truly surpassed both websites and the native mobile applications and that is also one of the major reason of their popularity all around the world. Furthermore the progressive web apps (PWAs) help empowering businesses and enable them to accelerate their technological adaptation processes and the custom software development using progressive web apps is much more cost effective and scalable than any other traditional application building method.

How Progressive Web Apps (WPAs) are Different?

With the rise of internet and digital marketing businesses started investing in their websites. Later on the digital experience and digital services are introduced to offer convenience, freedom and easy accessibility for the customers. This was the time when the websites have started evolving into highly functional web apps offering a wide range of features and functionalities. With the introduction of JavaScript, Ajax and continuous progress in web development technologies and platforms the web apps have become very useful for both customers and businesses. However, in parallel the smartphones and mobile application development platforms were also improving. A stage came when the native mobile applications have proved their superiority over the web apps. However, both the native mobile applications and web apps have certain limitations and there were features that were exclusive to both platforms and were not available at the counterpart. Therefore a new technology have emerged as progressive web apps (PWAs) which enable businesses to leverage the best out of both native and web apps. With the development of advanced web building tools and platforms and progress of mobile web browsers combined with ever increasing power of smartphones paved the way for the progressive web apps. The progressive web apps are websites who behave and work like a mobile apps and that is what made them different.

Why Progressive Web Apps are Better than Web Apps and Native Mobile Apps?

The first thing that made progressive web apps (PWAs) better than websites/web apps and native mobile apps are the development method, tools and techniques. For example, here are the Programming Languages that are used to build these customized software, apps or web pages:

Websites/Web Apps: HTML, CSS and JavaScript
Native Apps – Apple iOS: Objective-C and Swift
Native Apps – Google Android: JavaScript
Progressive Web Apps or PWAs: HTML, CSS and JavaScript

That is a major difference between these. Furthermore the development approach is also different. The Websites and Web Apps are intended for web browsers, the Native Apps are developed to run on their exclusive platform. For example the native app which is developed for Apple iOS will not run on Google Android and vice versa. However, the progressive web apps (PWAs) are developed to be run in a browser and doesn’t depend on the platform. In case of native apps you will have to develop two different apps using different programing tools and languages, hence you will develop one app for Android and one for iOS. The biggest advantage of progressive web apps is that only one codebase can effectively run on both iOS and Android and you will have to develop just one application. Furthermore a progressive web app is responsive and it can work on any screen size/form factor without requiring any change or modification in its source code. These are some key advantages which make progressive web apps (PWAs) better than a traditional website/web app or native mobile applications.

Why Progressive Web Apps are Better than Web Apps and Native Mobile Apps?

Why Businesses Should Chose Progressive Web Apps for Custom Software Development?

Businesses in Dubai and all around the UAE knows the importance of digital customer experience, hence businesses keep investing in software solutions and digital experience to ensure they remain ahead of their competition and obtain maximum customer loyalty. The custom software development is far superior than opting for a stock or off-the-shelf software solution. It offers exclusivity, which means your competitors can never have what you have. Custom software development offers high security and totally aligned solutions for your needs which make them more effective. However, when a business needs to offer a digital service or digital interaction via website/web app or mobile app, they tend to prefer native mobile application development. This is majorly due to the fact that the web experience and mobile app experience are two different things. What businesses want to accomplish is a seamless customer experience while offering them great features. The progressive web app development is the ideal solution, it offer the best of both web apps and native mobile apps which make them superior. Here are some key advantages of building a progressive web app:

Fast and Responsive: The progressive web apps are considered very light weight, hence they are fast and react quickly when a user interacts. Furthermore the PWAs are responsive and automatically adjust according to the device, hence the user can use them on any screen size and form factor without compromising on user experience.
Engaging: The progressive web apps are very engaging and for an ordinary user it is hard to tell difference between a native app and PWA. The progressive web apps offer similar experience as that of a native mobile application.
Offer Great Features: A progressive web app not just offer similar user experience but it can also offer similar features which are offered through native apps. Such as adding icon on the home screen, sending push notifications, running in the background, working offline, integration with other systems, etc.
Offer Better Security: In the modern day and age the data protection and security are among the most desired features of any software solution or application. The progressive web apps use HTTPS and SSL protection to ensure high-level data protection and user security.
Very Lightweight: Another great feature of progressive web apps is that they are very lightweight. If we build a progressive web app of a native mobile app with similar design, features and everything it would still be very smaller than the native, in some cases it could be 90% smaller than its native counterpart. This also help boosting the performance and speed by many times.
Easy Management: The progressive web apps are much easier to manage, as they are very lightweight, and need less programming the management and maintenance is relatively easier. The upgrades and updates are also much easier, as the developer will only have to upgrade one codebase.
Better Connectivity: The progressive web apps offer better connectivity than the native mobile apps. PWAs can also work perfectly in low-connectivity areas and with slower networks, as they communicate with the server in a different way which also enables them to work offline.
Uses URI/Linkable: The progressive web apps have another great feature of using URIs to track the current state of the application. It means that when a user close the app and reopen it the app allow them to continue from where they had left.
SEO Friendly: Building native mobile apps and marketing them in itself is a very time and resource consuming task. However, a progressive web app is very SEO friendly and the search engine can easily read their content and index them which help simplifying the digital marketing for it.
Low Cost/Better ROI: The custom software development process is very simple with progressive web apps, the developer will have to work only on one codebase, which reduce their work and cost too. The PWAs can be updated/upgraded easily which also help minimizing the cost. They are progressive in nature hence doesn’t require compatibility/update whenever a new platform arrives, which also lowers the operational cost and increase the lifecycle. These features make progressive web apps one of the best ROI offering custom software development method.

Why Businesses Should Chose Progressive Web Apps for Custom Software Development?

These features and advantages of a progressive web app or PWA make them the ideal custom software development method for the modern days’ needs. It is a lot easier to build and launch them, the operational and upgrade cost is also low, which results in better ROI over the long term.

Conclusion

This blog is designed to provide a basic understanding of Progressive Web Apps, with the intent of making it accessible and understandable for beginners. I tried to keep my language simple and avoid complex technical concepts and terminologies. This beginner’s guide can help you understand the difference between PWAs, traditional web apps, and native mobile apps. Custom software development is a very important process for any business, because businesses only goes for customized software solutions when they need to solve a very unique problem or they are trying to gain superiority over their competition. The rapid rise of progressive web apps is indicating that it is the future of custom software development. The progressive web apps are gaining more momentum in MENA, Asia and North American regions as they offer superior functionality, great user experience and excellent ROI. If you want to learn more about the subject or if you need our help in your custom software development project or if you need a progressive web app solution for your business, 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.