How Slow Computers Cost Business Productivity and Profitability?

Even a single computer is an efficient tool to operate an entire business. Nevertheless, it has to be correctly maintained or it can quickly leave you frustrated. Generally, everyone has experienced the irritation and annoyance of working on slow computers.

The technology aims to hasten the tasks. So, when your business has to handle slow computers the impact is a steady decline in employee performance, which has bad consequences on productivity and profitability. It is essential to keep the computer system updated but every enterprise doesn’t manage this. In this post let’s understand why slow computers turn out to be costly.

How is computer downtime expensive for productivity?

SME ventures need to have a reliable IT infrastructure, especially in this tough competitive digital era. It is a full-time job to stay on top of systems, software, and hardware. Therefore, SMEs without committed IT resources can experience slip-ups. Computer users experience a drop in their performance, which badly affects employee’s morale, motivation, and productivity.

For example,

If an employee works 8 hours daily and in case of 5 minutes of slowdown in every hour then it translates to around 40 minutes in a day of lost productivity. It is equal to 3 hours 40 minutes a week [Sunday holiday] and approximately 160 hours a year.

If an Australian company pays $20 an hour then the annual cost for lost productivity is $3,200 [160 hours x $20] per employee. There are also other variations to consider like time taken to boot the PC at the start or time to troubleshoot some issue. All this adds to productivity loss and negative effects on your employees.

How does a slow computer affect employees?

Even if the staff becomes accustomed to working on slow computers doesn’t mean they like it. Slow computers are too frustrating, which fuels dissatisfaction and dampens their motivation. The staff starts to feel that they don’t have the ideal tools, which reflects how much they are worth to their employers.

For better productivity, computer speed is an essential factor. Speed allows for better connectivity allowing the workforce to work efficiently. Quick speed generally affects productivity. Computer technology has increased expectations of working staff and if it doesn’t the impact is significant over time. According to a study, for maintaining employee concentration, the machine response has to be within two seconds or it can impact productivity.

Slow technology and computers have even caused businesses to lose talented staff, so to retain your employee and enhance productivity it is essential to handle computer slowdown seriously.

Why do computers run slowly?

The slowdown of computers can be because of many reasons. However, it reveals that you need to closely monitor and maintain hardware and software.

Here are some troubleshoot tips for a 5-year-old computer.

Ensure that your enterprise-level internet package is delivered through fiber optics.
Make sure every network switch is 1 GB, which is today’s minimum requirement for company networks.
Delete temp files stored on the hard drive to free space.
Hard drive failure can also be a reason because even if there are no moving parts, it can eventually break down.
Disable unnecessary applications and startup programs that operate in the background.
Scan for viruses, spyware, and malware.
Update the OS and drivers
Make sure there is at least 2 GB RAM because employees have to open multiple windows and applications at a time that can quickly consume the RAM resources.
Check the external environment around your computer. Hair or dust can block the airflow making the PC overheat.