Headsets Give Your Business A Head Start

Telephone headsets are now a common feature of many workplaces. It is widely recognised that headsets provide significant health benefits, such as alleviating muscle tension and reducing neck and back strain.

Boost Productivity

Research proves that not only are headsets good for your health, headsets boost the productivity of your business as well. The headset provides a simple yet effective solution to the common irritation of having to balance an uncomfortable handset between your shoulder and ear when trying to use two hands.

Retain Mobility

By wearing a headset, workers can talk on the phone while retaining perfect mobility and comfort. Furthermore, they have two hands free to perform other tasks, such as typing, filing paperwork or simply drinking a coffee.

Research-backed Results

Many of the benefits of headsets seem to be common sense. But a study by American research firm HB Maynard & Co. gives academic rigour to the claims. It shows that headsets substantially improved worker productivity and also reduced phone-related employee downtime.

The study monitored employees from four firms over an eight-day period, cataloguing over 2,000 phone calls. The workgroups studied were sales people, travel agents, technical sales support personnel and stockbrokers.

A proportion of the employees were provided with headsets, while the others were given traditional handsets. The movements of the employees and the time taken to make phone calls were observed, paying close attention to the difference in productivity between one-handed and two-handed typing.

Productivity Up by 43%

The results were conclusive, showing that headsets increased productivity in individuals by up to 43%. The time spent making phone calls was reduced substantially and, on average, people with headsets made 16 more calls a day.

Repeat calls could be made without interruption and time consuming tasks such as checking reference material or typing out data were performed faster and more efficiently.

Employees in the study using the headsets were happier, exhibited lower fatigue levels and suffered no physical discomfort, unlike the traditional handset users.

Boost Work Rates

Another study, commissioned by Plantronics, had similar results, revealing a large increase in productivity. The 90-day study observed two groups of loan processors at a mortgage processing company in the United States The test group wore headsets while a second group continued using traditional handsets.

The group wearing headsets boosted their productivity, completing 23.5% more loans on average, compared to the group using handsets. The headset users also experienced less neck pain and more comfort than when using the traditional handset.

Promote a Healthy and Happy Workplace

The results from both studies prove that headsets increase productivity in the work place. The reports also show that employees are happier and more comfortable when using headsets, which in turn improves morale in the workplace.