< Previousprocess for employees. But AI can offer stronger connections to avoid issues, keep collaborations smooth, and reduce file sizes. Even lighting and background can be altered through artificial intelligence to offer remote workers the office experience. Personalisation to improve experiences Collaborations aren’t only improved within the business. AI can also offer personalisation to amplify connections with customers too. By using data, AI tools can learn to understand their specific audience. With this knowledge, online content like websites can be tailored to each specific customer, thus boosting customer engagement and loyalty. And AI chatbots can use this personalisation to ensure that each customer’s needs are met – so human agents can devote their time to complex customer queries. Finalising decisions AI is a great tool for decision-making. When employees are working together in a creative space to brainstorm, there can be many ideas bouncing off each other. But this can sometimes make final decisions difficult. AI assistants can be given criteria to aid with decision-making by analysing and identifying isolating factors. And with IPTV distribution, the decision-making can be broadcast across platforms for all employees, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE Video calls are essential to those working from home, but what can AI add to this? 30KIOSK AND DIGITAL SIGNAGE MAGAZINEARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AI assistants can be given criteria to aid with decision-making by analysing and identifying isolating factors. 31 KIOSK AND DIGITAL SIGNAGE MAGAZINE whether they are working remotely or in different offices, to allow them to be part of the collaboration and have clarity on the next steps within the business. Training calls for communication Business leaders can implement AI technologies within training processes to establish connections and enhance collaborations. Of course, there is always room to learn new skills that will benefit roles within companies. But some training courses that are available to employees might not be straightforward to all – thankfully, with AI, progress can be monitored to discover which employees need help in certain areas. By tracking this, employees who have a wide understanding of a certain topic can work with those who are struggling in a collaborative way. Alternatively, AI can be used in training sessions for a group of people who need more experience where they can work together. As a business leader, this ensures that employees are being cared for and are broadening their skills to help performance. There are many elements that can be enhanced by integrating artificial intelligence technology tools into businesses. And despite concerns that AI could take jobs, it can provide opportunities for increased human connections and engagement. And as a business leader, employees and customers can be kept happy, as well as giving you the chance to boost the success of your business. DIGITISING PROCESS 32KIOSK AND DIGITAL SIGNAGE MAGAZINEB ut without visibility over your key processes, you have no way of knowing who or what was at fault, how to prevent it from happening again, and whether there are wider problems at play. For all organisations in the catering industry, embracing digitisation in daily operations will eliminate these blind spots and enable you to proactively control your compliance. Digitise food safety logbooks Logbooks are the bedrock of any food business. They prove that food safety and storage procedures are being followed, as well as providing a paper trail in the event of any incidents, complaints or legal action. They can also be the difference between commercial success and failure. If an environmental health officer (EHO) inspects your logbooks and decides they’re not up to scratch, they could give your business a customer-repellingly poor hygiene rating, put it in special measures, or even shut it down completely. It’s vital to keep these records organised and up to date. Most logbooks are still paper-based, and this creates unwanted extra admin for staff and also makes records easy to falsify. Busy employees might also skip their paperwork in the moment, completing it retrospectively, merely as a box- ticking exercise. With data this unreliable, you DIGITISING PROCESS HOW CAFES AND COFFEE SHOPS CAN DIGITISE TO ENSURE THEY STAY COMPLIANT AND SAFE In the business of preparing and serving food, mistakes are costly. Any failure to meet compliance guidelines presents a severe risk to your customers and ultimately, to your reputation. It only takes one incident to seriously damage trust in your brand and, with alternative cafe and coffee shop options potentially just a couple of doors down, making sure that you can retain customer loyalty is essential. SAM ROBERTS SECTOR DIRECTOR MPRO5 33 KIOSK AND DIGITAL SIGNAGE MAGAZINEcan never truly know how compliant your business is. Digitising logbooks makes the whole record-keeping process faster, simpler and more transparent. Employees can log their food safety checks in just a couple of taps – with photographic evidence if needed – instead of having to write them all out by hand. Entries can be timestamped and tied to a user, making them virtually impossible to falsify. Data can be gathered continuously and be readily accessible 24/7. This allows businesses to spot trends, identify and fix failures quickly and know their compliance status at all times – rather than discovering major issues on the day of an audit. With all information localised in one central location in the cloud, logbook data can be available with one click. Migrate profit protection records to the cloud Profit protection, quite simply, is about protecting your margins. It involves identifying and minimising all potential sources of financial loss, from waste and shrinkage to theft and fraud and non- compliance with brand standards. Much like food safety logbooks, these records are often kept on paper or in spreadsheets and therefore the same problems of unreliable data and a lack of visibility are endemic. Gathering and collating data from a mixture of analogue and digital sources is also a huge admin burden. Sources of loss must be identified and fixed as quickly as possible, to prevent them from escalating and becoming a serious risk to your business. By digitising these records, the whole process becomes streamlined; profit protection data is stored in one central hub, allowing data to be connected to a bigger picture. It also gives you the ability to set up automatic remedial actions, based on a set of rules you define, to quickly shut down problems as they arise. This means you can identify, fix and report on issues in a matter of hours rather than days or weeks. Digital checklists provide insight into compliance With the introduction of Natasha’s Law in October 2021, catering businesses now have an even greater responsibility to ensure their food labelling is clear, comprehensive and easy to understand. Failure to comply is a criminal offence which could not only damage your business but also have potentially tragic consequences. Yet, with so many moving parts in the food preparation process, how can you know for sure that your business is compliant? DIGITISING PROCESS 34KIOSK AND DIGITAL SIGNAGE MAGAZINEDIGITISING PROCESS With the introduction of Natasha’s Law in October 2021, catering businesses now have an even greater responsibility to ensure their food labelling is clear, comprehensive and easy to understand. 35 KIOSK AND DIGITAL SIGNAGE MAGAZINE With a digital workflow management tool, these checklists are stored in the cloud, and staff can work through them on a mobile app rather than through paper records. There’s no room for cutting corners or falsifying information, as workflows can only be marked as complete with all the correct information, and this is timestamped along with user data. This isn’t about singling people out, but it does hold everyone accountable for compliance. A new standard for brand standards Brand standards cover everything that could influence someone’s perception of your business, from staff uniforms and in-store signage to portion sizes, product descriptions and the correct positioning of products. Consistent brand standards, that properly reflect the central strategy of your company, improve customer trust and loyalty, but in letting the smallest details slip, you risk both financial and reputational loss to your business. This is especially true for a café or coffee shop, where your brand can be the one thing that keeps loyal customers coming day in, day out, and helps you stand out from the crowd. As there is often so much competition, all serving the same types of foods and drinks, brand standards that include your customer service and product quality, are often the only thing making people come back. By using a digital workflow platform, you can ensure all these brand standards are followed to a T. Management can view and edit processes and set tasks that require proof of completion (such as a signature or picture) from staff, ensuring vision from the top down to see all processes are being adhered to, and accountability from the bottom up. Ultimately this results in insight, so if something goes wrong, you know why, as you can see what was supposed to happen, and what did happen. Start now and plan for the future Digitising your critical processes and compliance procedures may seem like a daunting and expensive prospect. Starting small and working upwards is the key. By targeting areas where digital workflows can have the most impact and monitoring performance over a few months, organisations put themselves in a better position to roll it out across the rest of their business and stay ahead of any competitors just down the street. MOVERS AND SHAKERS 36KIOSK AND DIGITAL SIGNAGE MAGAZINE MOVERS AND SHAKERS A round up of promotions, structural changes and new recruits across the kiosk and digital signage industry IF YOU WOULD LIKE YOUR MOVER OR SHAKER PUBLISHED, EMAIL: EDITOR@KDSEUROPE.COM MORRISON CELEBRATES A DECADE WITH ITL Innovative Technology (ITL) announces a 10-year milestone for Group Sales Director, Tony Morrison. Since joining the cash handling company in 2012 as Sales Director, Morrison has been promoted and been instrumental in many of the organisation’s strategic developments. Commenting on his decade with ITL, Morrison said, “I feel honoured to celebrate this milestone with such a forward-thinking dynamic company. I have the pleasure of working with a highly committed team who are key to the success of the business. When I first joined, I was responsible for our Retail & Kiosk customers and was tasked with expanding this market sector to the same level as our successful, well-known gaming business. The retail sector has developed considerably since then and we now have an established product range ideally suited and tailored to this industry. I was promoted to Group Sales Director in September 2019 and now take responsibility for expanding our global reach across all verticals in both the gaming and retail side of the business, as well as researching emerging markets internationally.” Peter Dunlop, ITL’s Group Managing Director said, “Tony has extensive international sales experience in the cash handling industry across a range of sectors and territories. He is excellent at building relationships, predicting and understanding key customer trends, and he is key to implementing our growth strategies and plans. The business has shown some incredible expansion and changes over recent years with innovation being our key driver. This desire to continually innovate has led to the development of our AI-powered biometric solutions, created to meet the ever-changing needs of customers. I look forward to working alongside Tony over the coming years to continue to expand our customer base, develop leading-edge technologies and achieve our business objectives.” Concluding, Tony said, “We have a very loyal customer base here at ITL and it’s thanks to this and to every member of staff that we have gained such impressive success. I look forward to further developing ITL both strategically and commercially to ensure we continue to build the best-in- class value for money products that our customers deserve.” WITHYOUWITHME APPOINTS FORMER NATO COMMANDER SIR JAMES EVERARD WithYouWithMe (WYWM) has announced further expansion, including a string of senior hires to support its rapid growth. Sir James Everard, who was formerly NATO’s Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe, has been appointed as Senior Advisor, along with a host of high-profile advisors, including: Lieutenant General Sir Nicholas Pope, the British Army’s Former Deputy Chief of Staff, who also served as Army Champion for safety, diversity and inclusion and for the LGBT+ community; and Major General Rupert Jones who brings with him 30 years of leadership experience in the British Army, including leading the joint force that defeated Isis. In addition, Johnny Mercer, who served in the UK commandos for 14 years, as well as spending two years heading up the UK’s inaugural Office for Veterans Affairs, has been appointed to support the organisation’s veteran agenda, and Olly Benzecry, who previously worked as Managing Director at Accenture UKI, has been appointed Chair. WYWM has selected the UK as its Northern Hemisphere springboard with the aim of providing £27 million in free digital skills to under-represented and marginalised groups. The expansion is set to create 10,000 free digital skills training places as it attempts to tackle the technological skills crisis. With the recent expansion underway, WYWM is committed to lowering the barriers to entry into tech careers by taking the onus off having either experience or tertiary qualifications in tech. Through AI technology, WYWM can assess and identify individuals who may have previously been overlooked – including neurodivergent individuals, military veterans and refugees – to identify suitable aptitudes allowing it to draw on, train and place diverse talent pools. LOREM IPSUM DOLOR SIT AMET KDS Magazine is the leading technical journal for manufacturers, integrators and deployers of self service terminals and digital signage. Published on a bi-monthly basis, KDS features news, articles and features from industry leading bodies, and the very latest information on the innovative technology used in our exciting industry. Past issues can be found on our website: www.kdseurope.com, along with news, features and information on events throughout the year. 2022’s media pack can also be accessed on our website HERE www.kdseurope.com | sales@kdseurope.com | editor@kdseurope.comNext >