Check-In Kiosk -- suggestions for fewer clicks

Hi there, 


We are struggling a little with using the Check-In kiosk (which has been our answer, for some of our technologically frustrated/challenged volunteers, to have an easier time with this transition).  That being said, some pretty valid observations and complaints have been brought up, so I wanted to share those observations and suggest some solutions our team has discussed: 


Volunteers noticed that the difference between our last kiosk and this one is that there are more clicks to sign in.  When counted, it was the difference between 6 clicks (old) and 14 clicks (new).  Generally speaking, fewer clicks is (I think) what most people suggest for efficiency and user-friendliness (or to cut down on user frustration).  Here’s some suggestions for cutting down on clicks/things we’d like to see anyway: 

  • Have check in and check out show up on the SAME screen.  This is partly important because we have a typical shift time for most opportunities, but some volunteers will stay for 1.5 shifts or until there is a natural lull in serving others.  What if, upon going to the "Check-In" page, the check-in time is auto-populated, the check-out time is auto-populated, and the clicking the volunteer needs to do is to edit the start time/end time if those look different for either shift?  

  •  Have check-in and check-out options be a choice button rather than a drop-down.  For example:    Check in at shift start (text box auto-populates shift start time),  Check in at custom time (when selected, prompts you to enter start time in box), Check out at shift end, Check out at custom time

  •  I’m wondering if there’s a way to use the kiosk to basically access a person’s “Opportunity Responses” page (where they can select from the drop down for each of the shifts they’ve registered for to take an action on it)…

  • Could just Runs-Until and shifts taking place that day be the only things that show up in the kiosk?   I’m curious about what the thinking of/use has been for signing in to future shifts? I know that I’m talking about reducing # of clicks on the kiosk, but I’m wondering if the kiosk could be changed so that there is an easy way for someone to use the kiosk to communicate if they’re coming in for the same shift NEXT week?

  • Have the final step in using the kiosk (the "Done" page) include an option to register for a shift under the same opportunity for next or future weeks, if it's available? 

To get to the heart of it, this is what I'm basically looking for: 

  • How can we reduce the # of clicks for someone to check in to their job, EVEN if they did not sign up for a shift in advance?  Are there ways to consolidate check-in steps so that what would normally redirect to another page appear as a drop-down? 
  • How can we accommodate volunteers who work an atypical shift just because they care about responding to real-time needs (for example, staying longer than the typical shift)?   I really love the feature of being able to log in to the kiosk and have it assume a certain amount of time -- but I want my more flexible volunteers to have the option of using the kiosk too. 
  • Are there some additions that could make the kiosk a snappy way to check in to future opportunities (for example, let us know via kiosk that they'll be here next week for the same shift)? 

Please note that most of these suggestions are in light of having technologically challenged volunteers;  I realize there's a whole website they could log in to at home to resolve some of this, but we're running into some real difficulty maneuvering between the two.


Am willing to provide hand-drawn illustrations if it helps to explain the thinking here.  :) 


Thanks for your support!  


2 people like this idea

Hi Holly, thanks for writing in! 


We have a list of user experience suggestions that are specific to the check-in kiosk, and we want to make it obvious to everyone that they have successfully checked in. I will make sure that we take all of the suggestions in this forum into account when we release the next build that is focused on the Kiosk. 


Thanks as always for your feedback!


Agreed with everything regarding fewer clicks to check in. 


People sometimes don't realize they haven't successfully checked in. The biggest problem is needing to scroll down to click "check in." If you could eliminate scrolling on that final page that would be a huge improvement.


We would also like a huge obvious "YOU'VE DONE IT!" confirmation. Bigger than the thin green banner. 

Hey Noah,


Happy Monday! We appreciate your input on this topic. I've added your comments to the current suggestion card we have for this on our enhancements board.


Thanks again,

Shonie

Customer Experience Specialist

She / Her

I definitely second the reduction of clicks as we have volunteers who are not technologically savvy or who are computer illiterate. I believe the check-in kiosk process could be simplified to be more inclusive.

Hey Becki - Thanks for jumping in with your notes. I believe the kiosk is due for some attention from the development team in the next few months, so I'll make sure they see your suggestions. Since the kiosk feature has been out for about a year-or-so now, I think we've got a nice opportunity to make use of some of the things we've heard about how it's been used in that time. 


Thanks!

We heartily endorse reducing kiosk clicks, for several reasons: (1) People expect check-in/out to be speedy after navigating a multi-step account creation process, particularly when they must also sign a waiver and join a team. (2) The kiosk is not optimized for those who don't sign up in advance, with at least one extra click required to get to the opportunity list. (3) We try to operate as low-budget as possible and don't always have the latest technology. As a result, our kiosks can be slow, and more clicks can mean frustrated volunteers, waiting for pages to refresh before they start work or leave for the day.


Specific suggestions to reduce unnecessary clicks:

  • Remove the "This is me!" confirmation page.
  • When the user is found on check-in, display all available opportunities for the day. Highlight or flag what the person has signed up for, if anything. (Eliminates the need for volunteers who didn't register in advance to click View Other Opportunities.)
  • On check-in, links from the opportunity list should take the user directly to the check-in page, not the opportunity description.
  • After check-in/out is complete, skip the "Done" page and redirect to the start screen.


1 person likes this

Hey Stacy,


Thanks for writing all of this up and sending it in. It's always really valuable for us to get these kind of insights on real-world usability. As you might expect, we unfortunately don't have the ability to make these kinds of changes on the fly, as any major updates to the software have to go through an extensive development and QA process. That being said, I've sent this over to our development team to have them consider your notes. We do plan on making a number of updates around usability to the software this year, so this is timely feedback.


Thanks,

Dave


1 person likes this

Hi Stacy,


Thank you for sharing these detailed thoughts about functionality of the kiosk for your volunteers. We understand the importance of efficiencies within your workflow. I am adding your suggestions to our enhancement requests. This level of detail will allow our development team to thoroughly understand your use case. Have a Happy 4th of July!


Warmly,

Jacqui

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