Corporate Communications: Motivate Employees With Digital Signage

Human resource departments are always on the lookout for new and better ways to improve internal corporate communications. This is why more and more companies are turning to corporate digital signage as the means to:

• Motivate staff.
• Improve morale through employee recognition.
• Renew employee engagement.
• Provide useful information.
• Train and inform.

Corporate digital signage usage

Let’s review some potential uses…

• Lobby displays are used to greet, orient and inform visitors.
• Screens in common areas can display general information such as motivational content, employee awards, company news, and other similar content.
• Meeting room entrance screens display meeting information.
• Lunchroom screens can provide digital menu items, specials, and a corporate news feed.

Why this matters

In today’s business environment, employees have access to all types of information either via the internet from their office PC or from their smartphones. Digital signage lets employers control the type of information that is being delivered on their screens.

Content delivered via a corporate digital signage system helps eliminate distractions and increase productivity. Targeted information is delivered to each staff member in a constant stream so there is less time spent looking for information.

A company’s social activities can also benefit from digital signage. HR team members can redirect news feeds from corporate web forums and approved social media sources to improve morale and promote employee participation. Screens can display employee milestones, personal achievements, and other similar topics. This is a great way to involve team members at every level of the organization.

It’s a known fact that employees who work in remote locations or who are mobile workers often feel “disconnected” from the organization. This is a gap that no email system alone can bridge. Providing a corporate information channel in remote offices promotes a feeling of inclusion. Remote workers feel part of the team again.

Digital signage is also an excellent medium for delivering training materials. For example, retail store screens can be programmed to play video tutorials or messages from management before or after store hours.

Staff-facing screens can provide operational information during peak times and switch to motivational or training programming afterward.

Digital signage offers many benefits to business operators…

• Improves ROI. Screens are multi-purpose. Sales/information/training / etc.
• Programming is more dynamic. Less content repetition.
• Content can be updated at any time. React instantly to market / competitive pressures.
• Programs can be interrupted to present urgent messages or critical information.
• Management controls the narrative. Fewer distractions.
• Employees are always kept informed. Better engagement.

How to get started

Before launching a new digital signage screen network, make sure you follow some simple rules:

• Have a clear content strategy. Content should be the most important consideration before you begin sourcing your project’s hardware and software. Figure out what you want to achieve and then source the content that will be required to meet your goals.
• Content needs to be updated constantly. Screens that always show the same content become stale and people stop paying attention. Your screen network soon becomes nothing more than expensive “digital wallpaper”. This is why you should incorporate external data sources into your digital signage content programming. Use corporate data, HR news, suitable public news feeds, social media, weather, and other content sources that don’t require manual updates. People need a good reason to look at the screens so this is critical to the success of your project.
• Determine which type of content will be suitable for your network of digital displays. Designate content curators within the enterprise whose responsibility will be to approve content before it gets published. Have clear policies in place so the rules can be easily followed.
• Respect intellectual property. Do not publish content for which you don’t have permission. There is plenty of open-source content available and if you don’t have enough internally generated content, consider commercial content sources like ScreenFeed, Seenspire, or Data Call.
• Be creative. Whenever appropriate, try and provide a mix of information and entertainment. You want to keep viewers looking and you’re competing with the internet and other sources of information. Incorporate bold graphics and bright colors.
• Use common design rules. Consider the location of your digital signage screens. Are they mounted up high or on a wall? How close will viewers be and can they read the text on the screen? Don’t cram an entire page of text into each screen. Use large fonts and rotate the text. Use contrasting colors to improve legibility. Set the duration of your content according to the quantity of information shown on the screen. A simple static image with minimal text can be set to 7 seconds while a paragraph may require 20 seconds or more.
• Be critical about screen placement. Consider sight lines and make sure your screens are always located in such a way they will be easy to read. This may require additional wiring for power and networking but the results will be worth it. Remember there is an endless supply of brackets and supports on the market that will let you mount screens in virtually any space. The secret is to pick the right location so your screens are easily visible.

The benefits of digital signage in business environments far outweigh the costs. Corporate communications software users see increased productivity, better morale, and improved employee retention.