Using Digital Sign Systems for Employee Communications

Recently my phone has been ringing. The people who have been calling are not from retail stores or banks or auto companies. They are from a very diverse group of industries that all want to communicate with their employees. More specifically they want to communicate with their employees who do not use computers in their daily work.
In an uncertain time companies that do a better job of communicating effectively with their employees are at a competitive advantage. A 2005/2006 study by Watson Wyatt found:

• Companies that communicate effectively have a 19.4 percent higher market premium than companies that do not.

• Shareholder returns for organizations with the most effective communication were over 57 percent higher over the last five years (2000-2004) than were returns for firms with less effective communication.

• Firms that communicate effectively are 4.5 times more likely to report high levels of employee engagement versus firms that communicate less effectively.

• Companies that are highly effective communicators are 20 percent more likely to report lower turnover rates than their peers.

• On average, firms within the financial and retail trade sectors rank among the most effective communicators. Health care, basic materials, telecommunications and other service companies rank among the least effective communicators.

While one could ask, “How did they measure communicating effectively?” What more needs to be said. In the only deployment I am aware of that is public, the Mayo Clinic deployed a system to communicate with their employees working on the wards. They have said that the system paid for itself in just 18 months through savings in printing costs. Many companies jumped to using “intra-nets” for webcasts and even online video streaming. One perplexing issue is - what to do with the many people who do not use a computer every day.
A digital signs system and even interactive systems can provide one answer. There is of course no one solution or fix but on average the key rules of deploying a digital sign system at retail or in a bank apply here.

First, make sure you know what your goals are. You need a clear and preferably a measurable goal. Do you want your employees to wear their hard hats? Do you want them not forget to fill out their paper work at the end of a shift?

Make sure that you have support at the top of the company. Digital sign systems are disruptive technology. As a result they change how people work. One thing I have learned is that people are very emotional about that. Without top level support the system is likely to fail.

Know where and who will be generating the content for the system. Many digital sign deployments have run into trouble when they are deployed prior to thinking about where the content will come from. In addition, think about how long the content “loop” really needs to be. If the sign is in a place where the employees pass by quickly (say 10 seconds ) there is no need to produce an hour loop.

Placement is often key. Where and how you place a digital sign can make or break its effectiveness. Also, do not forget about the price of good hardware to attach the display to the wall.

Make sure you use the right technology for your deployment. Today there are well over 300+ digital sign software systems on the market. The one thing they all have in common is that when you talk to the sales people they will all do exactly what you want it to. The problem of course is that they really do not.

Finally, do not try to use these systems to “brain wash” your employees. Most are smarter than that and they are likely to get mad. The best systems give something both to the employer and the employee. So if, for example, you want to place a system in the employee lunch or break room - think about using a system that can divide the screen and play (pre-selected) HD TV channels containing news, sports or weather while at the same time giving them the information you need them to have.

These systems hold a great deal of promise when they are “pointed in” toward our employees as well as when they are "pointed out” to our prospects and customers. To be sure, employees -like everyone else - like to know what is going on. If used properly these systems can do that.