Genre: Manufacturing

To make your employees feel happy at work, it is important that you have flexible and efficient communication tools. Many managers have had the unfortunate experience of sending an important email to all of their employees, only to later find out that only a minority of them have actually read it. Ensuring efficient internal communications can be challenging, especially when the organization has more than one site. Internal communication tools such as digital signage improve the efficiency of communications and facilitate content management, no matter the number of screens or their location.

1. Improve employee engagement

Keeping employees engaged is a priority: it makes them happy at work and helps employee retention. Employee engagement is actually one of the most important challenges for companies: in 2019, only 35% of employees in the US said they felt engaged, and 40% were considering leaving their job before the end of the year. Furthermore, your employees’ engagement and well-being are key factors of their performance. To motivate your employees, show them that they matter to you by sharing more informal content (such as the picture of staff member who has gone above and beyond during the month) and by celebrating their birthday and their achievements on your digital displays. You can also share contests, quizzes or games to make them smile and create communication opportunities.

2. Showcase messages from management and from human resources

Human resources strive to offer a better work environment to employees. This department shares administrative messages through mass emails every time a change is implemented. Consequently, employees end up with a large number of emails every day, and most of the time company emails are the last ones being read – when they are not simply ignored. Instead, share this information directly on digital displays to ensure all employees see your messages.

3. Real-time production data

Most companies have databases that provide various performance indicators in real time. Sharing this production data with your employees could be useful as it would help them check at a glance whether they are on track for company goals. Some employees will feel motivated to see the progression of their work; as for managers, they can leverage this data to see areas that are understaffed, which will in turn help them to adapt accordingly and achieve their objectives. A digital display network can also be used to share these indicators automatically throughout the company.

4. Provide training and safety information

Digital signage can also be used to share safety guidelines and warnings during emergencies. Posting reminders about safety instructions helps reduce the number of accidents that can happen every day at the workplace.

Employees usually enjoy training sessions, but if they do not use the company intranet, they will miss upcoming opportunities. Displaying training information on your screens will increase their visibility, and employees will remember more easily that they can attend development workshops and training sessions (about new equipment, for example).

Digital signage helps you share different kinds of content adapted to your sector and your needs and makes your messages visible to a larger audience. Take advantage of our 30-day free trial to experience our software and our templates to make your communications stand out.

Internal communication, especially in a time where we transition towards a hybrid workplace model, has become a major issue for many companies. There are various tools available such as digital signage that enable the transmission of information to employees. Digital signage is a great tool for workplace communications as well as for reaching employees who are working remotely.

The importance of internal communication

Internal communication is the circulation of messages to employees in a company. It is vital that employees have access the same information within an organization, as it demonstrates transparency and consolidates relationships between colleagues and teams. Internal communication in companies is also used to inform, motivate oversee news, socialize, and strengthen employees’ sense of belonging. Furthermore, it ensures the information is transmitted in a consistent manner for all departments of the organization. There are many types of relevant messages to share such as the company’s objectives for the coming year, available training, sanitary measures, progression of various projects, production statistics, welcoming a new employee, etc. Internal communication is a key element of successful companies.

From traditional to omni-channel communication

Because of COVID-19, working has followed a hybrid (work/home) model, which is an important challenge for companies who wish to communicate efficiently with their employees. As such, traditional means of communications are no longer enough. The tools must be completely changed or paired with other ones for companies to adapt to this new reality. Faced with these new changes, companies choose omni-channel communication tools, as these enable the central management of messages to be shared throughout the channels. This way, employees can access the same information, no matter the channel: digital signage monitor, Microsoft Teams, an intranet, a screensaver, an email, or a hyperlink. In short, you can communicate with your employees wherever they are.

Reaching employees working remotely

Digital signage is an efficient tool to communicate with employees at the office as well as those working from home. Digital signage helps you create, manage, and share different types of content. You will be able to easily share the right messages at the right time and to the right audience. To adapt to the new reality, digital signage can now be used in three new ways.

1^st option: Microsoft Teams

Collaborative communication applications have become tremendously popular since the beginning of the pandemic because they provide a solution to easily talk with team members no matter the distance. Microsoft Teams is one of the most widely used tools by companies, which makes it an ideal choice to share important messages with employees. The ITESLIVE digital signage software can be integrated in this application to ensure all communications and interactions can be made through this platform, which is a powerful advantage. Of course, all content is created, managed, and shared in real time through the ITESLIVE software, and is accessible online from anywhere.

2^nd option: Screensavers

Employees see their screensavers many times a day when they come back from the washroom, from their lunch hour, from their break, etc. This important channel is a great communication opportunity. The process is simple: when a screen is idle for a certain amount of time, the screensaver is activated and displays the information provided in the content management software. The main advantage of this software is that it allows you to change the displayed content remotely and in real time, which means you are able to share content targeted to specific users or groups. Therefore, screensavers can be used to send important messages efficiently to your employees, whether they are at the office or at home.

Read: Screensavers as an internal communication tool

3^rd option: ITESLIVE Web

Digital signage was traditionally used to share content on digital displays only. Today, the ITESLIVE digital display software enables the sharing of content through hyperlinks. This way, content can be accessed from any web browser by adding these links in an intranet or sending them through email. This feature is frequently requested by companies who wish to communicate with their employees efficiently and benefit from the full potential of web browsers’ capabilities without having to install a third-party software. In short, ITESLIVE Web allows you to share content on any device easily and efficiently.

The pandemic has created important challenges for internal communications. To reach their employees wherever they are working, companies are relying on omni-channel communications. To address this need, ITESLIVE now offers messaging in three new channels: in Microsoft Teams, through screensavers, and through hyperlinks.

Has your business adapted its communication channels for the new hybrid work environment?

In the last months, most of us have been working remotely – some happily, others less so. This change is a direct consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic and foreshadows a world where work will likely migrate towards a hybrid model. This is a significant challenge for companies looking for efficient ways to communicate with their employees. Here is a little-known fact: digital signage, which is a popular tool for workplace communications, is also an excellent way to reach employees working remotely.

Read: With COVID-19 and more people working from home, is it still relevant to have digital signage in the workplace?

From the walls to your computers, tablets and mobiles

Digital signage usually means monitors hanging on walls; however, their reach is much greater as it is possible to display the same content on computers, tablets and mobile devices. As such, digital signage is a global internal communication tool that makes it possible to display the same information on screens in the workplace as well as on devices used by employees working at home or on the road.

The solution: web links

Using simple URLs, you can now create unique communication channels and share them with anyone you like. You can therefore manage your message list within your content management software in the same way you manage your message lists for your digital displays. In other words, your content is managed in a fully transparent manner, no matter the end device displaying the information to your audience. Here are some use cases:

• Open the URL directly from a browser on your computer, tablet or mobile device.
• Integrate the URL to your employee portal or your intranet to display the content in a section in particular.
• Display the URL content when the computer is in screensaver mode.

Web links are an easy way to share information you are managing in your digital signage content management software, but it is sometimes preferable to choose options other than URLs. As such, the ideal solution is to choose a multiplatform solution (read: Dynamic signage: The benefits of a multi-platform solution).

More than ever, the concept of “workspace” includes working remotely, and digital signage is a tool that can help companies to adapt to this new reality. After all, we are used to access digital content on different types of devices wherever we are. In the end, any device with a screen can be used for digital signage, whether users are at the office, at home or on the road.

In digital signage projects, content creation is usually the last step. An implementation process will generally follow these steps:

1. Defining objectives
2. Selecting software (provider)
3. Identifying strategic installation sites
4. Choosing equipment
5. Developing a content strategy
6. Creating content

Of course, the order of these steps can change; for instance, the content strategy can significantly impact the identification of strategic sites and the choice of equipment. As such, although these steps are unique, they are also linked and can influence each other. The priority is therefore to remain focused on the objectives to make the right choice for the following steps. An undeniable factor remains: the first step is always to define objectives, and the last is usually to create content. Here are ten elements to consider during content creation.

1. Automate content

For people tasked with managing displays, automation is a vital part of creating continuous content. For example, it allows sharing updated graphics on production results, planned meetings on a calendar and employee birthdays. Automation even makes it possible to automatically display emergency messages according to the different events that could strike. Read: How to present workplace dynamic data.

2. Display duration

Content needs to be adapted to the duration in which it will be displayed. In factories or a corporate environment, screens are usually placed in strategic places where employees will be exposed to the content (such as entrances, cafeterias, hallways and production floors). Display duration can vary considerably depending on the location of the screens. As such, displays located at entrances should have much shorter message lists than the ones in the cafeteria. Employees in the cafeteria are exposed to the content for dozens of minutes, whereas they are exposed to it for just a few seconds when they enter the building. In short: for entrances, displays should focus on one or two important messages, but for the cafeteria, it is possible to show more elaborate content.

3. Location influences content

The location of a screen has a significant influence on the relevant content it will display. In a factory, a digital display monitor located on the production floor will generally not show the same content as the one installed at the employee entrance. On the production floor, it is relevant to display safety guidelines reminders and real-time production data. As for the screen located at the employee entrance, it can display messages from management and HR communications. Read: Five Types of Messages You Can Broadcast to Improve Internal Communications.

4. Graphic guidelines

Digital signage is a tool that is an integral part of your communications ecosystem. As such, it is important to apply your graphic guidelines to your displays. Graphic guidelines are much more than just adding a logo: it’s using the colors that define your brand image.

5. Your display’s aspect ratio

A monitor’s aspect ratio describes the relationship between width and height. The more common ratio is 16:9 (or 9:16 when the screen is in a portrait orientation). It should be noted that some screens can have a different ratio, although it is rare for LCD displays – this ratio is mostly used for LED screens.

Ratio is often mistaken for resolution. Resolution refers to the numbers of pixels on the screen. For displays of the same size, the higher the number of pixels, the better the image quality. Displays can have different amounts of pixels yet have the same ratio. For example, displays with a resolution of 1280×720 pixels, of 1920×1080 pixels and of 3840×2160 pixels all have a 16:9 ratio.

You should always ensure that the content you are creating will be efficient for your display’s ratio. Most of the time, that ratio is 16:9 or 9:16.

6. Divide your displays in different zones

Dividing your displays in different zones is an excellent way to maximize space and show different content simultaneously. We recommend using a division model which allows using a primary zone in a 16:9 ratio. The 16:9 zone has the same aspect ratio as the entire monitor, which is also the same as a television screen; your audience is therefore used to seeing content in this format. You can also use the primary zone to display more important content, and the secondary zones for content such as weather and news. You should also ensure to follow guidelines for the orientation and the ratio of the zones. As such, if your primary zone has a 16:9 ratio, avoid displaying content in a 4:3 ratio or, even worse, a 9:16 ratio. Finally, you should not display videos in different zones at the same time.

7. Color and contrast

To make your content easily legible, it is important to use contrasting colors. For example, if the background color is dark, use a light-colored font. If you choose to use a video or an image as a background, we recommend superposing a colored layer with transparency.

8. Use a large font

You can use different font sizes depending on the distance from which your audience is watching your displays; make sure the font is large enough to be easily read. This tip seems obvious, but when you are creating content in your computer (with the screen only a few centimetres from your eyes), it may be difficult to correctly determine the readability of your texts on the displays. If you are unsure at the beginning, move away from the screen to assess the result.

9. Keep safety margins

Your content needs room to breathe. As mentioned above, dividing your display in different zones is an excellent way to maximize the space on your screens. However, ensure you are maintaining safety margins between your zones. These margins enable the segmentation of different types of information, which makes reading easier. For example, in the red zone on the image below, there is a safety margin of 50 pixels around the information displayed in the secondary zone.

10. Stay concise, keep it simple

Usually, by using a large enough font size and keeping safety margins, your messages should be brief. However, sooner or later, you will need to display content that will require you to bypass these best practices. When the situation will arise, there will only be one thing to do: resist the temptation. It is vital that you avoid overloading your display monitors with information within one clip, even if you display the content for a longer period. There is no golden rule on the amount of characters to display, as it depends on the distance between your audience and the screens and on the display duration. In short: stay concise and convey simple messages.

Now that you know the 10 best practices for content creation, the choice is yours. If you need help, ITESMEDIA can provide counselling. We can also give you free templates that follow best practices through our ITESLIVE software.