Digital Signage In The New Workplace
May 17, 2016 by guest author, Kenneth Brinkmann
Guest Post: Debbie Dewitt, Visix
The workplace of the 21st century is a different animal than what some of us grew up with.
With the dominant generations working being Generation Xers and Millennials, expectations and ideas of what makes a place worth working for are different than they were. Businesses are changing what they offer and how they do things to accommodate these new mentalities.
Digital signage can help modernize your employee communications to match your progressive culture. By reinforcing benefits and perks available to your workforce, you can increase their happiness and productivity, and make sure everyone gets the information they need, when they need it, no matter where they are.
Morale
Debbie DeWitt
A happy workforce not only stays in the job longer, but is more productive. You can increase morale by remembering birthdays and work anniversaries, and recognizing individuals and teams for achieving goals and meeting their targets. A pat on the back put on big screens for all to see will make people feel good about the work they do.
Workers say that recognition directly impacts their happiness and the overall quality of their work. Generation Xers are very concerned with things seeming fair, and with transparency in their workplace. Millennials especially need frequent feedback on performance, and values-based recognition helps get them through the drop in engagement that usually follows their first-year anniversary on the job.
Reminding people of how the company takes care of them also boosts positive feelings towards an employer. Digital signs showing information on benefits programs and perks, as well as enrolment deadlines, reminds everyone of what they get out of working for you besides a paycheck.
Perks
It may seem counterintuitive, but money is not the main thing that keeps people pleased with their work. It’s the little things that add up and make people happy to be where they are, doing what they’re doing. Employees say perks matter – more than half say they’d trade certain perks for salary increases. And perks are also a major factor in recruitment – over half of adult workers say that perks are “very” to “moderately” important when considering a new job.
For all of your perks, digital signage is there to spread the word. With displays at high traffic points, you can make sure the maximum number of people see your messages and are reminded of all the extras that make working for you worthwhile. Even if a particular employee doesn’t take advantage of all of your offerings, just knowing that they have those options is a morale booster.
Kids
Maternity leave is a legal requirement in many places, but modern companies also offer paternity leave for fathers. As the kids get older, having on-site daycare helps make employees’ lives quite a bit easier.
Many companies are going even further – at Spotify, they offer a month of flexible work schedules to parents returning from leave, and they pay for egg freezing and fertility assistance. Facebook offers new parents $4,000 in Baby Cash when they have a newborn, and Zillow will pay for overnight shipping of a new mother’s breast milk if she is traveling for work.
At-Work Micro-Incentives
Many companies are offering all sorts of micro-incentives to make their workers want to be there and feel appreciated. These include:
- Free snacks
- Catered lunches
- On-site chair massages and acupuncture
- Allowing dogs at work
- Free car washes and oil changes
- Board games and video game rooms
- Nap rooms
Outside Work Incentives
Some companies go beyond the workplace and offer perks to make their employees’ lives easier outside the office, such as:
- Home maid services
- Monthly transit passes
- Gym membership reimbursement
- Pet insurance
- Concierge services
- Student loan payment relief
- Paid time off for volunteer work
When a perk involves a specific location in your facility – such as a game room or massage – you can use your digital signage to let workers schedule those spaces. Room signs are small displays that integrate with your office calendar app so employees can schedule time in a space, and management can track who uses the rooms, when and how often.
Wellness
The new buzzword in Human Resources is “wellness.” Health issues have become very important to modern people, and many companies are responding by offering health risk assessment programs, nutrition education, tobacco cessation programs, running clubs, health coaching, and sponsoring mobile farmer’s markets, in-house chair massages and more.
Digital signage is an optimal way to promote these programs, but you can do even more. Display tips and tricks, healthy recipes, and coupons from local vendors specializing in wellness. Give advice for allergy and hay fever sufferers. Show videos about the benefits of various exercise activities. You can even run contests where you solicit your workers for their own tips and tricks.
Flexibility
Flex hours are becoming more and more popular, especially among Millennials or parents with daycare issues. Many workers today find this to be one of the most important perks a company can offer. This means that people will be coming through your facility at all hours and, while their managers may be out for the day, your digital signage is always there to relay news and messages.
Because digital signage is generally web-based, it allows you to connect geographically separated locations, and ensure the right people are getting the information you want them to, no matter where they are.
You can publish digital signage playlists to your intranet for remote offices or workers at home. And even people on the road can get a feed on their laptops or mobile devices so they don’t miss important announcements. Your signage can follow your employees to wherever they are, wherever they work from.
Creating a supportive infrastructure for your employees is the key. Workplaces have changed since the innovations of the early DotCom era, and employers are responding in the way they attract and retain talent by modernizing their offices and offerings. Digital signage can be a crucial part of that support system in the new workplace to engage and motivate your workforce.
Sign companies in the UK and all over the world are using Digital Signage.
Companies are realising the potential of Digital Signage, because of how it can be used to create content and delivered targeted pitches to new and potential clients.
Digital Signage is becoming a huge industry, now increasing to a billion dollar industry.
Cheers,
Evie