How much is poor internal communications costing you?
Traditional corporate communication methods can be short-sighted and overwhelming. Between email, online workspaces, phone calls, video conferences, social media, newsletters, and printed signage, it’s easy for information to get lost. But do you know how much that loss is costing your company?
In his survey of 400 companies, each with over 100,000 employees, David Grossman found that firms lost an average of $62.4 million every year due to poor internal communication. When communication systems break down they cost everyone, from executives to interns, both time and money.
5 Benefits of Digital Bulletin Boards
So what’s an organization to do if its communication needs a refresh? Luckily, improving employee communications doesn’t require you to throw out existing tools altogether. In fact, taking a digital approach can give new life to traditional employee communication channels and make them more effective.
For example, bulletin boards have long been a fixture in company hallways and break rooms. Yet, while static boards might no longer be effective or convenient, digital bulletin boards displayed throughout your office bring huge benefits to your organization’s internal communications. Even better, they’ll reduce costs and improve productivity.
Digital Bulletin Boards are Attention-Grabbing
It’s easy to overlook online messages like emails. However, it’s difficult to miss essential communications when they’re on the wall in front of you. With digital bulletin boards you can use existing TV screens around your office to share information, including announcements, updates, and dashboards around your office. All your employees will need to do is look up to receive messages at the right time.
To capture on and off-site employees’ attention, create colorful, eye-popping displays that don’t come across as overly formal. Also use large enough fonts that everyone can read digital signs from almost anywhere. 93% of communications experts say creativity is vital in internal communications, so don’t be afraid to experiment and see what your employees respond to.
Enplug’s digital signage software also enables users to connect to employees’ personal screensavers. This feature is huge advantage when communicating with remote employees. Although these employees don’t work on-site, you can still reduce their likelihood of missing information.
Digital Announcements Save Paper
Traditional bulletin boards require paper – and lots of it. But paper communications are inefficient, expensive, and environmentally destructive. According to Think Green News, the average office worker uses as many as 10,000 pieces of copy paper every year. Moreover, lost documents cost organizations between $350 and $700 in employee time (and large companies lose documents every 12 seconds).
While some paperwork may be necessary for your business, it’s in your best interest to eliminate paper communication as much as possible. You’ll both make a positive environmental impact and, since digital signage screens are customizable, change messages whenever you need to.
Digital Bulletin Boards Improve Mass Communication
Digital bulletin boards should be a key component of your internal communications plan because they are perfect for disseminating information en masse. You could send an email to hundreds of people and hope they see it, or you could put the same message on a few TV screens in your office and know everyone is guaranteed to see it.
Plus, when you set a consistent digital signage schedule, employees know they can expect information on specific topics at certain times throughout the day or week – which streamlines employee communications. Scheduling your digital signs for specific messages at specific times, will result in employees checking on them more often. If they know that sales reports, employee shout outs, lunch menus, and other messages come at specific times, you can trust they’ll pay attention to relevant mass communication.
Employees who have access to digital bulletin boards also have another way to connect with managers and executives. If you allow employees access to your company’s digital bulletin board software, then you can make communication a two-way street and hear from them as often as they hear from you.
Digital Bulletin Boards are Automated and Customizable
Do you find managing cork-and-paper bulletin boards inefficient? It’s easy for them to become too crowded when you and your employees have a lot to say.
Digital bulletin boards, however, can be updated automatically. That means you can easily change messaging as needed to convey the most relevant information. You can even enhance your original content with news feeds and alerts from trusted sources. Even better, you can communicate multiple messages at once since separate screens can show different images and text.
Because digital bulletin boards are customizable in ways printed or handwritten varieties aren’t, they offer more ways to leverage visual communication. Use tools like Infogram to create infographics that present information in a digestible and aesthetically appealing way. Visual communication helps everyone comprehend facts, figures, values, processes, and more.
Digital Bulletin Boards Enhance Employee Engagement
Digital bulletin boards can influence company culture significantly. Organizations that use them promote an air of modernity and professionalism. With friendly, vibrant, and colorful messages that communicate work-related and social information (such as birthdays and team bonding activities), companies can use digital signage to make their environments more positive and transparent.
Healthy company culture is essential for employee engagement, too. A study from the McKinsey Global Institute found that employees are 20-25% more productive when they’re engaged. So, you can use digital bulletin boards to liven up your work environment and emphasize your company’s mission. Make your company’s mission statement a permanent fixture on at least one of your office’s screens. Involve your team by asking employees what it means to them or how they’ll apply it to their next project.
Internal communications planning can be a headache, but it’s an essential part of your business’s success. Printed communications can bog down your plan with additional costs and make it more difficult to adapt to changes. In contrast, digital bulletin board software helps you streamline communication and engage your employees with messages that are always relevant.