Digital Signage Displays In A COVID-19 World

Now that states are opening up and companies are bringing back their work-from-home or furloughed employees, it may seem a little more “normal” than it has these past few months. It’s important to not get lulled into a sense of safety because life is moving back to the way it was.

As the world works towards developing cures and vaccines for COVID-19, employers must consider the actions they need to take to keep their employees safe and healthy as they come back to work. Obvious ideas are adding more stringent and frequent cleaning protocols, requiring masks, staggering starting and quitting times, and spacing desks further apart to encourage social distancing. Another smart idea is to use digital signage software to the company’s advantage.

Digital signage displays are uniquely able to offer a touch-free way for employees to gain all sorts of information they need to know, without subjecting themselves to germs. Here are some smart ways employers can utilize digital signage in a COVID-19 world.

A key aspect of making sure a virus doesn’t spread to others is catching the people who have it, and doing it quickly. Unmanned kiosks that take every employee’s, customer’s, and patient’s temperature before they enter your building decreases the chances of someone who is contagious mingling with those who don’t have the virus. Being able to identify a person with a fever and pull him or her out of the mix to get tested can end up thwarting a huge spread of the virus.

In addition, this solution frees up the manpower of another employee manually taking everyone’s temperature, decreases the chances of a bottleneck, and allows everyone to get to work much faster than the other ways of taking temperatures do. And, while we would like to think staff members or customers wouldn’t enter the building with a fever, this is an accurate, on-site test that may be more truthful than if an employee is tasked with taking his or her temperature at home.

Large, tightly packed crowds are high-risk environments where the virus can spread fast. It’s critical for organizations to encourage social distancing adherence and make it simple to follow. Digital signage displays serve well as info desks and can share all types of information to employees or customer from wayfinding to business hours to directories and common questions. This decreases the need for people to congregate around signs or in public spaces, both of which give the virus a chance to spread. Displays can also be touch-free and voice controlled, which minimizes the chances of people passing it to each other through buttons or doorknobs. Cameras can be used in tandem with digital displays to live stream in common areas to help with crowd control, and HR can use displays to announce the traffic patterns of hallways and doorways throughout the day.

Being out of our home offices and off Zoom calls, it may be intimidating to get back into the habit of meeting in-person. Businesses can minimize the risk of these gatherings by using digital signs for people to sign up for meeting times and save their seats in advance. Staff can also book meeting rooms ahead of time through digital signage. Digital displays are also helpful during the meeting to share information in a touch-free way, instead of printed out papers and notes.

Since the beginning, there have been rumors and half-truths swirling around about the virus, and this probably won’t go away as your company re-opens and brings humans back on site. Having a handle on the truth is critical to the welfare of your staff, clients, and patients. Digital signage can regularly display information about COVID-19 symptoms and outline the actions to take if anyone displays those. You can also broadcast information videos and show trustworthy sites everyone can use as resources to educate themselves even further.

Over time, people may get lax about following the required guidelines, which could cause the virus to spread. With digital signage, management can reiterate the expectations that everyone needs to follow, like hand washing, wearing a mask, practicing social distancing, and covering their faces if they cough or sneeze. Blast notes that encourage them to eat lunch outside, ask to leave if they feel sick, and not come to work if they’ve been exposed. These reminders keep the lines of communication open, and the risk minimized, as this situation progresses over time.

Information evolves fast and this means people need to be made aware of news as quickly as possible. Digital signage displays are powerful tools in keeping your audience informed about upticks in cases in the area, changes in protocol, extra or loosened restrictions, state and federal guidance and other important news. Graphics, videos, and charts are visually appealing ways to convey the data on the displays so people will not ignore them but will read and absorb the messages. Having access to up-to-date information helps people feel more in control of their security and less scared and stressed. If there are emergency updates, the system can override the planned content to share those immediately, too.

Close talking, hand shaking, and cramped meeting rooms may be a thing of the past for at least the foreseeable future. There are, however, ways to make the COVID-19 world not so different and difficult. Digital signage displays provide a plethora of assistance in the unique situation we all find ourselves. By planning the messaging, companies can decrease the risk of employees, customers, and patients being exposed to the virus and maintain a safe, productive workplace. Over time, we will all become comfortable with the new protocols and see them as just part of our average day.