Managing Remote and Hybrid Teams With Digital Signage for Collaboration

In the years leading up to, and certainly the years during and following the COVID-19 pandemic, working environments across the world have become much more remote and hybrid. Whilst there is no doubt that these environments offer higher levels of flexibility for employees, there are also a set of new and unique challenges that come along with it, particularly in the areas of communication, collaboration and overall company culture.

In this arena, digital signage software for collaboration can offer a cutting edge solution for many of the potential issues, helping to bridge the gap between separated teams and ensuring everyone stays as engaged and connected as possible.

Challenges of Managing Distributed Teams

The task of managing hybrid, remote teams can be a difficult one, with some of the most common issues being:

An inconsistency in various communication channels that can lead to unhelpful misunderstandings between colleagues.

A feeling of disconnection and isolation from employees at home or in other offices that can lead to lower levels of engagement.

A general lack of company culture due to the spread out nature of a team, which can lead to a lower sense of belonging and purpose in the workplace.

How Digital Signage Bridges the Gap

Thankfully, collaborative digital signage can offer a set of helpful solutions when it comes to tackling these remote based issues.

Interconnected digital screens placed in offices, alongside any remote dashboards, can display simultaneous live updates to make sure that employees are all on the same page no matter where they are. Leading, obviously, to better productivity.

The visual nature of being able to display project updates and perhaps even inspiration quotes to keep workers enthused and inspired is a massive help in maintaining company goals.

Digital signage is the perfect platform on which to share things like employee achievements, team milestones and even birthdays and special occasions for a deeper sense of connection.

Some great examples of digital signage being used in this general manner include weekly performance metrics for team motivation, segments showcasing different teams in order to introduce remote colleagues to one another, and visual countdowns of company deadlines and upcoming events.

Best Practices for Remote-Friendly Signage

Following these tips is a great starting point regarding how to get the most out of digital signage within a remote or hybrid working environment.

Make sure to use clear and concise messaging in you content that caters to both your on-site and off-site employees, ideally using arresting visuals and graphics for better engagement.

Be mindful of the timing of your various content, especially if your distributed teams are working across several different time zones.

The more locations you have to consider, the trickier the task of successful integration becomes. Cloud based digital signage software can be extremely helpful on this front, managing content updates in real time with just a few simple steps.

Measuring Digital Signage Effectiveness

There are two key areas of metrics to consider when thinking about how best to enhance the impact of digital signage.

You can conduct surveys across the workforce to better understand how your employees are perceiving the content that you put out, using digital signage to track participation.

And as for the content itself, keep track of which types of content are receiving the most engagement, from project updates to motivational messages and more.

Examples of such important metrics include numbers of clicks on remote dashboards, the completion rate of tasks that are featured through signage and attendance figures at events that have specifically been promoted via digital signage screens.

Future Trends in Digital Signage for Collaboration

As the tech powering digital signage continues to improve at a swift rate, the potential it has for improving remote and team collaboration is equally exciting. Better, more widely available touch screens will aid direct employee interaction, and AI will continue to tailor and customize messaging for individual employees. Also, the ability to seamlessly connect with widely used platforms like Microsoft Teams or Slack, for example, means that digital signage can become an equally integral element of the wider collaborative system.

Conclusion

Overall, the benefits that can be gained through digital signage for collaboration are clear for all to see. Anything that can help to bring remote and hybrid teams closer together to achieve company goals is a plus, and as the landscapes for national and international workforces become even more complex, the simple addition of crucial digital signage to retain as much connection as possible becomes invaluable. It is essential for employees to feel like part of a wider, focused effort, and digital signage can definitely help towards achieving this goal.