As an employee, you have one job: to promote your employer’s products and services. Companies invest heavily in marketing their brands, so why should you not take full advantage of that investment?
Making sure employees are aware of what products and services your company offers is very important. If people do not know about them, they will not use them, which could hurt your business profits or even make things worse.
It can also create confusion as to whether someone else’s product is better than yours, which cuts into your sales. On top of that, if people don’t like something, they may go outside to look for alternatives, hurting your brand image.
At the least, it can be expensive! And all this aside, studies show that most people find it uncomfortable working with a member of the team that feels no connection to the organization.
So how can we ensure that everyone knows what our company has to offer? By making sure there’s always something promotional around the workplace. This can be done through billboards, flyers, digital signs, etc. It doesn’t matter what type of medium it is, just make sure there’s nothing hidden here!
Luckily, there are some easy ways to implement signage into the workplace without too much cost and effort. Read on to learn more about them and how to get started.
Types of signage
There are several different types of workplace signs that play an important role in employee engagement, productivity, communication, and trust. These include:
Whiteboards (known as dry-erase boards)
Post-it notes or stickies
Message posters
Ballpoint pens
Computer screens and monitors
Black markers and highlighters
Square paper and notebooks
All of these items can be gathered together and organized into specific trays or boxes to make them more accessible and visible.
By having easy access to all of this equipment, employees will use them much more frequently. This will help promote teamwork and collaboration, while also keeping things clean and clear.
General softball games like “chalk talk” or “whiteboard wars” can be great ways to motivate your staff while also improving their efficiency and communication skills.
Cost of signage
Having adequate workplace signage is an important part of creating a productive work environment. Unfortunately, some may feel that it’s not necessary because they believe their department or team members are already aware of each other’s names and faces.
But research shows that almost one third of all communication in the office happens via indirect means like emails, messages, and conversations. Almost half!
Indirect communications take longer to process than direct ones. This adds more time to the conversation, which can be expensive if you have to repeat information or ask questions about something someone said earlier.
It also creates confusion as people try to follow up later or don’t remember what was said. It becomes even worse when there’s a surprise change or cancellation at the last minute.
Making sure everyone knows who everyone else is and has their contact info goes a long way towards improving employee productivity and satisfaction.
Location of signage
As mentioned earlier, one important part of workplace branding is location of signage. This includes things such as your company’s logo, mission statement, etc., but it also extends to more general information about the organization (why it was founded, key people, etc.).
As we have seen before, keeping an eye out for these signs in the surrounding area is a great way to make sure you are fully informed. But what if there is no sign anywhere?
That would be pretty difficult to occur, I believe! So making sure that every employee has their own personal copy of this info is crucial to ensuring the success of your company.
Location-specific organizational materials include anything from printed copies of the company handbook to pictures or posters of individuals who made a significant contribution to the work environment.
It is very common to start building camaraderie in the office when everyone seems to know each other well, so creating some kind of resource like this can help strengthen bonds and relationships.
General organizational material such as the company flag or motto should definitely be available, though. It could even be displayed outside the entrance to show the world how proud the organization is of its culture.
Signage guidelines
As discussed earlier, workplace signage is very important to your organization’s branding. All too often I see businesses that don’t seem to care about their brand or what image they project to the public.
They may put up lots of decorations and objects to convey an impression, but none of them are clearly connected to who you are as an organization. For example, if you look at Amazon – the company logo, the products displayed, and even the way they organize their departments show how seriously they take their motto “merchants coming together to give people power.”
By contrast, the Netflix logo does not emphasize corporate identity at all. The streamers in profile with the slogan “watch movies and TV shows�” do not represent the company as an entity. They imply there is no internal structure or hierarchy at this level.
And while it might make you feel good to contribute to a charitable cause, whether through donations or time spent on projects, most people will associate that feeling with yourself, not the company.
Examples of poor signage
Many employers do not update their workplace signage to match current trends or standards, making it hard for them to stand out and emphasize important messages.
Many employers do not update their workplace signage to match current trends or standards, making it hard for them to stand out and emphasize important messages.
They may use very informal fonts that are difficult to read, low quality pictures or logos, or no images at all. All of these things make it harder to get across crucial information such as how to contact a manager, what products or services the company offers, etc.
Examples of good signage
Having adequate workplace signage is a universal best practice that every organization should have, whether it’s to promote an internal program or to help recruit new employees.
Most people agree that having well-placed posters, pictures and flyers is a great way to boost employee engagement and productivity. It can also be a valuable tool in recruiting new workers by showing potential candidates what employers look like.
But how many times have you read about a company with poor organizational performance, and one of the key causes was lack of effectiveness of its visual identity?
Too often, I come across companies that seem to spend a lot of time and resources creating flashy logos and marketing materials, but then fail to use these assets effectively.
I’ve also seen cases where a company will launch some form of digital advertising, such as a website or social media profile, but then don’t take the next step of actually using the platform to spread their message!
Why would they do this? Because they didn’t put thought into the first step — creating effective visuals that tell someone something about the person or entity who made them.
That’s why I always recommend doing at least some amount of research into the fundamentals of graphic design before jumping into more advanced strategies. (And we talk about those here.
Do I have to get a sign made?
Even if you do not have to have signage, it is still important to have one in your workplace. This will help promote employee engagement, communication, and organization.
Mostly due to social media, people are aware of what companies look like and how they run their business. Customers can create an opinion about a company based on what they see online or through word-of-mouth. If there are no signs at the workplace, then people could assume that the company does not exist or that things are running poorly.
It is also difficult to find job opportunities without seeing the company’s name and logo. It may be hard to apply if you do not know who the company is or what position they offer.
There are many ways to increase employee engagement, organizational effectiveness, and perception of the company outside of the office. A start is having a bulletin board where employees can place notes, pictures, and announcements. These would still cost nothing but take up valuable space that could be used for another purpose.
Personal signs
One of the most important things you will not find at the majority of workplaces is personal signage. These are anything like “This office does not allow drinking during work hours,” or “We do not let our employees eat in fast food restaurants because it impacts what foods they can afford to buy.”
The thing about workplace culture is that it tends to change depending on who is working there at any given time. A lot of times, leadership changes bring about different cultures.
For example, someone with an open-door policy may be done when people feel free to come to them with questions or problems. Or, someone with a strict rule structure may break down due to lack of communication or leadership.
When these things happen, sometimes people need some time to adjust and establish new rules and policies. This takes away from having a closed off environment where only your colleagues know what goes on behind closed doors.
Having personal signs helps promote this openness by letting people know if and how close they can be. It also encourages collaboration as people recognize each other’s value and effort towards meeting goals.
Max Sign Service 
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