When our clients have large non-desk populations of frontline employees without computers, one of our preferred first steps is to go visit the worksites. We like to see employees enter the building, the spaces where they work, where they take their breaks, even what the restrooms are like. That helps us develop creative touchpoints for employee communications. These touchpoints can work well for perennial messaging that doesn’t need to be updated often, and also for one-time communications that will be temporary.
Here are five weird places we’ve used as communication channels:
To introduce a new intranet for a large healthcare system, we used signage in the shelters where people wait for the shuttle bus that takes them from the employee parking lot to the hospital. We also used window clings on the shuttle buses and added acrylic brochure holders inside that held a quick-start guide to the intranet’s most exciting features.
For an expanded learning and development program that supported employees with opportunities ranging from ESL to community college tuition, we looked for back-of-house touchpoints. We saw opportunities in the metal surfaces of walk-in refrigerators and the backsplashes of industrial sinks. Giant magnets were easy for managers to apply — and later remove.
If the company uses a fleet of service vehicles or delivery trucks that return to base at the end of each shift, you might consider printed paper floor mats and/or rearview mirror hangs. These are great for one-time announcements, like open enrollment or the launch of a new employee app or training program. (Before you print, make sure you have approval from a safety perspective.)
We once posted giant murals in stairwells to announce a company-wide step challenge. You also could use the vertical surfaces between each step for messaging that reads from top to bottom (or, if you prefer, bottom to top — since that’s the way people will encounter the risers as they climb the stairs). This seems a particularly good touchpoint for fitness-related messages.
We draw the line at posting employee communications inside restroom stalls, since that seems a bit invasive, but we’ve seen others do that successfully. We prefer window clings on the mirrors above the sinks, particularly for messaging that asks the employee to see themselves as a participant in some call to action — such as taking personal responsibility for cybersecurity.
