Whether it is the local post office, the district court, or the national library— public sectors, owing to their very nature of serving the public, have to rely on communication. However, in reality, public offices and institutions are hardly the places where you will find yourself receiving information effortlessly.
The public sector has a thing or two to learn from the trailblazing world of the private sector. The merit of communication comes first on that list.
While corporate offices are furnished with large digital signage displays at every nook and corner (disseminating information clearly and concisely), most public sector offices are still lagging as far as digitization is concerned.
This post points out some of the umpteen ways in which digital signage can benefit the public sector.
5 most significant benefits of using digital signage in the public sector
1. Way-finding made easier
Public offices are busy places. Large public sector buildings are nothing short of a befuddling maze. Often it’s hard to figure out who is a staff and who is a visitor. Haven’t we all had the experience of running from cubicle-to-cubicle in search of a person of interest? Or simply running in circles throughout the building looking for a department? These are petty inconveniences that can be easily avoided. A simple digital signage solution can solve so many problems at one go.
Authorities can deploy wayfinding digital signage at various locations like:
- Entry and exit gates
- Parking lots
- Lobby and reception
- Staircase and elevator zones
- Corridors leading to washroom, inquiry cubicles, and other places with general public access
Digital signage devices for wayfinding can range from a standalone kiosk to a large display or just a simple digitized direction sign.
There are so many innovative ways in which a digital signage solution can make wayfinding in public offices a lot easier. For example, digital signage solution providers can design a wayfinding application such that it allows the users to get the building map on their smartphones via a simple touch-free QR-code-based system.
2. Organized and consistent relay of information
The public sector offices often fail to communicate information to the visitors. Ironically, a large number of people visit public sector offices just for inquiries! Many government offices like immigration offices, embassies, and public sector entities like national museums receive a large footfall of tourists and foreigners, many of whom may not be fluent in any language besides their mother tongue. As a result, communication is severely hindered and serious misunderstandings follow. Here’s how digital signage can come to the rescue in such helpless situations:
A digital signage can relay information in multiple languages. Take the example of an interactive kiosk that allows its users to select their ‘language of preference’ and get information in that language. Tourists can learn about a place’s cultural history, government rules & policies, emergency helpline numbers, etc. There are no human alternatives to these flexible digital signage solutions which can cater to a diverse group of people simultaneously.
The need for deploying digital signage in the public sector offices has become more pressing in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Public sector offices are at the highest risk of becoming a site of contamination. In this scenario, the authorities can install digital signage at strategic positions to:
- Remind the visitors to maintain social distancing, wear masks and sanitize their hands,
- Inform the visitors of altered rules and regulations due to the pandemic,
- Display the local and global Covid-19 data to keep the visitors alert and aware, and so on.
3. Making public sector office premises accessible for the disabled and differently-abled
When we talk about any kind of technology that makes life easier for us, we often forget to be inclusive. But the good thing is that in today’s world, we have enough technological solutions that can make life easier for those who have it the hardest. Public sector premises desperately need to be disability-accessible. Let’s take the previous example of the information kiosk forward. What if the tourist is blind? Can the kiosk still solve his/her problem?
The answer is a resounding yes! Digital signage software can be designed to generate audio output as well. A simple headphone attached to the kiosk can make it possible.
Apart from these, there are a number of apps like mobile note identifier apps, object identifier apps, color identifier apps that can also be integrated with the digital signage system to make the public spaces more disability-accessible.
4. Queue Management
If there is any sector that requires queue management as much as the retail industry, it is the public sector. Courts, police stations, and immigration offices are some examples of public sector premises that remain flooded with people throughout the day. The staff assisting the public in these offices are often so overburdened with public queries and complaints that manual management of queues becomes challenging.
Sometimes errors or innocent mismanagement by the staff can also lead to heightened public frustration resulting in commotions and disruptions of the workplace. There is a simple way to avoid all such negative outcomes: adopting a digital queue management system for the heavy-rush public sector offices
A queue management system is an automated process of managing queues. Visitors can self-check-in and receive virtual queue tickets from a kiosk or digital signage. Digital signage displays throughout the premises can show the live status of the queue tickets. Thus, visitors do not have to maintain a physical queue any longer. They can wait anywhere within the office and still be aware of their queue position.
5. The Takeaway
Digital signage is assuming new roles every day. Technologies like digital signage that give high ROI can quickly become the favourite of every industry. Many who still believe that digital signage serves only for the purpose of marketing (and that public sector offices do not require marketing!) are sorely mistaken.
Digital signage has already achieved the potential to become a virtual assistant, often a very personalized one. Whether it is to communicate information to the masses or to give the public the freedom and flexibility of self-service, public sector offices can benefit from innovative digital signage solutions in ways unimaginable. Upgrading to technological solutions like digital signage makes the public feel valued. At the same time, it also helps to streamline the heavy workflow of government offices, thereby improving the service quality.
