Top 5 Locations to Put Digital Signage in Government Institutions

For many people, visiting government institutions is a nerve-wracking experience characterized by long queues, slow service, and confusing hallways. In fact, 80% of the federal agencies reviewed by Forrester in its 2018 Customer Experience Index received the lowest scores. Improving communication and customer services are top priorities for municipal, state, and federal agencies across the country and digital signage for government institutions is the answer.

Customarily, most government offices use paper memos to communicate with the community and staff. However, cluttered bulletin boards reinforce the perception that government agencies are archaic and slow to adopt new technology. Moreover, information on flyers gets outdated quickly.

In an effort to make timely announcements, government facilities are increasingly installing digital signs. The benefits of digital signage are plenty in government, including increased community engagement, speeding up service delivery, updating branding, and boosting internal communication.

Locations for Digital Signage in Government

Government offices have numerous high-traffic areas that make prime locations for digital screens. Explore these locations below:

1. Outside of a Courtroom

Courthouses need to share daily schedules with guests and employees for smooth operations. For, example, consider how confused a visitor will be if they can’t locate the right courtroom. Usually, courtroom visitors ask staff for directions, leaving your workforce to spend a lot of time directing crowds instead of focusing on their jobs.

Digital signs display real-time courtroom schedules with additional information like presiding judges, attorney information, and type of hearing. For this purpose, digital signage software pulls case information from your docket database in JSON, CSV, and XML files. Then, the platform organizes this data in a clear, attractive format on digital displays. So, your employees don’t need to make manual updates to the digital screens.

Next, the digital signage system displays facility maps that guide visitors to the right rooms, resulting in fewer crowds. Furthermore, the ability to show check-in procedures on bright digital screens also reduces delays.

Typically, courthouses have many security and safety protocols that prescribe the desired decorum. Crowd snarl-ups are inevitable if people cannot see the checkpoint procedures or a list of the items prohibited in the facility. By clearly displaying security processes, digital displays speed up the check-in processes and reduce the workload of security guards.

Lastly, digital courthouse signs reduce paper consumption and save money. Printing costs quickly add up in courthouses and government agencies with daily notifications. With digital signage, courthouse staff can make as many changes as they like from anywhere.

2. Hallways

Hallway digital screens serve as information hubs in large government buildings. Often, constituents are unaware of the range of services provided by municipal offices, health clinics, libraries, and other public offices. In all, digital signage solutions bridge this knowledge gap by highlighting an agency’s services in colorful, vibrant graphics and imagery.

Since digital screens attract 400% more views than static posters, you can use them to promote new policies and initiatives. In this way, the community becomes more engaged with your endeavors, which improves their perception of your facility.

If you wish to wow your guests, consider video walls, whose larger-than-life visuals grab attention. The possibilities are endless with video walls as you can share social media feeds, run a staff slideshow, and educate visitors on permits, building codes, taxes, or licenses.

Corridor digital dashboards are also great tools for disseminating real-time emergency alerts. Additionally, in the event of bad weather, active shooter, fire, or health threat, government offices must quickly inform staff and guests and guide everyone to safety.

Digital screens act as an emergency response tool that promotes safety and wellness. In case of floods and hurricanes, community members can assemble in your facility for recovery notifications.

3. Entrance Directory

Traffic control is a top concern for large government facilities, as people unsure of where to go crowd lobbies and corridors. Fortunately, digital entrance directories solve this problem by listing offices and showing the location of conference rooms, bathrooms, and other amenities.

The primary disadvantage of static directories is the hassle of printing new signs every time there is a change. Local, state and government agencies have many elected officials, and proper signage must accompany office changes to reduce confusion among the citizenry. With a content management system, you only log onto the dashboard and update names, office lists, contact information, and descriptions.

If you wish to revolutionize the visitor experience, invest in touchscreen directories, which let guests interact with building layouts. A multilingual signage network allows guests to choose the directory’s language, making your facility inclusive. Other solutions enable visitors to scan a QR on digital signs and access directories on the move.

In addition to building information, digital directories show promotional messaging, live traffic and weather, Uber & Lyft information, emergency alerts, and upcoming events. This rich variety of content keeps guests glued to your screens.

4. Lobby

Government offices are notorious for long wait times and slow service delivery. This negative perception makes people dread going to public offices to get driving licenses, business permits, and other documents. But, digital signage in government modernizes lobbies, enhances brand image, and brings awareness to government services.

One of the major benefits of digital lobby signs is reducing perceived wait time. To this end, digital screens display entertaining information like music videos, funny clips, viral memes, and testimonials to distract a waiting audience.

Social media content is the best way to draw people’s attention from long queues. Currently, 82% of the American population has a social networking profile, meaning your visitors will delight in fun Instagram videos, Facebook images, and YouTube streams. If you run social media campaigns, encourage community members to show their support through specific hashtags.

Integrating digital signage with your queue management is another way to enrich the guest experience. In practice, the system displays queue numbers and calls people forward when it’s their turn. As a result, people don’t mind the waiting time too much as they can see the queue is in motion. Additionally, government staff can easily handle crowds as everyone can see the relevant information on bright screens.

5. Wayfinding

Large government offices are busy places where community members get frustrated from running between locations searching for the right official or department. Commonly, receptionists and customer care staff are overwhelmed by long queues, and they lack time to provide directions. Digital wayfinding systems overcome this issue by delivering wayfinding assistance.

There are many innovative ways to use digital wayfinding, including interactive kiosks which deploy visual maps to locate offices, amenities, and wings. Visitors search for the office or official they came to see and receive turn-by-turn directions that ease navigation. Further, QR code technology lets people follow building maps on the go from their phones. Place these wayfinding kiosks in entrances, corridors, near elevators, and other places where crowds congregate.

Interactive kiosks also serve as self-service platforms that empower constituents to complete different tasks independently. These kiosks reduce pressure on staff at DMV centers, social security offices, police stations, and community centers, resulting in improved employee satisfaction. In addition, wayfinding signs keep constituents informed about initiatives, community events, policy changes, and emergency alerts.

Digital Signage in Government Agencies: A New Era in Public Communication

Communication is vital in governance, but public agencies often get it wrong, resulting in confusion and mistrust among community members. Digital signage is a great way to bring public communications to the digital era. This technology takes many forms in public offices, such as wayfinding kiosks, digital directories, digital courtroom dockets, and video walls. If you can’t narrow your options, contact digital signage experts to identify your communication needs and suggest the best solutions.