The brief
Regional water and sewage treatment business, Wessex Water, was using email, intranet, briefings and newsletters to communicate with its 1,000+ employees spread across seven sites. They wanted to improve the immediacy and effectiveness of how staff were communicated with. They wanted to use digital signage to create a corporate communications channel called The SourceTV, with screens in each of its seven sites.
The solution
We helped Wessex Water identify suitable locations and the appropriate size/type of screen for each situation. These were places that staff were likely to congregate and would visit several times a day, for example in coffee hubs, the staff restaurant, and atriums. They were also areas that field engineers would be likely to visit when they visited the company headquarters or regional offices, ensuring that all staff would be given the opportunity to see the same information regardless of whether they were office or field-based. A screen was also integrated into the Wessex Water Operations Centre videowall to keep control staff informed.
We worked with Wessex Water to develop a layout on screens for The SourceTV corporate communications channel using SaturnVision that would enable them to split their screen into three sections to show different types of information (a mix of flash, video, still images, text, PowerPoint and RSS feeds). The largest area carries the main broadcast content lasting around 30 minutes which is updated weekly; this includes video reports, company news and job vacancies. A narrow column on the right side of the screen is used for ‘Did you know?’ facts about Wessex Water. The bottom has a ‘ticker tape’ RSS feed which is updated daily and includes RSS feeds showing local news and travel information.
Each screen shows live TV on the hour. This alternates between SKY News and BBC News, after which the screen content reverts back to the scheduled Wessex Water multi-screen content. This ensures that the displays always remain ‘fresh’, useful and the screens are perceived as a valuable news resource that never gets ‘stale’.
We also helped Wessex Water split its digital signage estate into zones so that different content could be shown in different locations. For example at the Yeovil office, which is primarily used for meetings, the reception area’s screen shows the weekly meeting schedule in the ‘Did you know?’ area. At the company’s headquarters, the screen in the main reception was used to showcase corporate CSR initiatives to visitors.
The result
The SourceTV received positive feedback and remains popular, with staff keen to engage and send materials for display on the channel.
Due to the ability to upload and schedule different types of content through using the SaturnVision software, Wessex Water was able to engage a number of staff across the business asking them to act as correspondents. Each would send different types of materials from different parts of the business for use on the channel – e.g. video reports from industry events.
The communications team were also able to promote and get greater increase attendance at staff events – e.g. their ‘learn@lunch’ presentations.
Clive Tugwell, new media project manager, Wessex Water said: “Our 2,500 employees are knowledgeable about their own area of the business but less informed about other parts. In the belief that each employee is in effect an ambassador for Wessex Water, we wanted a new way of communicating that cut through the ‘noise’ of everyday internal comms to excite and better communicate how Wessex Water and its employees are making a difference to the water services we provide to customers in our region.
“We wanted to show The SourceTV as a high quality, well produced internal communication channel that from day one set a high standard for production quality and content. By involving other people we’ve been able to draw on a broad range of material that reflects the breadth of Wessex Water’s business and shows our staff in the best possible light.
“We’ve had some extremely positive feedback from a wide range of employees about The SourceTV. The quality and range of content, combined with the flexibility of zoning and scheduling gives us a powerful platform for internal communications and brand development that so far we’ve only just begun to explore.”
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“The SaturnVision scheduling facility gives us a good framework for our content planning and we can easily make last minute changes to the schedule when we need to.”
Clive Tugwell, new media project manager, Wessex Water
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