Building and maintaining a culture of safety awareness is an ongoing challenge. Communicating workplace safety requires consistent and creative communication to keep safety top of mind for all workers, both on and off the job.  Many companies are turning to workplace digital signage to engage and inform their workers using visual communication. It’s particularly popular in industries such as manufacturing, warehouse distribution,

Workplace safety professionals know that the best way to motivate employees to stay safe is to make safety personal. Workplace digital signage is an ideal communication platform for making this happen. In a recent column by Richard Hawk in EHS Today, he talks about going beyond the numbers and using personal stories to inspire and educate. Employee engagement improves dramatically when employees have a voice and feel that they and their ideas matter.

Here are 5 ways to make safety personal using digital signage.

These safety communication tactics all have one thing in common. They encourage you to think like a marketer to create campaigns that will generate excitement and make a connection with your employees.

1. Catch workplace accidents before they happen. Run a hazard spotting/near-miss campaign enlisting all employees to take pictures or short video clips of a potential hazard or near miss. Announce the initiative on your digital signage screens and set a tight timeframe. Make it clear how everyone can participate and submit their images or videos. Post them on your screens and add a quotes or comments from the employees.
2. Take safety awareness home. The summer is winding down, but we need to consistently raise awareness of safety at home. Get the kids involved in showing how your family is staying safe and healthy this summer. Run a contest asking them to draw pictures to tell the story. Feature their drawings on your digital signage screens and showcase the kids as safety ambassadors.
3. Solicit ideas from everyone. Tops-down communication is dead. Employees want a voice. They are on the front lines and have plenty pf ideas for improvement. Use your electronic message boards to solicit their ideas. Whether it’s how to make your workplace safer or ways to promote health and wellness, be clear on your goal and the rules of engagement. Announce the details on your screens. Set a timeframe and give employees options for how they can submit their ideas: email, scanning a QR code, paper submissions in a suggestion box, etc. Most importantly, announce the results on your digital signage screens. Acknowledge the people who submitted suggestions that are being implemented to make change.
4. Celebrate personal health and wellness achievements. Digital signage is a great platform for promoting health and wellness with tips and resources that can help everyone stay healthy. Go a step further and share personal success stories. Do you have a company-wide program to promote exercise or weight loss? Announce it on your screens to generate interest and enthusiasm. Be sure to share success stories with pictures and quotes or video. If you don’t have a company program, chances are your employees are active in charity races or rides, or fitness competitions. Share their pictures as an inspiration to all.
5. Don’t lose sight of the real reason for staying safe. The most compelling reason for staying safe is to be there for our families and loved ones. Bring this to the forefront by asking employees to share a picture of what motivates them to stay safe. Many companies produce “Why I Stay Safe” pins for employees to wear. You can also share them on digital signage. Create a short PowerPoint show featuring pictures and a quotes from your employees.

Workplace digital signage offers unlimited opportunity for creative content that personalizes your safety messages. Great content is the key to effective digital signage.  It needs to be relevant and engaging to grab your employees’ attention. One of the best ways to drive engagement is to show your people doing things that support your objectives. Try some of these tactics and watch how they get your employees talking and wanting to get in on the action.