Culture isn’t created in the boardroom. It grows through shared goals and beliefs, through communication. Whether in hallway conversations or on digital screens, sharing information provides employees with visibility, transparency, and shared context.
Every organization communicates; it is how they communicate that is critical. When information is shared sporadically, messages are mixed, and information is kept siloed, employees will make their own assumptions. These assumptions can be dangerous, leading to confusion or fostering narratives based on inaccurate information. Common tools like email and intranet sites have their place, but information often gets buried in these systems.
Digital signage as cultural infrastructure
Digital signage isn’t just for static information anymore. It is now a way to consistently communicate in the spaces between meetings that fill up each day. It reaches people when they aren’t looking for information, which makes it especially effective at shaping how they think and act.
Unlike email or collaboration tools that require deliberate engagement, digital signage is always there and always on. It becomes part of the environment, building familiarity and ultimately culture. Sharing relevant, real-time, and personalized or localized information on digital signage will help ensure it is a trusted source.
Fostering culture
People learn culture by watching what happens around them. Employees notice who gets recognized and the types of behaviors that are celebrated. Digital signage enables organizations to make recognition public and shared, rather than buried in emails or a newsletter. Information can be customized to a specific location or department to ensure it is relevant to the viewer and doesn’t get ignored. Celebrating behaviours such as teamwork, innovation, or safety helps embed them in the organizational culture.
In large organizations with multiple locations, departments, and hybrid workforces, fostering culture is a herculean task. Employees will tend to identify more with their immediate team than with the organization as a whole. Remote and hybrid work has further intensified the disconnect that often results between an organization and an employee. Digital signage can be leveraged to optimize employees' time in the office and ensure they see important updates, KPIs, health/safety/security notices, and other critical information.
Transparency builds trust
One of the cornerstones of a strong and resilient organizational culture is transparency. Employees who understand both the big picture and the day-to-day details feel more engaged. Sharing information and progress updates visually on digital signage is very effective. Key numbers, challenges, and targets go from being buried in reports or limited to leadership meetings to being widely shared in a clear, consistent, and visible manner.
Why is visibility important? Without information, people will make assumptions, and this often does more damage than bad news ever could. Digital signage puts information, from quarterly goals to operational performance to changes underway, in front of people instead of buried in an email or on an intranet site. This kind of openness builds trust.
Leadership presence in everyday spaces
Leaders don’t need to hold weekly town halls or send long emails to be visible. With digital signage, leaders can be visible without being intrusive. On screens in everyday spaces, such as the lobby, the breakroom, and the hallway, leaders can share short messages about a milestone, recognize achievements, or celebrate progress. It makes leaders feel more approachable and helps everyone stay aligned.
This approach is especially valuable in organizations spread across multiple locations or countries, where face-to-face interaction with leadership is less frequent. In these situations, digital signage can help leaders feel present, even when they aren’t.
In today’s workplaces, many of the most important moments happen outside of meetings. They happen in the hallway, the lunchroom, or the lobby. Digital signage in these areas does more than just inform employees—it helps foster culture. It connects, aligns, and reminds employees every day of what they’re part of and why it matters.