Why Non Desk Workers Are Harder to Reach

In everyday work, non desk workers face significantly higher barriers when it comes to staying informed. These include, among others:

• Limited access to digital devices
  Most do not have a company smartphone or regular access to computer workstations.
• Fewer interaction opportunities
  While office employees actively participate in chats, comments, or video calls, non desk workers often remain pure recipients of information.
• Different levels of digital literacy
  Not everyone is accustomed to using tools and apps on a regular basis.
• Changing working hours
  Shift work often prevents all employees from being informed at the same time.

Operational teams, in particular, are strongly affected by short term changes — such as safety regulations, process adjustments, sales campaigns, or quality standards. Fast, accessible, and reliable communication is therefore essential.

Hybrid Work Models Increase the Gap

While office employees have benefited from home office arrangements, remote meetings, and flexible work models since the pandemic, little has changed for non desk workers. Their work remains tied to physical locations — whether at machines, in logistics centers, service areas, or in care facilities.
This structural inequality leads to an ever widening gap in access to information within organizations. A communication strategy that aims to address both worlds must acknowledge this reality and find ways to reach all employees equally.

What Can Be Done? Choosing the Right Communication Tools Is Key

To meet this challenge, selecting the right communication channels is crucial. Traditional formats such as town hall meetings or employee magazines create proximity and convey appreciation but can only be current to a limited extent.

Notice boards and printed postings are still part of the everyday information flow for many non desk workers; however, they remain static, location bound, and difficult to measure.
Digital channels such as social intranets, employee apps, or newsletters are fast and interactive, but they reach precisely those employees less effectively who do not have a personalized device and therefore use digital platforms less regularly — our non desk workers.

Why Digital Signage Is Particularly Effective Here

In this area of tension, digital signage is gaining importance. It combines the visibility of traditional notice boards with the timeliness of digital media. Information is delivered exactly where non desk workers are present: in production halls, workshops, logistics zones, or break rooms.
Without requiring employees to actively open a device, content becomes visible, understandable, and present.

The Benefits at a Glance

• High reach
  Information reaches all employees — even without a PC workstation.
• High visibility
  Content is always present and not “overlooked.”
• Timeliness
  Updates can be published within seconds.
• Low access barriers
  No login, no app, no personal account required.
• Greater transparency
  Teams see the same information — regardless of shift or department.
• Measurability
  Content and playback times can be centrally managed and tracked.

Digital signage therefore plays a central role in the daily work of operational teams: it informs, reminds, motivates, and makes internal communication visible where it has the greatest impact.

Communication Mix: Do One Thing Without Neglecting the Other

As a digital signage provider, we are naturally convinced of its benefits — but we are equally convinced that its full potential only unfolds in combination with other tools such as apps, intranets, or social intranets. Research clearly shows that no single channel can meet the demands of modern internal communication on its own. Teams are too heterogeneous, and working realities are too diverse.

Successful communication emerges when organizations intelligently combine different channels, regularly review them, and adapt them to the needs of their target groups. What matters most is not how innovative a tool is, but whether it actually reaches employees — at the right moment, in the right context, and in a form that is relevant and easy to understand.

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