3 Ways Wayfinding Kiosk Software Improves Employee Experience

As companies across different industries are embracing hybrid work, they are looking for ways to create a seamless, positive employee experience. Whether your workforce is onsite, remote, or hybrid, you want to keep your employees engaged and connected. Wayfinding tools are a great way to manage both visitors and employees with one solution.

Learn more about using wayfinding kiosk software to enhance the employee and office visitor experience.

What is Wayfinding?

Wayfinding is the use of words, symbols, colors, and other design elements to help people navigate a space. Essentially, wayfinding includes any signage or technology that companies use to get employees, customers, and visitors to the right place.

Wayfinding tools can be basic, like restroom signs with male and female symbols, or advanced, like a touch screen that guides shoppers through a mall. Interactive wayfinding experiences help people navigate around new places via digital signage.

What is a Wayfinder Kiosk?

A digital wayfinding kiosk is a structure with a digital screen that provides maps and a directory of your office or organization. Wayfinding kiosks are often found at building entrances, in reception areas, or by elevator banks. These kiosks are used by many types of organizations, including:

• Hospitals and healthcare facilities
• School campuses
• Coworking spaces
• Airports
• Shopping centers

Digital kiosks are particularly helpful in offices that span multiple floors or regularly welcome visitors.

What is Employee Experience?

The employee experience is an umbrella term for all of the elements that affect a worker’s perception of their employer. These elements include:

• The organizational culture
• The physical office environment
• Company technology and tools
• Other employees

All of these touch points help shape how a person perceives their workplace.

Employee experience directly impacts job satisfaction and retention rates, so it’s important in every workplace. But being international about the employee experience is especially important in hybrid workplaces, where employees may not be in the office every day.

You want your team members to feel connected to the company culture when they’re working from home. And when employees are working onsite, it’s important to make sure they have a positive experience. Wayfinding kiosks and signage software help employees quickly find where they need to be in the office.

How Does Wayfinding Kiosk Software Improve the Employee Experience?

Wayfinding might seem simple, but it can make a big impact on office operations. Research from the National Library of Medicine shows that people can feel anxious in an unfamiliar environment – and wayfinding tools can make them more comfortable. The benefits of using wayfinding kiosk software include:

1. Makes the Workplace More Efficient

Tools like office management software create a more efficient workplace. When employees arrive at the office, they can use a wayfinding kiosk to sign in. This frees up administrative staff – instead of managing a reception area and signing in employees and visitors, they can focus on other priorities. Wayfinding kiosk software can also direct workers to a specific conference room, office, or other meeting location.

Many hybrid offices have flexible seating arrangements. A wayfinder kiosk is a great tool for employees to locate and reserve desks. A person can use the kiosk to view all available workspaces.

They can filter spaces by location or amenities and reserve the desk or room of their choice. That way, they don’t have to waste time walking around the office looking for an open workspace.

2. Encourages Peer-to-Peer Collaboration

Some office management platforms allow users to locate other colleagues, as well. Upon arriving at the office, an employee can use the kiosk to find out where their coworkers are. If they want to work side by side, they can book an adjacent desk for easier collaboration. Or if they want to have an impromptu brainstorming session, they can use the kiosk to find and reserve an open meeting room.

3. Helps Guests Feel Welcome

Wayfinding kiosks help even the busiest office feel more organized. When guests like clients, consultants, or business partners arrive at your office for the first time, they might not know where to go.

A kiosk orients the guest to your space so they can find the right room. Office management software can notify a host when their guest signs in. This means that your team no longer has to wait in the lobby for visitors to arrive. An interactive map can also help guests find amenities like water fountains or coffee stations.

A negative visitor experience can hurt your bottom line. You can make a great first impression on your visitors with user-friendly maps, clear signage, and simple check-in processes. These tools are essential for making a good impression.

Best Practices for Better Employee and Visitor Experience

Hybrid work shouldn’t be stressful, create a seamless experience with these tips:

• Communicate: Make sure every employee knows what to expect when they arrive at the office. Encourage managers to check in with their direct reports regularly to make sure your tools and systems are working for them.
• Optimize your office: Can your space accommodate both employees and guests? Be sure to offer a variety of flexible workspaces so that everyone can be productive.
• Don’t forget branding: Wayfinding kiosks are an opportunity to communicate your brand identity and augment employee and guest experience. Use your logo, company colors, and other elements to reinforce who you are and what you do.
  

Welcome Employees and Visitors with Robin

With the right workplace experience software, employees will be happier and more productive. At Robin, our goal is to make the return to the office simple, frictionless, and even fun.

Robin’s platform lets you create a customized office floor plan, welcome employees and visitors, and manage your schedules and workspaces. Employees can locate their colleagues, find meeting rooms, and reserve a desk or office from a wayfinder kiosk or mobile device. (PS: Robin has built-in analytics so that you can identify and report on trends in space utilization and demand.)

Robin integrates with the top workplace apps, including Slack, Zoom, and Microsoft Office. To learn more, schedule a demo or start your free trial today.