How to Engage Healthcare Employees

Most signage in healthcare facilities directs and informs patients. Whether it’s a change in insurance policies or wayfinding signage between departments, well-designed and well-placed graphics consistently improve efficiency. But how can great signage increase healthcare employee engagement?

Benefits of Better Signage in Healthcare

Information about important events like flu season isn’t just relevant to patients in a medical center — it’s crucial to communicate with employees, too. Well-designed and well-placed signage helps improve safety, encourages best practices, and keeps everyone informed. Making sure the vital information is visible and presented in a way that’s easily understood makes employees’ lives easier when working with patients.

For example, flu season reminders to wash hands thoroughly before returning to work or notices of a disease outbreak are essential to post around your facility. It’s our job to make sure these signs get the information to employees as efficiently as possible with great design and appropriate placement. A well-informed medical staff always benefits the facility and its patients.

Another benefit of well-designed and well-placed signage is efficient HR communication. Too often employees will find themselves confused about ever-changing HR policies, but with the right graphics and hardware optimized for interchangeable signage, HR information reaches employees quicker and more effectively.

What’s the Best Signage Option?

The best type of signage depends on the message you want to communicate to employees. There are two main types of signage within healthcare facilities: Temporary and Permanent.

Permanent signage is typically defined as anything that will exist for up to seven years in the facility. Timeless information about proper hand-washing or specific technology instructions are great examples. With permanent signage, you will typically combine a substrate like plastic or vinyl with a permanent or semi-permanent adhesive.

Temporary signage is typically created with cost-effectiveness in mind. This information is often printed on cardstock and posted using temporary adhesives such as a 3M velcro or hardware that clips to the ceiling for hospital wayfinding. A great cost-saving tip is to re-use hardware; anything that can be easily removed and replaced will allow anyone to swap out graphics without the need for special training..

Additional information can be  displayed in the form of counter cards for patients/employees. With counter cards, it’s essential to work with a company capable of variable data printing—if it’s a large hospital system, look for a printing partner that can efficiently produce a large number of cards with variable data like locations, employee demographics, and phone numbers. One of the keys for counter cards is to keep the design simple. Information should be easy to absorb from a simple glance, and those who wish to learn more can access the website listed on the card.

Master Multi-Channel Communication

Physical hospital signage is vital, but digital communication is the other half of the solution. You need to create graphics that display well in medical centers but also ensure that employees have a digital destination for more information. Working with a company that can achieve both will streamline your communication efforts and help your medical center employees stay up-to-date with crucial information.   

As you budget for your new engaging hospital signage, be sure to work with a company that can meet the needs of a large network health system. At The Vomela Companies, we continuously work with healthcare clients to create medical clinic signage that informs and engages employees. Check out some of the healthcare projects in our portfolio!