With a strong people focus and a commitment to keeping staff appraised and well informed with up-to-date information. Roche decided it was necessary to install a network of strategically sited employee communications displays across their facilities worldwide. This would give staff easy access and visibility of real-time information, department and company news; Symon Dacon was selected as the preferred vendor.
Client Challenge
For close to 114 years Roche has played a pioneering role in healthcare. Today, it is focused on two research-intensive businesses: pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. The company is active in around 150 countries and employs over 81,000 people globally.
Roche depends upon the collaboration and participation of talented, enthusiastic, and motivated professionals working in a challenging and rewarding environment. Its strong people-focused values include a commitment to keep its employees up-to-date with important information such as company policies and new products.
The majority of Roche staff have access to network-connected computers, enabling briefing material to be distributed electronically either via email or using the company intranet. However, because of the nature of the jobs they do – production staff, as an example – a considerable amount of employees do not have that facility. Informing this group of employees in a timely way had become quite a challenge.
Stefan P. Fischer, Editorial and Information Manager, Group Communications at Roche, explains: “All our employees are ambassadors for the company, so it is vital that we keep everybody fully appraised. Paper-based briefings and instructions are costly to distribute and are often out-of-date before they are read. It’s a digital world. We needed to find a way to reach out to everyone in a cost effective and sustainable way.”
Value Proposition
To help solve that communication challenge, Roche decided that it would source and deploy strategically sited display screens in company facilities worldwide. Known as ‘Channel One’ the screens would display centrally created and managed content.
After evaluating responses to tender for the supply and support of such a signage solution, Roche chose Symon Dacon. Roche already had experience of using Symon digital signage at its Indianapolis contact centre. It selected Symon technology for Channel One due to its scalability and reliability. Other factors were advanced functionality and the flexibility of its data handling capabilities.
At the heart of the solution is Symon Enterprise Software – a content management system for collecting, designing, scheduling, and delivering digital content. Symon Digital Appliances (SDAs) are the media players that form the intelligent interface between the content engine and the electronic displays. A range of different SDAs is used to best match the ergonomics of each display screen location.
To help simplify the task of information upload and ensure a consistent look and feel, Symon Dacon built a series of templates that Roche Group Communications use to structure the content. These templates were created against design specifications supplied by Roche that reflect the company’s brand management and visual identity guidelines.
Business results
Stefan P. Fischer observes: “We have created a rolling programme of around 25 pages of information in both German and English, with each page being displayed for around 12 seconds. To retain interest we have found that it’s essential to keep the content fresh and up-to-the-minute, so we update most of the pages daily. Furthermore, these messages must be short and crisp, and written in a style that is appealing to read.”
Using the Symon Dacon templates, content upload is very straightforward. Stefan P. Fischer confirms: “The Symon Dacon solution is super easy to use. Using simple cut and paste commands I can create a new page of information in seconds and at the click of the mouse it can be deployed to our global locations in minutes.” That flexibility also means that the digital signage solution is a very powerful and flexible business resource, one that could feasibly even be used in situations where speed is essential.
The rollout began at the Roche headquarters in Basel, Switzerland where the company has initially deployed around 25 screens to start serving the 9,000 people across the site. Locations include rest areas, coffee bars, the staff restaurant, and entrance foyers. With the concept proven, deployment soon extended to other Roche sites in Switzerland together with facilities in France, Germany, Italy, and the US.
Stefan P. Fischer sums up: “The Symon Dacon display solution has become an embedded and fully integrated element of our employee communications programme. The screens are proving to be really popular, with many of our people giving very positive feedback on how well informed they now feel compared to previously. So much so that we regularly receive suggestions on new locations for screens and new categories of content.”
Such has been the success that the Group Communications department at Roche has developed a packaged solution that Roche affiliate companies around the world can order. This turnkey solution, deployed by Symon Dacon, provides the option to blend centrally managed broadcast material with other local content for maximum impact.
VELUX Deutschland GmbH