Entry: Four Winds Interactive (FWi) Corporate Communications Network

Client: Four Winds Interactive

Submitted by: Four Winds Interactive
 

Venue(s) where the content was displayed:

In 2011, Four Winds Interactive was growing at a breakneck speed, having increased sales 482 percent over three years’ time and increasing its staff by 50 percent each year. To accommodate this larger team, the digital signage software provider moved its headquarters to a three-story building in downtown Denver’s warehouse district, which is now home to more than three quarters of FWi’s staff.

Objectives of the content:

• FWi implemented an enterprise-wide communications network to enhance communication throughout its rapidly growing company and leveraged an array of applications to do so:
• Metrics show real-time key performance indicators (KPIs) such as closed sales, open support cases, customer satisfaction survey results, project turnaround and more.  
• Office Directories and Interactive Wayfinding help visitors and employees find who they’re looking for, and Local (Bing) Mapping is positioned at the office entrance to help navigate to local eateries and attractions. 
• Events, including that day’s visitors, meetings and project rollouts are highlighted in the lobby and each department. 
• Meeting Room Signs list in progress and upcoming meetings outside six main meeting spaces. 
• Employee Recognition highlights FWi staff Birthdays; presents fun facts in a Guess Who format; tells an FWi’er You Rock for a job well done; posts a Welcome message to new hires; and greets staff as they come in with a personalized Welcome message as they enter the building.  
• Useful Information is available in the form of Yelp restaurant reviews, Ski Reports, Weather forecasts, live Traffic reports for the surrounding area and breaking News. 
• Employees are kept up-to-date on Company Information with Company Event Promotions, new Product/Project Information and the FWi Twitter feed. 
• All information posted to FWi’s Sharepoint site is widely accessible for all FWi employees via its Corporate Mobile Application.

Budget category (content creation only): Less than $10,000

Results of the content:

FWi’s digital communications network has made a notable impact on the growing company by facilitating constant, up-to-date and widely available communication throughout departments, across multiple floors and with scores of new hires. Such effective communication has been instrumental in increasing the organization’s operational effeciency and overall effectiveness by making sure its employees are all on the same page.   

From an HR perspective, the network has not only helped attract new employees by helping convey an open and communicative environment, but it’s boosted current employee morale and retention by fostering a culture that emphasizes transparency, accountability and collaboration.    

“All of the metrics that we measure ourselves by are not only visible for us, but they’re visible for our customers,” said Levin. “So we’re very open, and that helps us build and run a better business.”    

By integrating its new mobile application to its employee communications network, FWi has expanded the reach of its communications, ensuring that traveling and remote employees don’t miss a beat by making all of the information from its corporate Sharepoint site available on each employee’s mobile device.   

In addition to helping the company enhance communication with its staff and visitors, the network allows FWi to “eat its own dog food” and better serve its customers.   

“As we put up a new piece of content,” said FWi President David Levin, “We’re asking, ‘Is that working for us?’ If it works for us, it’s more likely to work for our customers.”

Selected judges' comments:

• Very slick, nice execution on information via DS.
• On the one hand, you would think that EVERY digital sigange software company would have a similar in-house digital communications program, but I have not seen a program developed to this degree anywhere else
• Great internal test and validate solution