WHAT IS WAYFINDING?

Wayfinding involves four stages

• Orientation: Determining your location in relation to the intended destination
• Route decision: Choosing the most direct way to get there
• Route monitoring: Confirming your chosen route is leading to the correct location
• Destination recognition: Confirming you’ve arrived at your destination

Why Wayfinding Matters in The Modern Workplace

If you’re lucky enough to never have been lost when you’re visiting a new workplace or just getting accustomed to your own, you might be wondering why wayfinding is so important.

But even if you’re very familiar with your surroundings, things can change frequently in an agile work environment. Departments are consolidated or moved as the workforce expands or contracts. New conference rooms are added to accommodate growth, and office furniture is constantly being shuffled.

To add to the confusion, more organizations are doing away with assigned seats in favor of more flexible arrangements like activity-based working.  According to a 2018 CBRE survey, 52 percent of executives said they planned to implement some level of unassigned seating within the next three years.

That makes it harder for employees to find places and find their colleagues when they need them.

Wayfinding enhances the employee experience by minimizing uncertainty, improving collaboration and maximizing productivity.

Wayfinding Solutions

At a minimum, effective wayfinding involves using identification signs to point people in the right direction. However, it’s difficult for static wayfinding signs to keep up with the needs of a constantly changing workplace.

That’s why more workplaces are adopting digital wayfinding solutions, such as:

Digital Signage & Kiosks

Digital signage and wayfinding kiosks can help employees navigate the workforce in a variety of ways, from directing them to corporate events to informing them which meeting rooms are booked.

The best digital wayfinding solutions are interactive—for instance, they can allow employees to book a room as soon as they see it’s available.

Mobile Apps

The average employee now spends more than half their day away from their desk.

Mobile apps meet them where they are and make wayfinding solutions actionable. Using a wayfinding app, employees can find employees, reserve space and even get turn-by-turn directions to their destination. (It’s like Google Maps for your workplace!)

Wayfinding Software

Wayfinding software is the backbone for digital signage, wayfinding kiosks and mobile apps. The best wayfinding software solutions integrate with both your company’s floor plans and your employee directory, making it easy for employees to find any person or place at any time.