DS for Air Canada

Versione stampabile

For any corporation, improving the quality and consistency of customer service is a central goal. A key element in achieving this is keeping employees informed with up-to-date information. However, this is easier said than done when your staff is scattered around the world at 36,000 feet!
 
Air Canada tackled this challenge with the development of its globe TV digital signage network channel, which was recognized by the International Travel Catering Association with a 2008 Mercury Award in the Systems and Processing Category.
 
“With globe TV, our goal was to develop a modern and innovative way to communicate valuable information in real time with our cabin crew – whether it be re-iterating safety regulations, changes to aircraft procedures, or scheduling,” says Bill Powell, Air Canada’s manager of communication planning & delivery for the airline’s customer service divisions.
 
“At the same time, we needed a solution that didn’t create a lot of additional work and enabled us to repurpose the wide variety of communications materials we already produce, such as company newsletters, internal e-mail updates, and a vast video library.”
 
The globe TV network uses the toolset of X2O Media’s Xpresenter digital signage platform to develop and air content on digital display screens located in the airline’s In-Flight Service Crew Centres (Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal), and In-Flight Service Training Centres (Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal). Xpresenter is an affordable, easy-to-use system that allows Microsoft PowerPoint users to produce broadcast-quality graphics that incorporate animations, clip art galleries, video clips, and real-time data sources in the PowerPoint interface. Xpresenter includes a style gallery of graphics templates, custom control panels, video clip previewing, and tools for quickly resizing presentations to fit the varying dimensions of output displays and broadcast monitors. With Xpresenter, users can simply produce compelling presentations containing live information.
By using a Web Control screen, Air Canada’s staff can quickly update the network with promotional videos, airline news, and information regarding products, policies, and procedures. The airline can upload new content on a daily basis through a straight-forward Web-based interface, which also allows the airline to update information for each specific location, making local displays especially relevant to their corresponding crew base. Because Xpresenter is based on “smart templates” that automatically update from data feeds, the network also includes fresh content, such as pre-flight information, on-time performance metrics, and weather maps, all continually updated without any additional work from Air Canada’s staff.
 
In addition to monitoring the performance of each display to ensure the system is running smoothly, X2O’s creative services team worked closely with Air Canada’s communications department to create a unique look and feel for globe TV that incorporated the company’s branding elements and clearly communicated the various types of information in both English and French.
 
To measure globe TV’s effectiveness, Air Canada took the unique step of developing an online survey for its employees. Through the detailed survey, the airline was able to get feedback directly from its audience and identify opportunities for improvement.
 
For example, the main screen on the displays originally provided system-wide news highlights from various existing internal sources, the local news section, and a number of key indices, including on-time performance and customer service index targets and results. Flight information provided at-a-glance gate and departure information for Air Canada and Air Canada Jazz flights. A crawling ticker scrolled along the bottom of the screen and displayed “flash” messages that were also printed on the pre-flight manifest. Finally, local weather at Canadian bases, as well as weather for most of the cities Air Canada flies to around the world, were displayed on stunning maps.
 
“Through the online survey, we were able to identify several areas for improvement,” stated Powell. “For example, we discovered that cabin crew preferred content relating to In-Flight Service news, general news, and weather at major Canadian cities, and were less interested in world weather maps. We took this information and used it to tailor globe TV to our crews, providing a fresh new look and updated content selection. In fact, we completely rebranded the channel as part of our recently launched ‘globe’ internal communication brand. Originally, the network was known as Air Canada News.”
 
As the survey indicated that the local news section was popular content with cabin crew, it was moved from the main screen to a dedicated section that is now visible at all times. To make more space on the screen, the date, time, and training class information were moved to the bottom. The flight information section was completely removed, as cabin crew could easily get this same information from airport screens. Local weather was moved to the top and the ticker is now used to promote bulletins and other important communications. All messages are now separated by the globe brand icon.
 
With globe TV, Air Canada has a professional, branded news network with the look and feel of broadcast television, without any of the complexity. The network channel not only represents a good example of how corporations can use digital signage to communicate with and educate employees, but it demonstrates how gauging the audience’s reaction with efficient measurement tools can help capture employees’ attention more effectively to achieve a higher standard for customer service.