Lesson 1: Welcome!

Welcome to this course on Screens, your digital signage solution. Discover how to effectively share important messages and engaging content across various locations in your organization. When you complete this course, you'll be able to explain how the use of Screens strengthens internal communication and increases visibility, identify and describe the key roles and responsibilities essential for using Screens, implement technical requirements and solve common technical issues, and create and configure impactful slideshows following best practices.

Lesson 2: Understanding the Role of Screens in Internal Communication

Staffbase Screens is designed to bring internal communication — company news, images, and video — to digital displays within your office environment. Placing large displays in high-traffic, publicly accessible areas like entrances, break rooms, or production floors ensures that everyone stays informed. With the right access, you can create slideshows using existing content, publish them directly to your displays, and boost viewer interaction through QR codes. Screens lets you customize display settings — branding, the number of posts shown, and the length of each slide — to tailor content visibility to your viewers' attention. You can add images and videos to grab attention and make updates easy to understand. You can connect to a news channel or news page so slideshows present content already published on your intranet, keeping messaging consistent and up to date. You can connect devices to display content on unlimited screens across different locations, tailored to the employees in that area (for example, factory floor, canteen, or office lobby). You can generate a Preview URL to create a direct link to the slideshow for quality assurance or feedback. A visual-first layout allocates half of the screen for news post images to draw attention in busy environments. A QR Code lets viewers read more on their mobile devices, making it easy for non-desk employees to engage with the full article anytime. Compared to traditional methods, Screens offers better visibility and reach (content is displayed publicly for everyone, including non-desk workers, not hidden behind logins or emails), timeliness (content updates in real time via the Staffbase Studio, with no lengthy approval or publishing processes), attention (visual content on large screens stands out more than plain text), accessibility (no active action required — content is simply displayed), and engagement (a QR code lets employees dive into a message directly and engage with it, unlike traditional methods with limited engagement options).

Lesson 3: Configuration and Management

Staffbase Screens includes Device Management, a secure way to register and control the devices that display your content. Screens is browser-based, so signage is delivered via a unique URL, and thanks to integrated Device Management, only registered devices can access this content, keeping company information safe from unauthorized access. Choosing the right hardware is essential for stable, dependable performance — no expensive special equipment is needed, just the right devices. Recommended setup includes displays with an integrated browser or software to open HTML websites, mini-PCs (such as Intel NUC, Raspberry Pi, or Chrome Box), and external HDMI sticks (only with a stable power source). Recommended browsers are Chrome (best), the latest version of Edge, or Firefox. The recommended screen resolution is 1920x1080 (Full HD) for optimal display quality; touchscreen functionality is not required. Make sure your IT team has the right documentation to get started.

Lesson 4: Video Tutorials

Short video tutorials walk through how to connect a device, create a slideshow, and configure your slideshow settings. Connect a Device covers using Device Management to connect displays to the Studio — note that if a screen isn't active for more than two hours, its status changes to "Disconnected," and it reconnects automatically once it reopens; after seven days of inactivity, you'll need to enter a new PIN code to reconnect. Creating a Slideshow covers managing the content shown on connected devices. Configuring a Slideshow covers using the Layout tab to customize slideshow settings — including slide duration, branding, and layout — and make your display your own.

Lesson 5: Best Practices

No matter how well-designed the content is, if no one sees it, it defeats its purpose. For Location, choose displays in strategic, high-frequency spots — near the coffee machine, in the break room, or at the entrance to the production hall — where employees regularly spend time and your content will have maximum impact. For Design, since Screens can only show existing news content, less is more: use minimal text (headlines instead of paragraphs, since passersby only have a moment to read), strong and expressive images (emotions and messages are captured more quickly through images), and contrasts and animations (moving or strikingly designed content generates more eye contact than static, neutral slides). For Variety, refresh content regularly, ideally weekly, to maintain curiosity, deliver fresh insights, and prevent "screen blindness" — the tendency to consciously or unconsciously ignore digital screens. For Collaboration, local teams and departments can contribute content across three roles: Content Editors create content in the News section that can be reused across multiple channels, both in the employee app and on Screens; the Managing Editor or Admin connects the devices and creates the slideshow; and the System-wide Editor can customize the layout of the slideshow.

Lesson 6: Congratulations!

Set up and connect devices using recommended hardware and manage all screens centrally through Device Management in the Studio to ensure stable performance. Create and customize slideshows by selecting existing news content, adjusting layout and branding, and publishing them across multiple screens and locations. Maximize visibility by placing screens in high-traffic areas, using strong visuals, and updating content regularly — remember, less is more. Plan your team for screen maintenance and setup, news creation, and slideshow configuration, and assign the appropriate roles and permissions in Staffbase.