Internal newsletters aka newsletters for company employees offer a unique platform to foster engagement, disseminate information, and reinforce company culture.
Given that employees are no longer afraid to leave for greener pastures, the employee experience is more important than ever.
Despite its potential, many organisations struggle to capture the attention of their workforce with content that resonates.
This guide is designed to equip you with internal newsletter ideas that not only inform but also inspire and engage your employees, ensuring your communications are both meaningful and impactful.
Employee Newsletter Ideas
Fostering an engaging and open workplace isn't easy. An often overlooked treasure trove for enhancing all types of internal communications is the humble employee newsletter.
Let's dive into some practical newsletter ideas for work. as well as implementation tips that can revitalise your internal comms strategy.
1. Department and Team Highlights
Shine a spotlight on different departments and teams in each edition. This isn’t just about achievements but also about the people behind the scenes. What projects are they excited about? Any challenges they've overcome recently?
Implementation Tips:
- Schedule a rotating spotlight feature where each department takes its turn in sharing. This ensures all areas of the business get featured over time.
- Ask departments to submit a mix of content, including current projects, team profiles, and any recent successes or challenges they've faced.
- Include photos or short video clips for a more engaging and personal touch. This could be snapshots of team members, their workspace, or a quick tour of their department or team spaces.
2. How-to Guides
Whether it’s mastering the new CRM software or tips on effective remote communication, educational content is always a hit. Tailor it to the needs and feedback of your teams.
Implementation Tips:
- Survey employees to identify what tools, software, or skills they're most interested in learning about.
- Collaborate with different departments to create these guides, ensuring the advice is expert and authentic.
- Use a mix of formats, such as step-by-step guides, video tutorials, and Q&A sessions, to cater to different learning styles.
3. Employee Milestones
Celebrate work anniversaries, promotions, and personal milestones like new additions to the family. It's a great way to show your team that you value them, not just as employees but as individuals.
Implementation Tips:
- Personalise this to different groups. For example, frontline employees in one location may not be interested in the milestones of head office employees in a different region.
- Create a dedicated section for milestones and encourage managers to submit noteworthy accomplishments and personal milestones of their team members.
- Personalise this section with photos and a brief story or quote from the employee, making it more engaging and heartfelt.
- Celebrate a broad range of milestones, from work anniversaries and promotions to personal achievements like running a marathon or volunteering work.
4. Work Newsletter Ideas from Staff
Invite employees to submit their own articles, tips, or even anecdotes. It’s a fantastic way to get diverse content and make everyone feel included.
Implementation Tips:
- Set up a simple submission process and regularly encourage contributions through various channels, such as internal emails, meetings, and the intranet to easily increase engagement.
- Offer themes or prompts to help inspire contributions, but also leave room for open submissions to capture a wide range of ideas and experiences.
- Recognise and reward contributions to encourage ongoing participation.
5. Behind-the-Scenes Peeks
Everyone loves knowing what’s happening behind the curtains. Share updates on upcoming projects, office revamps, or even the implementation of new policies.
Implementation Tips:
- Plan a content calendar that aligns with your project roadmap or office events, ensuring timely and relevant behind-the-scenes shares.
- Involve project leads or department heads in sharing updates or teasers about what's to come, adding authority and excitement.
- Use multimedia elements like time-lapse videos of office renovations or audio snippets from strategy sessions to bring these stories to life.
6. Health and Well-being Tips
With an increased focus on mental health, including a section on well-being tips, mindfulness exercises, or even healthy recipes can make a big difference in your employees’ lives.
Implementation Tips:
- Partner with wellness professionals or leverage knowledgeable employees to share credible and useful wellness tips.
- Incorporate a variety of content, from written tips and personal stories to video tutorials on exercises or meditation practices.
- Include interactive elements like wellness challenges or polls to engage employees and encourage them to try out the tips shared.
7. Book Club Picks
Encourage a culture of learning and development by featuring a monthly book recommendation related to your industry, leadership, or personal growth.
Implementation Tips:
- Select books that are not only relevant to your industry but also contribute to personal growth and are likely to spark interesting discussions.
- Facilitate a virtual book club discussion for interested employees, creating a forum for dialogue and connection over the book of the month.
- Share summaries or key takeaways from the books for those who might not have time to read them, ensuring everyone can still benefit from the insights.
8. Internal Newsletter Ideas for Tech Tips
Given the rapid pace of technological advancement, a section dedicated to tech tips can help your team stay ahead of the curve.
Implementation Tips:
- Regularly feature different software or technology tools that the team uses or could benefit from, providing practical advice on how to make the most out of them.
- Invite IT staff or tech-savvy employees to contribute their expertise, perhaps even running a "tech tip of the week" series.
- Include quick troubleshooting guides or FAQs for common technical issues to empower employees to solve minor problems on their own.
9. Client Success Stories
Share stories of how your team's hard work has led to client success. It’s a powerful way to showcase the impact of their efforts.
Implementation Tips:
- Collaborate with the sales and customer service teams to identify compelling client success stories that highlight the value of your products or services.
- Use a storytelling approach to detail the client's challenge, the solutions provided by your team, and the positive outcomes achieved.
- Include quotes or testimonials from the clients and team members involved, adding authenticity and a personal touch to the stories.
10. A Day in the Life
Feature a different employee each month and walk through a day in their work life. It’s a great way to foster empathy and understanding across different roles.
Implementation Tips:
- Select employees from various departments and levels within the company to feature, ensuring a broad perspective of different roles.
- Use a mix of written narratives, photos, and even video diaries to bring these stories to life, giving readers an immersive look into the daily workings of their colleagues.
- Encourage employees to share both professional and personal elements of their day, offering a holistic view of their life at the company.
11. Spotlight on Innovation
Encourage employees to share new ideas or innovations they're working on, even if they're in the early stages. It’s a great way to foster a culture of innovation.
Implementation Tips:
- Create a dedicated section for sharing innovative ideas, regardless of how big or small, encouraging employees at all levels to contribute.
- Provide an employee engagement platform for staff to pitch their ideas, potentially offering resources or support for the most promising ones.
- Celebrate the implementation of any employee-suggested innovations, sharing the process and outcomes in the newsletter to inspire further creativity.
12. Local Community Involvement
Highlight any company-sponsored volunteer work or charity events. This not only showcases your company’s values but also encourages team participation.
Implementation Tips:
- Share stories and pictures from recent volunteer events or charity initiatives, including employee quotes about their experiences.
- Offer information on upcoming community involvement opportunities and how employees can sign up, encouraging team participation.
- Highlight any partnerships with local organisations or initiatives, showcasing the company’s commitment to its community values.
13. Sustainability Initiatives
If your company is taking steps towards being more sustainable, share those efforts and how employees can contribute at work and at home.
Implementation Tips:
- Outline specific steps the company is taking to become more sustainable, including both big projects and everyday actions employees can take.
- Share success stories of sustainability initiatives, such as reductions in waste or improvements in energy efficiency, to demonstrate progress.
- Provide practical tips for employees to contribute to sustainability efforts both in the office and at home, fostering a culture of environmental responsibility.
14. "Ask Me Anything" Sessions
Recap recent AMA sessions with leadership or departments. It’s a transparent way to address questions or concerns within the company.
Implementation Tips:
- Recap key takeaways from recent AMA sessions, including the most interesting or frequently asked questions and their answers.
- Encourage employees to submit questions for future AMAs, possibly even allowing anonymous submissions to ensure openness.
- Highlight upcoming AMA sessions and the topics or leaders to be featured, building anticipation and engagement.
15. Personal Development Resources
Offer resources or workshops available for personal development. Whether it’s a seminar on public speaking or stress management, it’s valuable content for your team.
Implementation Tips:
- Compile and share a list of available resources and workshops focused on personal and professional development, including how employees can access them.
- Feature testimonials from employees who have benefited from these resources, sharing their experiences and encouraging others to take advantage.
- Organise exclusive webinars or workshops for employees, perhaps even partnering with external experts, and promote these events in the newsletter.
16. Employee Discounts and Perks
Remind your team about any discounts or perks they might not be taking full advantage of. Whether it’s gym memberships or online courses, it’s always appreciated.
Implementation Tips:
- Provide a comprehensive and regularly updated list of all available discounts and perks, ensuring new employees are aware and existing employees are reminded.
- Share stories or testimonials from employees who have used these perks, highlighting the benefits and encouraging others to explore them.
- Include any new discounts or perks that have been added, keeping the content fresh and engaging for readers.
17. Feedback and Surveys
Encourage feedback on various initiatives through quick polls or surveys within the newsletter. It’s an effective way to gauge employee sentiment and engagement.
Implementation Tips:
- Design short, engaging surveys or polls and embed them directly into the newsletter for easy access. Rather than using external tools, another key way intranets deliver value is through forms and workflows, so be sure to take advantage of these for no additional cost.
- Clearly communicate the purpose of each survey and how the feedback will be used, ensuring transparency and encouraging participation.
- Share the results and actions taken based on feedback in subsequent newsletters, demonstrating that employee input is valued and impactful.
18. Celebrating Cultural Diversity
Feature holidays, traditions, and recipes from different cultures represented within your company. It’s a beautiful way to celebrate diversity and inclusion.
Implementation Tips:
- Create a monthly feature that showcases a different culture each time, including holidays, traditions, and recipes. This could be tied to the cultural heritage months recognised globally or locally.
- Encourage employees from diverse backgrounds to contribute content or co-create features, providing an authentic voice and perspective.
- Organise virtual or in-person events that coincide with major cultural festivals, enhancing the newsletter content with real-world activities.
19. "A Moment of Zen"
Start each newsletter with a beautiful, calming photograph taken by an employee, accompanied by a brief, inspiring quote. This can be a serene way to engage readers right from the beginning, promoting mindfulness and a sense of peace amidst the hustle of work life.
Implementation Tips:
- Set up a submission portal where employees can upload their photos and quotes, creating a sense of community and participation.
- Choose images and quotes that resonate with your company's values or themes for that edition of the newsletter, aligning content with your broader communication strategy.
- Consider a themed "Moment of Zen" that changes with each newsletter, such as nature, urban landscapes, or abstract photography, to keep the content fresh and engaging.
20. Virtual Time Capsule
Invite employees to contribute to a virtual time capsule in each edition—something they’re currently working on, a prevailing trend, or a personal goal. Plan to open these capsules in future newsletters, say a year from now, to reflect on growth, changes, and predictions that came true.
Implementation Tips:
- Provide a specific theme for each time capsule entry, such as "Where I see myself in a year" or "The trend I think will shape our industry," to guide contributions.
- Use a digital platform where employees can submit their entries privately, ensuring their thoughts remain confidential until the capsule is "opened."
- Plan a special edition of the newsletter for opening the time capsule, reflecting on the predictions, growth, and changes that have occurred since the entries were made.
21. Mystery Employee
Each month, provide small clues about an employee without revealing their identity. Throughout the edition, more clues can be scattered, encouraging readers to guess who it might be, with the reveal at the end. This can be a fun way to learn about colleagues in a game-like format.
Implementation Tips:
- Craft intriguing but not too revealing clues about the mystery employee, focusing on their hobbies, interests, or unique contributions to the company.
- Encourage employees to submit their guesses via a simple form or email, adding a competitive element.
- Reveal the mystery employee at the end of the newsletter with a brief profile and interview, allowing colleagues to learn more about them in a fun and engaging way.
22. Culture Swap
Have employees who’ve lived in different countries or regions share insights, etiquette tips, or fun facts about their cultures. This could include anything from how to celebrate traditional holidays to etiquette for business meetings in different cultures, fostering a more globally aware and inclusive workplace environment.
Implementation Tips:
- Invite employees who have lived or worked in different countries to share stories, tips, or even lessons learned from their experiences abroad.
- Focus on a mix of educational content (such as business etiquette in different cultures) and fun facts (like unusual traditions or holidays), to keep the feature balanced and engaging.
- Complement these stories with virtual or in-person "culture swap" events, such as cooking classes, language lessons, or cultural presentations, to bring the newsletter content to life.
What Makes an Employee Newsletter Engaging?
Creating engaging newsletters goes beyond just deciding on work newsletter ideas and sharing updates and information; it's about fostering a sense of community, providing value, and sparking interest among your employees. Here are key elements that contribute to an engaging newsletter:
- Relevance: Content must be directly relevant to your audience. This means understanding what matters to your employees, what information they need, and how they prefer to receive it.
- Personalisation: Tailoring content to fit various departments or roles within the company can make your newsletter feel more personal and relevant. Including employee-generated content also increases personalisation and engagement.
- Visual Appeal: A visually appealing newsletter can significantly boost engagement. This includes the use of high-quality images, engaging layouts, and a consistent brand style that’s easy on the eyes.
- Interactivity: One of the advantages of digitalising employee engagement strategies is interactivity. Incorporating interactive elements like polls, surveys, and clickable links encourages active participation rather than passive consumption.
- Conciseness: Keep articles short and to the point, and consider using bullet points or infographics to convey information more efficiently.
- Recognition: Featuring employee milestones, achievements, and contributions promotes a culture of recognition and appreciation, making your newsletter a coveted spot.
- Educational Value: Providing valuable information, such as tech tips, industry news, or professional development resources, can make your newsletter an essential read for personal and professional growth.
- Variety: A mix of content types, from how-to guides and success stories to fun facts and behind-the-scenes peeks, keeps the newsletter fresh and engaging.
Common Challenges for Employee Newsletters
While employee newsletters have great potential to engage and inform, there are common challenges that organisations often face:
1. Capturing Attention
With the abundance of information employees receive daily, making your newsletter stand out and capture their attention can be challenging.
How to overcome this
- Use Catchy Headlines: Craft headlines that are intriguing and hint at the value or entertainment the article provides.
- Segment Your Audience: Personalise newsletters for different groups within your organisation to make content more relevant and engaging.
- Highlight Key Takeaways: Begin with a summary or bullet points to quickly convey the value of your content, enticing readers to dive deeper.
2. Content Creation
Consistently generating fresh, relevant, and high-quality content requires time and resources, which can be a significant challenge for many organisations.
How to overcome this
- Create a Content Calendar: Plan your content in advance with a communications calendar to ensure a steady stream of relevant topics and to avoid last-minute scrambles.
- Leverage Employee Contributions: Encourage employees to submit their own stories, tips, or photographs to reduce the burden on the content team and increase engagement.
- Repurpose Content: Take advantage of existing content that can be repurposed or updated for the newsletter, such as blog posts or social media highlights.
3. Measuring Engagement
Determining whether your newsletter is genuinely engaging employees and achieving its goals can be difficult, especially without the right tools or metrics in place.
How to overcome this
- Use Analytics Tools: Many newsletter platforms offer analytics to track opens, clicks, and engagement with different content pieces, providing valuable insights.
- Survey Your Readers: Regularly ask for feedback through surveys or polls embedded in the newsletter or conducted separately to gauge satisfaction and areas for improvement.
4. Overcoming Information Overload
Employees can feel overwhelmed by too much information, leading to disengagement. Finding the right balance in content volume and frequency is crucial.
How to overcome this
- Keep It Concise: Focus on making your newsletter succinct and visually easy to digest, using bullet points, short paragraphs, and clear headings.
- Prioritise Content: Only include what’s most important or interesting to your audience, and consider creating different versions for different audience segments if necessary.
5. Personalisation vs. Privacy
While personalisation can increase engagement, it also raises concerns about privacy and data handling. Striking a balance is essential.
How to overcome this
- Be Transparent: Clearly communicate how you use data for personalisation and adhere to privacy laws and best practices.
- Offer Options: Allow employees to customise their newsletter preferences, such as frequency and topics, to ensure they receive content that is relevant to them.
6. Distribution Challenges
Ensuring that the newsletter reaches every employee, especially in a diverse or dispersed workforce, can be tricky. Overcoming technical barriers and preferences requires a thoughtful approach.
How to overcome this
- Optimise for All Devices: Ensure your newsletter is mobile-friendly, as many employees may access their email on mobile devices.
- Consider Multiple Channels: In addition to email, explore distributing your newsletter through your company’s intranet, social media, or messaging apps to reach a wider audience.
7. Keeping Up with Changes
As companies evolve, so do their communication needs. Keeping the newsletter relevant and aligned with organisational changes and culture is an ongoing challenge.
How to overcome this
- Stay Flexible: Regularly review and adjust your content strategy based on organisational changes, employee feedback, and industry trends.
- Involve Leaders: Encourage leaders to contribute to the newsletter and share their insights on company developments and vision, keeping content aligned with corporate goals.
Best Tools and Resources for Newsletter Creation
Creating an engaging and informative newsletter doesn’t have to be a daunting task, especially with the array of tools and resources available today. Here’s a rundown of some of the best tools for newsletter creation.
- Content Management Systems (CMS): CMS platforms such as Elcom offer plugins and extensions for newsletter management, allowing you to integrate your content creation process directly with your newsletter distribution. These systems are typically used to create personalised and engaging intranets, which means your newsletter will be integrated into this central platform.
- Email Marketing Platforms: Services like Mailchimp, Constant Contact, and Sendinblue provide robust tools for designing, sending, and analysing the impact of your newsletters. They offer templates, automation, segmentation, and analytics features. CMS platforms such as Elcom also have email marketing modules that allow you to send internal company newsletters without requiring a separate database.
- Design Tools: Canva and Adobe Spark are user-friendly design tools that offer templates specifically for newsletters, making it easy to create visually appealing layouts without needing a graphic design background.
- Survey and Feedback Tools: Incorporating feedback is crucial for engagement. Tools like SurveyMonkey and Google Forms can be embedded into newsletters to collect reader insights directly.
- Analytics and Optimisation Tools: Understanding engagement with your newsletter is key to improving it. Google Analytics, along with built-in analytics from email marketing platforms, provides valuable data on open rates, click-through rates, and engagement.
How Elcom Helps with Newsletter Creation
Here at Elcom, we have a newsletter module that enables Elcom’s Digital Experience Platform (DXP) a streamlined, efficient approach to newsletter creation that’s specially designed to save time and effort while delivering professional results.
Here’s how Elcom facilitates the process:
- Easy Submission Process: Staff can submit news via an easy-to-use form, simplifying the content collection process. This democratises content creation and ensures a diverse range of inputs for each newsletter.
- Automated Workflow: Once news articles are submitted for the upcoming newsletter, they go into a workflow for review, allowing you to view, make changes, and edit seamlessly. This ensures that the final content is polished and approved before distribution.
- Professional Design: The newsletter module allows for the creation of professionally designed newsletters that match your brand's aesthetic, engaging your audience with visually appealing layouts.
- Automatic Distribution: When the newsletter issue is approved, it is automatically emailed out to all subscribers of the mailing list, simplifying the distribution process and ensuring timely delivery.
- Archiving: Previously published newsletters can be viewed on the site at any time, creating a valuable archive of company news and updates for both current and future employees.
- Integration: As part of Elcom’s Digital Experience Platform, the newsletter module works seamlessly with other components, offering a cohesive and integrated approach to digital workplace solutions.
Conclusion
It’s clear that the power of a well-crafted newsletter extends far beyond communication. It’s about building a community, celebrating diversity, and fostering an environment where every voice feels heard and valued.
Implementing these newsletter ideas for work is not just about ticking a box in your internal comms strategy but about genuinely enhancing the way we connect, share, and grow together.
