Ask around your office, and you’ll find one bright spark who will define a great place to work as one that offers lavish perks and incredible benefits. But that’s not what makes an organisation great. To do that you need open and honest communication (among other things) and that’s where an internal newsletter comes into play.
Trust in others, pride in the organisation, respect, fairness and camaraderie are the ingredients needed to become great. The one thread that runs through all of those is two-way communication.
The two-way bit is essential. Your newsletter is not your megaphone through which you can shout about your fantastic management skills. It should be a vessel through which you applaud your staff, allow them to have their say and share news (internal and external, for example, praise from customers).
What should your newsletter look like?
I’m not a designer, so when I say ‘look like’ I mean it in terms of the content, it will contain.
The opening
It’s always a good idea to start with a few words from the boss. Not in a self-congratulatory way, but more of an ‘I’m proud of my team who is performing exceptionally during difficult times’ kind of way.
Put the focus on your team
Your newsletter is an excellent tool through which you can celebrate the achievements of your team. Shout about their promotions, great feedback from customers and to welcome new starters.
Give your team a voice
Don’t forget your internal newsletter is for everyone’s benefit within your organisation, so open it up. Ask for contributions from your people. Perhaps they’ve been involved in a charity event or do regular voluntary work. Whatever it is, get them to share their experiences with others.
Put a spotlight on them
If one of your team as done exceptionally well in their job, tell people about it. Get your management team to nominate someone who has gone above and beyond. You could even make it a monthly competition whereby the winner gets a voucher or something like that.
Share business news
Although the newsletter should mainly be about your people, it can also pass on important information about the business. Whether it regards changes to premises, upcoming surveys, new regulations or things of that ilk, your newsletter is an effective way to disseminate the information.
New Year, new newsletter
With the end of the year fast approaching* now’s an excellent time to think ahead and consider what you can do differently next year.
Introducing (or revamping) an internal newsletter is a great place to start. As already discussed, it opens up communication channels between staff and management and between staff members themselves. It’s a great way of pulling your team together and keeping everyone abreast of what’s happening within your organisation.
I’ll give you one tip (and yes, I am slightly biased about this point), it’s a good idea to get an external copywriter to pull it all together for you. Collecting information and conducting interviews is very time-consuming. Using a professional copywriter means you just have to outline what’s needed and pass on the contact details for the people with the information or who need interviewing. Then, you can sit back, relax and await the first draft.
*Please note this article was written in December 2020
Sally Ormond is a professional freelance copywriter who helps companies create outstanding newsletters that keep their staff informed and entertained. For a chat about how she can help you, call on +44(0)1449 779605.