Your employee newsletter is an important tool. It keeps your team informed about what’s going on in your business, plus current/upcoming events that may affect it. So having some employee newsletter ideas on hand to keep people interested can be a big help.
Because if no one reads it, it’s a waste of time, resources, and storage space.
So what employee newsletter ideas can help you write something people actually want to read? And, more importantly, that they remember the contents of?
Put some pizzazz into it
The temptation to copy and paste company updates into AI and get it to spit out a newsletter you can put into an email is probably pretty strong.
But if you didn’t enjoy writing the newsletter, your readers will be able to tell.
If you didn’t write it at all, your readers will be able to tell.
And if you didn’t bother writing it, why should they bother reading it?
Your newsletter can help connect your leaders and HR team to the rest of your organization. But that will only happen if it has some sort of personality. Human personality, not AI-generated personality.
So try injecting some humor into it. Not offensive humor, obviously.
Jokes work when they start with a universal truth that’s then exaggerated. For example, the obscenely loud coffee machine that sounds like a jet engine.
You might have something similar in your business, like a company pet/mascot with a lot of attitude, misbehaving software (so long as it’s not causing too many frustrations), or a creepy old building.
Just don’t make a joke at someone else’s expense — you don’t want to come across as cruel. Effective employee newsletter ideas should never involve putting anyone on the spot like that.
Use human imagery
Including images in a newsletter is a way to stop people from scrolling. It hooks them into what’s happening around the image.
Those AI-generated cartoons that all have the same face are getting creepy and boring. We don’t need any more of those on the internet, please.
When the photos are of real people, they’re more likely to stop and read. This is especially true if they’re of colleagues who newsletter readers know.
It’s often marketing teams who take photos at every occasion — we’re programmed that way. But there’s no reason other teams or ERGs can’t do it, too.
Whether it’s an away day, a training session, bring your pet to the office day, working together on a group project, or something else entirely, all those moments of human (and animal) connection reinforce team bonds. They also tell a story in seconds, giving you a visual way to show what you’re up to.
Using engaging photos is one of the top employee newsletter ideas if you actually want people to stop and read.
Make it interactive
People may not read your newsletters if they don’t think there’s something in it for them. So why not get them involved?
For instance, you could remind teams to take photos at upcoming events, or even just casually in meetings, then submit them to the newsletter with a story alongside it.
They don’t have to write the story if they’re not comfortable. They can just let you know what’s happening in the photos.
Knowing they may be in it encourages people to click ‘open’. Everyone wants to be included and appreciated. Showcasing employee involvement is one of the most important employee newsletter ideas.
Run caption contests
In the name of injecting a little bit of fun and interactivity, caption contests that show what’s happening around your office, or even a meme that’s popular in your company, can be one of the most fun employee newsletter ideas.
You could even offer a small prize for the winning caption each month, like a $5 coffee voucher. It doesn’t have to be huge, but encouraging reader participation in this way gets them to open the email. It makes them more likely to read it, too, as they become a part of it, not someone passively reading it.
Plug your ERGs
You can never talk about your ERGs too much. It doesn’t matter how long they’ve been going, or how many you have. The more you talk about them, the better.
Discussing them regularly shows employees that they’re an important part of your organization, not an afterthought.
It also reminds them that if they haven’t joined yet, they still can. Perhaps it wasn’t the right time when they started at your company, or they missed the memo during onboarding. Onboarding is overwhelming at times, after all.
Your employee newsletter can remind people what ERGs you offer, what they do, and who they’re for.
One of the employee newsletter ideas you could try is to have a series that interviews group leaders, talk about the benefits, or answers common FAQs.
And if you need any help organizing your employee groups, try Workowd.
Highlight upcoming training sessions
Another of the employee newsletter ideas that encourages employees to open them is to highlight things that will benefit them. For instance, upcoming training sessions.
Most people want to learn something new, especially when it can benefit their career. Your newsletter can help that training session reach more people, faster.
You could also ask them what training they’d like to see in the future. If you get any common patterns, see what you can put together.
Send on a schedule
While 72% of leaders feel internal communications are sent in a timely manner, only 48% of employees agree.
Meanwhile, 37% of employees want to receive communications more consistently. 34% want more regular updates from leadership, and 33% want communications that cover more relevant topics.
So while leadership may think company communications are working, employees clearly don’t feel the same way. Leaders therefore need to consider not just what they want to talk about, but what’s relevant to employees, too.
Sending updates on a regular basis — for instance, monthly — means employees expect to receive it. So then they look out for it, and they’re more likely to open it.
Otherwise, with the average person receiving 121 emails a day, your internal newsletter could get drowned out by a sea of other communications.
Consistency is one of the employee newsletter ideas that’s guaranteed to pay off.
Conclusion
Your employee newsletters are an often-underestimated tool for sharing not just company updates, but information that’s useful and beneficial to your employees.
To get them to open your newsletters, you need to share information in an interesting, engaging, and maybe even funny way. The more you do that, the more often employees will open your newsletters. And the more they’ll benefit from them, too.
Want to make it easier than ever to act on these employee newsletter ideas? Workrowd can help.
Our all-in-one employee experience platform enables you to quickly see and sum up everything that’s happening in your organization. Our simple dashboards help you track your metrics, while easy-to-use tools boost employee engagement and participation. Schedule your free demo today to learn more.
