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Topic: Employee Newsletters... ugh.
| Author | Message |
| MissyK | Posted – 12/6/2007 5:14:00 PM | show profile | email poster So I've started a new job and I'm in charge of my company's internal newsletter. I'm having a tough time figuring out what exactly I want to put into this newsletter. I've never created one before and I've never used Quarks before (and the QuarkXPress 6 Bible isn't helping out like it should!!!) Does anyone know of some good websites where I can get ideas on how I want to create my newsletter? I was thinking about doing a Q and A with one of the high level people here but I just don't know what questions to ask! And considering this newsletter is only 10% of my job, I just don't have the time to figure this out. HELP!! |
| susanspeer | Posted – 12/6/2007 6:04:36 PM | show profile Internal Communication Sad but true...most companies know they "should" do some kind of employee communication, but nobody knows how to make it something the boss cares about, so people get tossed a newsletter assignment "other duties as assigned," to check off the box...and here you are. First, you need to shift your own thinking if you want to influence the way others see employee communication. It's not fluff, it's not lists of names of employees who did something like have a birthday or win the chili cook-off. Employees need tools and information so they can do their jobs. They need to understand how what they do everyday isn't just punching the clock, that they are making a contribution that's felt at the top. This is how you create a communication tool that's valued by both the rank-and-file and respected by senior management. You cannot produce an effective communication tool without knowing where the company is headed, and how the rest of the company is expected to step in to that picture. First, get your supervisor to buy in to what you want to do. Paint the big picture, and make sure your supervisor looks good in that picture. Next, can you get time with the boss? You need to understand the company's biggest issues and concerns from the top. What are the company's goals for the year? What are the barriers to reaching that goal? How can employees help make it happen? How will you know when you've reached the goal? What's in store on the other side of that goal? Find out what keeps the boss awake at night, and go to work to address it. You may get some resistance at first, and you may have to say no to people who insist that you put the employee anniversaries list in the newsletter. Be persistent and steadfast. This newsletter is reserved for content that helps employees do their jobs. Period. Newsletters are not recognition tools -- research has long proven that employees prefer to receive recognition from their immediate supervisor, which means that -- gasp -- managers will actually have to encounter employees face to face. Invite yourself to meetings about important initiatives that affect how employees do their jobs. Before long, they'll see your newsletter as a way to influence desired behaviors, which, in the end, is what it needs to be. There's a lot of information available: Research, best practices, etc. For starters, check out www.ragan.com. They are Internal Comm experts. You can subscribe to free newsletters which can keep your finger on the pulse of what leaders in the field are doing. If there's a training budget, I would press to attend a Ragan workshop. Good luck to you. Susan |
| MissyK | Posted – 12/7/2007 11:42:10 AM | show profile | email poster thanks! Susan, I cannot thank you enough for your advice. I complete agree that I need to get rid of all the fluff in the newsletter and focus on more important things like the goals for the company, etc. I mean who cares who had a birthday in quarter 3! the quarter is already over! I'm going to check out link you sent me and see if i can find more ideas for the newsletter. Susan, thank you so much for responding to my post and offering advice! Have a good holiday! Caroline |
| Brena | Posted – 12/12/2007 10:41:24 PM | show profile Does the newsletter have to be made in Quark? I've just completed a newsletter for a non-profit with Word, not Word Publishing. Word has templates for this. I used a template and modified it with a logo and new color scheme. The newsletter was a hit! |
| Brena | Posted – 12/12/2007 10:48:29 PM | show profile I forgot to add ... You should come up with editorial themes that are a mainstay for the newsletter; this way, writing it won't be as difficult. For example: employee profile, "the numbers game," (something like sales/production is up by 5 percent, etc. or other "numbers" that have increased or decreased), "future works," (plans for the future), future events or blurbs about past events with photos. I would even go so far as to have a "creative" section where employers can send in a photograph of a piece of art that they created. My husband's company had a gallery show of employee's art and they donated the proceeds to charity; it was a hit! |
