Want to improve your company’s internal communications? Do this.
Whether it’s developing an integrated marketing campaign or pitching a story to the media , we work with our clients every day to help build brand awareness and drive sales by successfully reaching external audiences. Chartwell Agency’s proven process to connect, communicate and captivate puts our clients on a path to success!
But what about successfully reaching your internal audiences? What can and should you be doing to help your staff connect the dots between what they do in their individual roles or departments, and the overall big picture of the organization? The following is an opportunity to jump start your efforts to strengthen internalcommunications at your place of business.
Making sure your staff are “in the know” will allow them to serve as better external ambassadors while helping with overall staff retention. Keep your staff informed by developing a robust monthly internal newsletter. Outlining recent successes and upcoming activities is a helpful tool in recruiting participation or support for happenings within the organization, whether it’s winning that new client or the team’s participation in a volunteer project for a local organization.
Creating a newsletter template for your organization makes the monthly publication process simpler and provides a visual consistency for those receiving it. While the specific content may change, the general categories and placement stay the same for easy reading. Align categories with your organizational goals to reiterate to staff the company’s vision and mission and other specific information. Below are recommended newsletter content categories:
- In the News: Highlight your organization’s placement in local, regional or trade media outlets.
- Community Involvement: Inform staff of community programs or projects in which the business and individual team members are involved or supportive.
- Company Projects: Provide updates and highlights on new projects.
- Workforce Development: Draw attention to the ways in which the business and team members are developing a more diverse, better trained workforce (i.e. professional designations, specialized off-site trainings, internal webinar trainings, etc.).
- Team Highlights: Strengthen internal relationships by offering perspectives to bring a more personal side to the organization. This will present an opportunity for team members to recognize one another and to connect on a more personal level.
Your newsletter can be distributed in a printed or electronic format, or a combination of both. Determine what best suits your internal audience, and any cost implications. Electronic distribution is extremely cost-effective; printed pieces will incur printing costs and potential postage expense, depending on the distribution method.
Newsletters should hit inboxes and/or mailboxes at the same time each month. Over time, your team members will come to expect (and hopefully look forward to) receiving the correspondence.
We know it can be a daunting task to start a new companywide initiative, such as a monthly internal newsletter. You’re most likely thinking about what team members will be responsible for gathering content and images, who will come up with the design and template and how can we be successful both short- and long-term? Chartwell Agency can help you prepare, plan and execute a successful internal monthly newsletter. Connect with us to learn how.
