Poor communication is a devastating problem in any business, but when it comes to the healthcare industry, it can be exceptionally damaging. In fact, more than a quarter of all major medical mistakes are a direct result of poor communication. Therefore, optimizing various forms of communication in hospitals and other healthcare facilities is of the utmost importance.
While a newsletter might not be a life-or-death situation, it is incredibly important that healthcare facilities have one that effectively communicates information to their employees. That is why all hospitals should be integrating these five strategies for improving their newsletters.
1. Create Unique Subject Lines
When creating newsletters, it is important to use different names and subject letters each time. If employees see that the title or subject line hasn’t changed, they will likely assume the content is also the same and disengage from it. Furthermore, simply putting “August newsletter” as the title is not going to grab anyone's attention, especially when that person receives upwards of 50 emails every single day. To maximize the number of employees who open the newsletter and actually read it, it is important to grab their attention from the first time it appears in their inbox
The best way to do this is to create a unique, attention-grabbing subject line. This can even include a topic summary or teaser for the subject line that lets employees know what they can expect to find in the newsletter. Basically, anything will be better than just going with the subject line reading “monthly newsletter.”
2. Get Employees to Write Small Sections of It
People become much more excited about something when they know that they are going to be included in its production. For example, if a healthcare facility is interested in getting more of their employees to read their monthly newsletter, then they should encourage employees to submit small writing samples about certain healthcare topics to include in the next newsletter. If they know that their writing is going to be included, then they are far more likely to read it and encourage their peers and coworkers to do the same.
3. Have Employees Vote on Topics
If a hospital does not want to go through the effort of trying to get employees to write part of the newsletter, then they can always ask them what they want to see in the next newsletter. Even if it is not their own writing being included, employees will be much more engaged with something if they know that it is covering a topic that they are interested in reading about. This can be done by posting a simple poll or feedback box on the company app or site asking what the next newsletter topics should be. Some advanced newsletter tools even allow you to insert micropolls in the body of electronic newsletters, allowing you to simultaneously collect information while providing a more engaging and interactive piece of content.
4. Test Newsletter Variations
Optimizing a product always involves a bit of trial and error. However, instead of waiting once a month to change something and see how it works out, healthcare facilities can start a/b testing the newsletter to get this process done faster.
By creating two newsletters that are the exact same except for one small detail, they can then put one version out to half of their employees and the other version to the remaining half and see which one performs better. They will then have a better understanding of what tactics work and what doesn’t when it comes to creating their internal newsletter.
5. Optimize for Mobile
Many employees of your hospital, from doctors to nurses to operational staff, typically do not have easy and constant access to a desktop computer. Instead, focus on creating content that is more visual, and better viewed on a vertical, portrait-mode screen. Your newsletter should already be chunked into easy bite-sized text and large eye-catching images, but these attributes are even more important for mobile viewing. Finally, make sure your content is sent through a channel that is accessible on mobile devices, such as an employee app.
If a hospital follows all of these steps, then they will see a spike in newsletter engagement. To improve other areas of your company's internal communication, contact us today.
