Ideally, all employees would look forward to opening their employee newsletter. Yet that is oftentimes untrue. Organizations struggle finding relevant yet engaging material in their internal newsletter.
Employees don’t want to read dry content about the company. If you want your employees to engage with the company content you send out, you can make the newsletter a little more interesting. If they find something they enjoy in the newsletter even once, they will be more likely to open it again.
Read More: What Are Good Open Rates For Internal Communications
Here are some fun content ideas to include in your employee newsletter to boost engagement.
Birthdays and Work Anniversaries
Employees like to feel recognized and appreciated. If you use the employee newsletter as an opportunity to announce birthdays or work anniversaries, employees are encouraged to reach out to each other.
Significant anniversary milestones might be deserving of a celebration, which can help boost company morale and promote team building. Even better, tie anniversaries to a big company event and use the newsletter to advertise it.
Recommendations
Employees love updates on what’s happening outside of the office. Employee newsletters can recommend new content such as books, movies, podcasts, or tv shows.
They can also include lists of the best lunch spots or fun activities near the office. Add a personal touch by letting employees contribute too. Newsletters can even host a poll of favorite places.
Sharing recommendations is a great way to encourage employees with common interests to connect.
Surveys
Employee newsletters sent through an employee communications platform can include a light-hearted survey or a question regarding a more serious topic.
For example, a newsletter could casually survey employees on what they think about the new plant or artwork in the lobby. As a more serious question, it can even ask their opinion on the company’s new policy. Periodically swap the poll questions around to get employees engaged.
Using surveys encourages a culture of feedback and lets employees know that their voice matters. However, keep the questions short and thoughtful for the best engagement.
Inspirational Quotes or Stories
Inspirational quotes or stories are a creative way to break up informational content on an employee newsletter. These can be from employees, executives, or other leaders.
Similarly, this section could also include exciting stories that happened to a fellow colleague. It can even present a special feature on a team that just launched a cool new product in the company.
Involving employees in the newsletter makes them feel recognized, and they will more likely engage with the content.
Contests and Prizes
Everyone loves the thrill and recognition of winning a prize. A newsletter can give away free company items or a gift card to a favorite vendor. Fun activities such as costume competitions are important for team bonding.
Be mindful of the COVID-19 pandemic when planning contests. If employees are working from home, however, these activities can foster bonds even without a physical office environment.
Proper usage of prizes can bring a balance of fun and usefulness. This doesn’t need to be a part of every newsletter, but doing it ever so often will keep readers intrigued.
Boosting Engagement
With the right employee app, you can reach anyone with your employee newsletter, whether they are in or out of the office. A powerful internal communication tool makes it easy to instantly share employee newsletters. It can also distribute industry news and time sensitive crisis communications. Employees will feel more engaged and in the know.
