I'm going to take a side step from my usual digital signage discussion and focus on the most basic and primal of internal communication: the employee newsletter.
Sure we live in a digital world and employees are bombarded with messages in and out of the workplace. But I feel the people who say the employee publication is dead have actually never put one together themselves. It can be a huge pain in the ass, but it's also a labor of love.
Think about the value the employee publication provides. It is the one true mobile communication platform that is free of any technology constraints. Employees glance at it between meetings. They might throw it in their bag and take it home to show the family (if their name and picture are in it). And we know they take it to the bathroom, too.
Digital signage is great. Intranets are great. Town halls are great. And yes, employee newsletters are great. But each tool's greatness is dependent on the content and the creativity that goes into it.
Now maybe the problem is that newsletters may appear to be "old school" where as technology is shiny and glittery. And communicators aren't given the publications the necessary focus. But that's at the fault of the communicator, not the employees.
Many of the organizations I talk to ask me if digital signage will replace printed communication. It might replace some, but I hope it doesn't replace all. Eliminate posters? Yes. Banners? Yes. Flyers? I hope so. But employee publications? Never.
A well-written and designed employee publication delivers a tremendous amount of value to the organization. Don't kill it off just because it's not shiny and new.
Feels good to get that off of my chest.
Sure we live in a digital world and employees are bombarded with messages in and out of the workplace. But I feel the people who say the employee publication is dead have actually never put one together themselves. It can be a huge pain in the ass, but it's also a labor of love.
Think about the value the employee publication provides. It is the one true mobile communication platform that is free of any technology constraints. Employees glance at it between meetings. They might throw it in their bag and take it home to show the family (if their name and picture are in it). And we know they take it to the bathroom, too.
Digital signage is great. Intranets are great. Town halls are great. And yes, employee newsletters are great. But each tool's greatness is dependent on the content and the creativity that goes into it.
Now maybe the problem is that newsletters may appear to be "old school" where as technology is shiny and glittery. And communicators aren't given the publications the necessary focus. But that's at the fault of the communicator, not the employees.
Many of the organizations I talk to ask me if digital signage will replace printed communication. It might replace some, but I hope it doesn't replace all. Eliminate posters? Yes. Banners? Yes. Flyers? I hope so. But employee publications? Never.
A well-written and designed employee publication delivers a tremendous amount of value to the organization. Don't kill it off just because it's not shiny and new.
Feels good to get that off of my chest.
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