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Ideas for a State Employee Newsletter

One of the most effective tools for information dissemination and for directly influencing the attitudes of employees is the employee newsletter. Employees, particularly those in large, bureaucratic organizations, appreciate open communication. Not only do they want to know about the birth of a new baby or other major life milestones of coworkers, but employees also benefit by information about policy changes and other important news affecting their agency. Newsletters are effective communications solutions for state government employees.

  1. Newsletter Planning

    • The International Association of Business Communicators reports that the employee newsletter should begin with strong planning and rigorous production standards. The organization suggests that you begin by identifying the business and organizations objectives of the agency and aligning them with communications goals. Create an employee newsletter editorial calendar that loosely outlines the news and topics you will cover in each issue. Solicit input from managers, company executives and several samples of state employees about the topics that are important to them. Incorporate those ideas into your editorial calendar.

    News

    • News is what puts the "news" in "newsletter." Each issue of your state employee newsletter should cover new items of interest, such as new laws, regulations or policies; major events; employee campaigns; charitable outreach activities and recent or upcoming trainings. One article should explore a news issue in depth.

    Regular Features

    • What brings readers back to your state employee newsletter and makes them actually read it is their favorite regular features. Be sure to position regular features so employees can quickly get to them. Some popular regular features state employee newsletters run include a message from the head of the agency and feature articles on agency programs, publications and campaigns. Some newsletters regularly feature employee surveys or survey results.

    Spotlights

    • Spotlight items are a lot like employees seeing their name in lights. Write spotlights to highlight individual employees and different units or groups within an agency. You might want to use spotlights to introduce the featured people to the rest of the organization or to present their recent accomplishments.

    Special Columns

    • Add a "Connection corner" to your state employee newsletter. This could be one or two special columns devoted to giving employees useful information on certain topics. For example, you could add an advice-style question-and-answer column to field frequently asked questions of the agency's human resources department. In addition, you could have a column that a different employee writes each month.

    Quick Bytes

    • Have small boxes of short piece of information that will break up the monotony of large blocks of text. You could include "Fun facts" and statistics about the agency's work, such as how many people the agency helped or how much money the agency saved through a recent initiative. Another "Quick byte" could provide helpful hints that employees can use, such as computer shortcuts and how to use mail services. Other ideas include wellness features, such as health tips, advice for work-life balance and managing stress. If state employees are eligible for coupons and discounts, a highlight box will keep them informed of their eligibility. Always include a calendar of upcoming events and any open positions.

    The Power of Pictures and Design Ideas

    • Artwork, graphics and photographs bring stories to life. Employees also love to see themselves and their coworkers in the news. Design your state employee newsletter to balance text, artwork and white space to make the newsletter more readable. Use captivating headlines, titillating captions and subheads, and poignant pull-quotes.

    More Tips

    • You don't have to print your newsletter. Some of your news stories will age and employees will shortly throw out the newsletter. Instead, email your employee newsletter or post it on your intranet, and print out a copy or two for employee break rooms and your reception area. In addition, ask employees for feedback on each issue. Don't bury the feedback request. Place it somewhere prominent and establish a newsletter-feedback email address to make it easy for employees to submit feedback.

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