21 Ways to Improve Your Employee Publication & Boost Readership

By Angelique Rewers, ABC, APR

Employee publications—whether print or electronic—are one of the most labor- and resource-intensive responsibilities that fall to the communications department. Unfortunately for many organizations however, the effort is wasted because employees simply don’t read them.

But why?

There are a number of reasons, but the top ones cited by employees are often “lack of time” and “information not relevant to me.”

Now for the good news: Both of these factors CAN BE influenced by the communications team simply by writing publications that employees (gasp!) WANT to read.

Here are 21 ideas to help you improve your employee publication and, in turn, boost readership.

1. Focus on the “now.” Make your copy relevant to what’s happening in your employees’ lives by linking stories to emerging trends, major events, new legislation, holidays or seasons, and even pop culture. For example, I recently wrote an article about diversity that led with an example from the U.S. Open.

2. Start headlines with active verbs that lure readers in. Keep a swipe file of creative headlines from major news publications that you can refer to for ideas.

3. Take a cue from the newsstand. If your publication hasn’t been updated in years, you’re likely not appealing to today’s consumer. To entice employees to read, you need a modern look and feel from the photos you include to the fonts and colors you use to the amount of white space you leave.

4. Look outward. Interview those outside the organization—customers, analysts, reporters, suppliers, vendors, strategic partners, external recruiters, community leaders, etc.—to keep your publication from becoming insular.

5. Surprise your audience. Explore beyond the obvious. What’s new or unique? What’s happening at a small branch in the middle of nowhere? What topics have you never addressed? Take your readers “behind the scenes.”

6. Keep language clear and concise. Avoid industry jargon, undefined acronyms and abbreviations, and technical terms that the average person wouldn’t recognize. Your copy should be just as clear and understandable to the employee who started today as it is to the one who is about to retire tomorrow.

7. Practice candor. Answer real questions from real employees with real answers. Explain how strategic decisions are really made. Don’t be afraid to address sensitive or difficult issues head on. No organization is perfect. Your employees can handle it… and they’ll appreciate the organization treating them like the adults they are.

8. Ban the clichés. They’re just silly.

9. Go green. If you can, publish electronically. If you must publish a printed newsletter or magazine, be environmentally responsible by using 100% recycled paper, soy-based inks and an FSC-certified printer. Also, be sure to encourage employees to recycle the publication when they’re finished reading it. (If you’re a really progressive organization, you might even consider gifting every employee a Kindle that they can use to read all important company publications and more.)

10. Engage employees in the business. Every issue should include an update on how the company is performing against key performance indicators. It should also explain the reasons behind the numbers and what steps are being taken to either improve or maintain that level of performance.

11. Be discriminating. Don’t say “yes” to every story. Your publication should not be a clearinghouse for every announcement in the organization. Establish editorial guidelines that clearly define what types of stories and information the publication does and does not publish. Get buy-in from management and then stick to it.

12. Be responsive. Create an easy way for employees to submit story ideas. Let their feedback help drive coverage.

13. Publish an editorial calendar. Let others know what’s coming and when so they can contribute ideas, let you know about interesting photo opps or submit other relevant information.

14. “Get shorty.” Reduce the length of ALL articles in the publication. Think Star magazine—not The New Yorker.

15. Strive for balance. Make your publication relevant to employees by adequately representing all divisions, regions and levels within the organization. Consider forming an advisory board that is representative of the entire organization.

16. Set high standards. Hire professional writers, designers and photographers.

17. Keep your finger on the pulse. What employees want will continue to change and evolve. Stay in tune with their needs by taking periodic reader surveys. Offer prizes for those who respond. Use the feedback to build a business case for change.

18. Plan ahead. There are many stories that get short-changed simply because the editorial team didn’t have enough lead-time.

19. Be a storyteller. Even the most boring of information can be made interesting if it’s told in the form of a story. Doing an update on the company’s medical leave policy? Find an employee willing to talk about their personal experience of how the policy helped them through a difficult time.

20. Incorporate diversity. At many organizations, the same people come up over and over again in articles and announcements. However, until every employee has an opportunity to be interviewed or featured, there’s no excuse to highlight the same person twice, even if it is more convenient.

21. Don’t be a bore. Stop doing stories on processes and policies. If you must cover these issues, do so with a “people” story that illustrates the process or policy in motion. Use photos and graphics to bring the story to life.

Remember, in the “war for eyeballs” you’re competing against the likes of Business Week, the latest vampire novel, Fox’s Wednesday night line-up, Facebook, CNN.com, sleep, yoga class and more. If you want your employees to read what you publish, it must be interesting, informative, entertaining, engaging, useful and fun. It’s a tall order, but many publications out there are successful. Watch what they’re doing and learn from them.

Copyright © Bon Mot Communications LLC 2009

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