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Here are 25 ways to address problems or take advantage of
opportunities, using employee newsletters:
- Spread your organization's philosophy or vision
- Report changes in that philosophy with employee newsletters
- Announce changes in policies or procedures
- Advise of changes in management or staff
- Recognize special contributions by employees
- Welcome new staff with employee newsletters
- Report on changes in benefits packages
- Deal with frequent questions or complaints about benefits
- Remind employees of the value and availability of benefits
- Explain the introduction of new technology with employee newsletters
- Upgrade job-related skills or expertise
- Introduce or encourage employee ownership stock plans
- Prepare staff for new sales initiatives
- Help employees handle sensitive inquiries
- Introduce new products or services with employee newsletters
- Explain how to sell new products or services
- Maintain contact with distant branches with employee newsletters
- Improve health and fitness
- Greater safety awareness on the job
- Explain the handling of customer complaints
- Provide information about customers
- Explain the rationale behind corporate advertising
- Gather ideas for productivity improvement
- Identify personnel for promotion
- Improve inter-office cooperation and coordination with employee newsletters
Following up on the list, we'll explore, in more depth, a few of the 25
ways that employee newsletters help take care of staff and management
communication needs.
Upgrading Skills with employee Newsletters
These days, almost every organization needs to upgrade the skills and
knowledge of its employees. Among well-educated employees, professional
development days and personal growth programs are common.
Less enthusiasm exists for upgrading the skills
of employees with lower education levels. Despite this, external
conditions frequently dictate the use of new technologies and more
advanced equipment. And with consumers demanding better service in all
sectors, customer relations training becomes increasingly important.
employee newsletters, of course, can be used to upgrade knowledge. Use
them, too, to explain the importance of enhancing knowledge or skills. By
reporting on the issues driving the need for upgrading, newsletters
increase acceptance of training programs.
And, don't forget the problem of illiteracy. First, employee newsletters can
convey much information using tools such as graphs and illustrations.
While the written word can't be avoided completely, it can be made more
attractive to those with reading difficulties.
Easing Organizational Change
Do managers change their
organizations simply on whim? Does management restructure a company
because it doesn't know what else to do? Ask employees of organizations in
transition and many answer "Yes". They feel that way because no one
explains the why, how, when, or who of organizational change. They feel
threatened because change may mean loss of jobs, changes in comfortable
jobs, or transfers to other locations.
Use employee newsletters to explain the issues and plans, and whether the
changes mean short-term or long-term dislocations. They can address critical
issues, provide necessary assurances or warnings, and act as a forum for
discussions.
Handling Customer Complaints with the Help of employee Newsletters
With growing interest in customer
service, we're learning better ways to handle customers and their
complaints. And, research also shows that dealing with complaints
effectively keeps customers loyal.
employee newsletters can be used to teach employees proven techniques of
complaint management, and to provide updates. Most importantly, though,
they can reinforce positive employee attitudes toward complaints, and
emphasize that everyone gains when customers get proper responses to their
complaints.
Explain Advertising and Promotional
Campaigns
A national advertising campaign sends a big
organization's message to customers right across the country. But, what
about employees of the organization? Do they know the rationale and
assumptions behind a new advertising campaign, especially one that
emphasizes something they do, such as customer service? Too often,
employees receive no information about the objectives of campaigns. The
result? Confusion and lack of effective activity among staff who deal
directly or indirectly with customers.
Use employee newsletters to let employees know about the campaign before it
goes public. Some key points: explain objectives and roles, show graphics
(newspaper ads or television stills), specify start and stop dates, and
advise employees how to handle public reaction.
Get Employee Feedback
Use employee newsletters to
bring in information, as well as send it out. Surveys get responses when
they deal with issues that concern readers, and when employees expect that
their responses will lead to action.
Ask employees for their ideas and suggestions about specific issues.
Evaluate those responses, and implement appropriate suggestions. Then
report back to employees in the newsletter, explaining not only whose
ideas were implemented, but why. And, explain the benefits to all
employees and the organization. Then start the process over.
Spread the Organization's
Philosophy
Boards of Directors and senior managers may work
hard developing strategies and articulating the organization's vision.
Yet, employees at lower levels often don't get the message. That's
understandable when we consider the tortuous route that information
travels in large organizations. As it passes through each level and
department, everything from gossip to changing circumstances shapes and
reshapes it. There are costs to this change and distortion: the inability
to help clients, application of the wrong procedures, projects that fail
to meet their objectives, and so on.
Philosophies can and should change, but unless employees understand,
that change can lead to problems. employee newsletters can help explain
the evolving nature of philosophies, what's driving the changes, and the
implications.
Discuss Policies and Procedures in employee Newsletters
The issues involved in policies and procedures often resemble those for
management philosophy. But, several key issues demand separate treatment,
such as the consistent interpretation and application of rules.
For example, most newspapers,
radio stations, and television stations develop policies about gifts, to
protect their reputation for editorial independence and integrity. They
might specify that employees not accept gifts at all, or not accept gifts
above a certain value. Most policies start this simply. However, questions
about complex situations soon lead to modifications and exceptions.
Retaining consistency and integrity in the application of policies is
within the scope of practical newsletter applications. employee newsletters
provide a forum for debate and consensus building. They also can report on
precedents, rationales, or special insights into interpretations.
Explain Benefits in employee Newsletters
Benefits can be a powerful incentive for
employees. Unfortunately, descriptions of benefits often use language that
defy a layperson's understanding. Facing a barrage of technical terms,
terse instructions, and oblique questions, employees may give up rather
than try to fill in the forms or understand the criteria.
employee newsletters work well in this context. They can explain specifics in
greater detail and in appropriate language. Other applications include:
providing information to help employees fill in claims forms, dealing with
frequently-asked questions, and offering guidelines for solving common
problems. As a result, employees don't waste work time trying to get
answers, and employee staff don't answer the same few questions
over and over.
Employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) may be offered as benefits of
employment. But without adequate accompanying information, they may become
disincentives. For instance, a major, publicly traded company offered an
employee share plan, seemingly out of the blue. This led some employees to
assume the plan was a form of corporate bailout, at their expense. To
avoid this sort of reaction, use employee newsletters to explain the advantages
and disadvantages of an ESOP. More importantly, use them to prepare an
appropriate atmosphere before introduction, to ask employees about their
interest, and to monitor employee perceptions.
Watch Out!
A survey reported by Industry Week
magazine (June 17, 1991) found that employee newsletters rarely met the
information needs of either management or employees. In summarizing the
survey results, the author noted, "There is very little relationship
between the concerns of CEOs and the content of employee publications.
There also is not much correlation between what employees say they want to
read and what is actually published...." What do CEOs want, what do
employees want? Finding the answers and delivering an editorial product
that both the CEO and employees want is the mark of a successful
newsletter.
This article, 25 Ways to Use employee Newsletters, was written by Robert F. Abbott, the author of A Manager's Guide to Newsletters:
Communicating for Results, who has owned and operated The
Newsletter Company since 1991. He has written and published employee,
customer, and member newsletters for companies in a diverse range of
industries and sectors. In addition, he is working on a forthcoming book,
Ownership Revolution: How Working
People are Buying Up Big Business.
Read sample chapters from A Manager's Guide to Newsletters: Communicating for Results
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