25 HR Newsletter Ideas to Increase Employee Engagement
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Keeping staff engaged and motivated are two of the biggest challenges HR teams face. A united workforce can do wonders for employee satisfaction and motivation — everyone wants to be part of a happy, winning team.
This is where internal communications become a key way to inspire, encourage and connect employees. One easy way to harness the power of internal communications is through HR newsletters.
But don’t worry, we’re not suggesting you add ‘copywriter, email designer and HTML editor’ to your job description. There’s an easy way to create engaging company newsletters without using up time and budget.
We’re going to show you how to engage your employees with a selection of 5 essential HR newsletter templates that every HR department needs.
So, let’s dive in!
An employee newsletter is digital communication sent to all (or most) of your employees. It’s often sent by HR or another department that deals in communications.
This is an internal newsletter that keeps staff informed about company news, events and more, to boost engagement throughout your teams.
There are so many HR newsletter ideas to choose from. Your newsletter could be fun and silly, or could be more direct, sticking to all the key points for speed reading.
Either way, it’s a great, simple tool to help employees feel part of the wider business, and boost morale.
As an HR professional, you’re already aware of how important it is for your staff to be in the know about company news and updates. An employee newsletter is a form of communication that ensures an informed team.
A study in 2020 found that 93% of internal communicators prefer email as the go-to method to reach employees. Along with the communication aspect, there are several reasons why an employee newsletter is so important.
Improve collaboration between different departments as everyone understands what each department may be working on and what they are looking to accomplish.
Encourages employees to share knowledge and big wins on their own social media accounts, which can boost the brand’s reputation and even help to recruit new employees as they can better understand the corporate culture.
Keep everyone on the same page by making sure that essential messages are included in your newsletter so they don’t get lost or missed.
Newsletters alleviate the need for sending multiple emails and overloading your team as you can succinctly and strategically communicate all necessary information in a timely and organized manner.
Easily onboard new employees by sharing all of the details they need to know in one clear email, reducing onboarding confusion and making them feel like a part of the team from the start.
Newsletters can be used to request employee feedback through employee opinion surveys. These responses will help the business leaders make actionable changes for improving the employee experience, thereby boosting employee retention
Regular newsletters are the ideal vehicle to share company news, updates, training days and team-building events. Employees tend to feel appreciated when you keep them in the loop, so it’s a great move to foster a healthy work environment.
Highlight achievements such as Employee of the Month and overall team and company milestones, to help build a sense of community.
According to a McKinsey & Company study, employee productivity increases by 20-25% when they feel more connected to the organization.
Email newsletters help keep employees engaged in their work. Without this, productivity can fall. A newsletter that outlines company successes, failures and changes ensures teams feel involved and motivated.
Engage employees to boost morale and grow their loyalty to the company - key for a low turnover rate. Employees are more likely to stick around for the long term when they’re on the same page and working towards the same goals as the wider business.
More and more companies are moving to remote work, so a regular newsletter ensures everyone feels like a cohesive team - even if they’re not in the office together.
It’s a way to remind deskless and remote workers that they’re valued, and that their work is recognized.
Build brand advocacy efforts into your internal newsletter.
When employees are on board with your brand voice and values, they’ll be more adept at communicating them with the outside world.
The good news is that you can easily design and create HR newsletters with the help of digital tools that make it simple to do without having to hire a designer, copywriter, or editor. No matter who creates your newsletters, the message will be front and center.
With a web based email builder like Publicate, you can focus on your newsletter topic because the design is already set up for you. You get to choose from an array of templates organized by topic/purpose.
Once you select your template, you can easily customize your content using the drag-and-drop functionality. You need nothing more than an idea to get started!
So, let’s talk about some HR newsletter ideas.
If you have a new job listing, why not look to your internal team for promotions before hiring from the outside? You can include job openings in newsletters to gauge interest and applications. The perfect candidate may already be within your walls.
When the company wins or passes a milestone, everyone within the organization has the right to celebrate. Let your employees know about the exciting news. Milestones could include new funding rounds, new product releases, awards, acquisitions, etc.
There are entire sites dedicated to listicles, and that’s because they garner attention and interest. You can use this tactic to engage your employees by incorporating top 10 lists in newsletters. An example of this for the workplace can be: the top 10 places to eat around the office or the top 10 items you need to work efficiently and remotely.
With remote work on the rise, it’s fun to find a way to still keep colleagues connected. You can feature interesting work-from-home office setups that can inspire other members of the team to spruce up their space.
Whether someone just got promoted or added to the team, use some space on the newsletter to put them in the spotlight. Share some information with an employee profile that offers interesting facts about them to showcase their personality.
You can include recommendations that can help your team grow personally and professionally, such as great books to read or podcasts to listen to during their downtime.
When you add new content to newsletters and want to know it was received, go straight to the source (a.k.a. the readers) to find out what they thought about it by incorporating a pulse survey in your newsletter.
Your employees’ opinions and needs should be a top priority. Incorporate a place to leave suggestions (preferably anonymously).
Times can get tough at work and in life, so include some inspirational quotes now and again to offer a quick pick-me-up or attitude shifter.
If specific teams/departments are crushing their goals or making positive changes within your organization, let everyone know about it. This type of recognition can keep the momentum going.
Who doesn’t like winning things? Spice up your newsletter with a little contest and prize.
If your organization has been in the press lately, share it loud and proud by incorporating the links to the coverage in your newsletters.
Use your newsletters as means to communicate internal and/or external business changes.
If the company is hosting or sponsoring an event, boost attendance by promoting it within newsletters.
Keep departments aware of what each other is working on by sharing what’s happening across departments since they impact one another. For example, is the development team testing a new product? Marketing should be aware of when it hits the pipeline.
One way to make sure everyone is aligned with business goals and objectives is to share them in question and answer format for bite-sized reminders.
Let your employees know about professional development and training opportunities, workshops, courses, and conferences that can aid in their growth.
Along the same line as training opportunities, share resources that can help employees with their personal and professional lives, such as time-saving tips, work-life balance advice, or career-focused tools, to name a few.
You can use newsletters to remind employees about company policies that help to streamline communication and keep them informed: i.e. how to request vacation time, office closures and holidays, etc.
Newsletters are the perfect opportunity for the company’s leadership to get in front of each employee. Leadership can share articles they’ve written, news they want to share, or even video messages to the organization.
In quarterly or annual newsletters, consider providing an update on company goals and how they are being measured so everyone is on the same page.
Make the newsletter fun by incorporating trivia. Trivia can be internal and company-focused or related to pop culture, sports, history, or any other topic that suits your fancy.
Share customer stories to connect how employees’ daily duties are part of the larger impact and affect customers positively.
Involve your employees by having them submit photos that inspired them or made them laugh. Sharing this content can bring a smile to everyone else, too, and it’s effortless. This can even be pictures of pets at work!
Share valuable industry news so that everyone stays informed about the happenings that surround your product or service.
Now you have a lot of HR newsletter ideas for you to send. But in a world of email overload, what’s the difference between a newsletter that gets deleted before it gets read and one that employees actually look forward to receiving?
Here’s how you can create newsletters that are engaging.
Your subject line is the first thing your reader will see, and it can make or break the success of the newsletter (whether they open it or not). It’s a good idea to A/B test subject lines and perform analysis to spot trends for what works versus what doesn’t.
Of course, it’s what’s on the inside that counts. The inside of a newsletter consists of design and copy. To make an email look great without spending too much time or money on its creation, you can utilize an email creator with a drag-and-drop interface and a suite of beautifully designed and customizable templates to choose from.
Choose when to send your newsletter wisely. It should be during business hours. Avoid sending newsletters during holidays, weekends, or even right before the weekend, when your team is likely to be finishing up work and checking out for the weekend.
Newsletters are measurable. For example, you can track open rates and click-through rates. By keeping an eye on the metrics, you can see what’s going right and what may need improvement. The great news is our email tool provides many of these metrics for you, so you can know what works and what doesn’t to maximize your engagement rates.
Write newsletters with a conversational tone of voice. A newsletter is another means by which you communicate with your team, so infuse personality and be friendly. This will add to its readability.
Depending on the content you are sharing, it may be the case that only certain people or departments need to read it. To avoid email overload, you can segment your audience to send only relevant information to the people who need it.
Encourage a two-way street of communication by incorporating a way for employees to respond to newsletters with questions or concerns. This is especially necessary when the newsletter contains trivia or a survey.
Don’t go overboard with the amount of content you include in a newsletter. It shouldn’t take employees too long to read since they are busy with work. A good rule of thumb is to include 3 to 5 different sections. And, prioritize them based on need by starting with the most important message up top.
Make sure that your newsletter is mobile responsive, meaning that it can be read on a mobile device since many of your employees will be using their phones to check their email on the go. You can also preview it before you send it, so it looks perfect every time! Email builders are designed with mobile responsiveness already in mind.
Ask yourself if the content you are sending out adds value to your employees’ lives. If the answer is no, then skip pressing send and reevaluate the content.
Involve your internal communications team for their feedback. You can use an email builder platform that makes this simple to do with collaborative tools built in so the feedback and edits are streamlined and easy to track.
End with a quick summary of key takeaways so that if someone simply skims the email, this headline would grab their attention.
A CTA stands for call-to-action. Incorporate a call-to-action to direct your employees to get involved and interact with the newsletter.
Inline with infusing your personality and a friendly tone of voice comes the final tip, which is to have fun with the newsletter.
Now that you have enough HR newsletter ideas to keep you busy, you’ll need to determine how to get employees to read and engage with your emails.
Here are some ways to make sure the word gets around:
Boost your HR newsletter ideas by following best practices, for a successful employee newsletter every time.
Here are some of our top tips:
We’ve compiled a list of some examples of HR newsletter ideas below. These newsletter templates offer a quick overview of what you can include within each different type of email communication.
Email builder platforms often come stacked with different templates based on need and content. Check out these commonly used templates to build your own with ease.
In a working world where most of our time is spent staring at computer screens, it can be tricky to foster a sense of community within a business. Despite this, it’s key that employees feel connected to their colleagues.
But how can we encourage this connection without bombarding everyone with emails each time there’s an update to share? With a monthly round-up, of course!
For this type of HR newsletter, you should look to include the following content:
A monthly round-up newsletter not only helps keep employees up to date on what’s happening in the business, but it provides everyone with an opportunity to share wins, news and to celebrate their teammates. If you can allow employees to submit stories or suggestions, this will help them feel involved.
For example, shout outs are fantastic for improving employee recognition and provide a chance for everyone to receive encouraging feedback.
By combining pre-supplied copy with the efforts of Publicate’s drag and drop template editor, which lets you quickly customise the layout depending on your needs, you’ll avoid spending hours creating content!
After selecting the template, you can add anything type of content you want, from images to GIFs and beyond. Once you’re ready to send your newsletter, you can export it to your chosen email provider using Publicate’s integration.
The entire process is seamless, so you can do create newsletters as frequently as you’d like to without extra effort required.
Here’s a great new newsletter template that you can use right out the box: The Monthly Internal Round-Up Newsletter Template
Now you’ve engaged your existing employees, it’s time to consider how newsletters can support the onboarding process. One way is to help new starters integrate into company culture with new employee newsletters.
Working with a growing team is incredibly exciting, yet helping new hires settle in can be challenging. Especially in the age of remote working, new employees can struggle to form a bond with their colleagues when they don’t see them in person every day — if ever.
So why not introduce them with a quick and nicely designed email?
Here are some examples of what to include:
Introducing new employees via email newsletter not only creates a sense of connection between new and existing employees but breaks the ice without having to introduce themselves to everyone individually.
For remote businesses, these newsletters will prevent new employees from feeling isolated. Without the opportunity to connect whilst fixing an afternoon cup of coffee, finding new avenues for communication is important.
Plus, they can share additional details about their skills and experience, which may be useful for collaboration!
For HR, there are many benefits of introducing new hires via a newsletter. New employee emails are generally well-received, especially if they include personalised messages from new hires with some information about themselves and their roles. Plus, if multiple employees join the company at the same time, you can introduce them all in one email.
Why not try this template today? The New Employee Announcement Newsletter Template
Now that everyone is feeling the love, how can we make sure employees are having fun?
Everyone knows what they say about being all work and no play. So why not set aside dedicated time for fun and plan some informal company events. These can include Christmas parties, charity fundraisers, weekly socials, or team-building challenges. Events can be company-wide or specific teams can arrange get-togethers just for them.
Such events facilitate effective teamwork, reduce stress and boost morale, and go a long way to creating a positive working environment.
What you include in this newsletter will be dictated by the type of event:
An email offering an excuse to have fun is a welcome reward for all their hard work. Such emails can help to keep the workplace community spirit alive and strengthen the company culture.
Creating a fulfilling, positive workplace will galvanise the workforce, bolstering your bottom line and attract the best talent. This is especially true in today’s changing world when many expect their employers to be aware of their corporate company responsibilities. Hosting a charitable event is a great idea as it is both fun and supports local communities.
Try this invite template to get everyone excited for your next company event! The Company Event Invite Newsletter Template
With employees updated on business changes and connected with the wider team, we need to make sure you’re making employees aware of development opportunities!
Training in the workplace can cover anything from specific skills to discrimination awareness, and carries many benefits. These include increased job satisfaction, productivity, and innovation, and a more inclusive and empathetic workforce.
Employees can be made aware of such events via a training newsletter. Consider including information such as:
By investing in your teams’ personal development, you not only create additional learning opportunities but encourage them to develop new skills. Graphic designers should not be limited to learning about graphic design; rather, all employees can benefit from learning about other business areas. For example, offering an opportunity to develop project management skills is beneficial to progression.
Training encourages team building as employees will interact with others outside their departments and engage with topics they’re not typically exposed to in their roles.
What’s more, companies that offer diverse training often see reduced staff turnover as training can boost morale, strengthen loyalty and enhance a company’s image. Everyone likes work perks!
This great new template can help you get a fantastic newsletter sent out in a matter of minutes. The Workshop and Training Newsletter Template
Ok, this is all fantastic, but what can you do if you don’t have any fun content to share with your team?
An industry round-up newsletter encourages employees to connect with the business on a broader scale. All you need to do is collate relevant business information that may interest your colleagues!
This type of newsletter is great for even the busiest of HR teams, and can cover:
If you’re unsure what areas your employees will be most interested in, you can track engagement with Publicate’s easy-to-use analytics tool. You’ll see what links get the most traction and generally understand what your employees respond to best.
We’re all busy creatures, and many people don’t have enough time to keep up with changes in their industries. By collating interesting information regularly, you support their development and encourage involvement with the broader industry. There are never any downsides to being better educated, especially in a work context!
To avoid spending hours collating articles and reports, you can source content from the wider team, encouraging employees to write their own articles or submit relevant pieces they’ve read. Plus, with the Publicate browser extension, you can save articles throughout the month and come back to them when you’re ready to write!
As you’ll be pulling content from external sources, you can up engagement even if you don’t have fun content to share.
Keep your employees informed with this well-structured round-up template. The Industry Round-Up Newsletter Template
Now that you’re equipped with multiple HR newsletter ideas, you can use them to create some engaging HR newsletters that will boost morale and get your employees excited!
Internal newsletters are fantastic for:
Save yourself the time of designing interesting emails by signing up to Publicate for access to these excellent HR newsletter templates.
Then you can get back to focusing on what you do best — supporting your team.
