13 August 2008
New internal magazine for the HomeForm Group
"inform" blends central communication with colleague-generated content.
The HomeForm Group, a specialist retailer of home-improvement products with 4 key brands (Möben, Kitchens Direct, Sharps and Dolphin), has launched a new magazine for its employees.
To be released bi-monthly, "inform" (pictured, right) is an A4, full-color publication that will communicate business and people news and will be produced by Summersault Communications.
Connecting with widespread group of employees
It's designed to appeal to HomeForm's 1,300 employees and 1,500 self-employed fitters and designers. Employees are based at call-centers, distribution centers and
160 showrooms around the UK.
The key challenge for the business is to communicate with a geographically widespread set of employees, working for a range of different brands. The new magazine features stories from all 4 brands, new product news and success stories from around the business.
In addition to important business developments, the magazine also showcases corporate responsibility and charity efforts, as well as personal stories.
The first issue was published at the end of July.
The magazine showcases CR and charity, as well as personal stories.
Expanding reach
Mark Collier, group marketing director at HomeForm says, "Prior to working with Summersault, internal communication was managed from the center, didn't reach all parts of the organization and tended to be focused on communicating corporate information."
With the help of Summersault, HomeForm has now "created a magazine that blends central communication with colleague-generated content and initial feedback has been very positive," says Collier.
Avoid gloss just for the sake of it
Bringing in a third party to produce a company publication works well for many organizations. But when it comes to producing the publication internally, with limited time and resources, some communications practitioners think that the employee newsletter or magazine can become a waste of effort – and paper.
"Spend too much time in production and the information is either out-of-date or already on the grapevine. It’s hard to be a viable businessperson when you’re spending lots of money and time on what is, in effect, a news bulletin. You’ve got to show that the communications department is more efficient than that with company resources,"said Charlotte Green, communications specialist at Aviva, in an article on the Hub.
"The focus should be on delivering your key messages and keeping information as current as possible," said Green.
Spend too much time in production and the information is either out-of-date or already on the grapevine.
Power of online publications
Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) takes a slightly different approach to HomeForm and Aviva for reaching its employees. A few years ago, research at the bank revealed that 91% of its employees chose online communication as their primary information source. Yet, print took up most of its employee communication budget.
In response to this finding, RBC developed an interactive online newsletter called “INsite”, launched in March 2006. Crucially, INsite resides on its intranet, rather than in print format.
Each month, an email is sent to all employees with a direct link to the latest issue on the site. Employees provide regular editorial guidance, suggestions, engage in debates, rate content and take part in polls.
Have your say
Have you recently been involved
with the launch of a new employee magazine or newsletter? In your opinion, is it an effective communication channel? Do you agree with Green's comments? Share your thoughts below with other comms practitioners.
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