Newsletters

In house journal or Newsletter is a medium of communication which projects the image of the company to one or more sections of the public- within the organisation or outside with a view to a)Improving employee morale b)Creating a favourable climate for the working of the organisation and c) promoting goodwill

Houses journal defined

21st centruy has witnessed explosion of information and booming growth of newspapers & publications. What adds more to the overcrowded media scene is mushrooming growth of TV channels, resulting in information overload to the public.

Need for Newsletter

Hundreds of magazines published cater to information needs of specific groups Therefore the publication of a house journal has all the more relevancebecause of its role of communicating with both internal and external publics.

Need for a Newsletter

House journal has thus become a major medium of communication used by business houses & NGOs for communicating with employees, suppliers,dealers, customers and general public. We can say Newsletters have come to stay as a well recognised part of the Management Communication process.

In other words,house journal is a newspaper or a magazine published by an organization without any coverprice and is distributed to selected target publics. It provides strong plateform for a company to advocate its own view points and goal oriented messages which media would avoid

Not only Serves as ambassor or mouthpiece of the organisation but also a means of corporate identity in focus. Professionals with journalistic skills are assigned important responsibility of bringing out this publication Online Newsletters are becoming popular in IT companies,large corporates;yet these Newsetters are here to stay ?

IMPORTANCE & HISTORY

The Newsletters have shelf life . The house journal even serve as archieves for an organisation to rediscover itself In India First employee publication was published United of South India in 1905 titled Planters Chronicle; folllowed by House journals of Tatas,Railways,Mumbai Port Trust.Currently over 2000 Newsletters

Are published in Indian. Circulation ranges from 500 to 2 lakh copies. SBIs Colleague the Newsletter of State Bank of India, has highest record circulation with print order of nearly 3 lakh copies per issue.

Objectives of a Newsletter

Depending on management priorities and target publics, variety of objectives are kept in mind; like: Showcase the Philosophy & Value System as reflected in various activities(ex)
Indicate corporate culture amongst employees & other associated public(encourage ideas, suggestions organise vendor/customer meets)

Objectives of a Newsletter

Explain companys Policies & objectives CC-Ushering in a change amongst publics for mutual benefits(mounteering,CSR). Inform, advise publics about optimum use of capacity, right usage of products & services for public benefit.(Latur ITI,New JVs,Plants)

Objectives

Common Plateform for giving ideas-building Mutual trust & Harmony(health) Build confidence of suppliers,shareholders, dealers in professional management of company( vendors meets,dealers meet,open house session at AGMs,teleconferencing with analysts)

Dispel rumours and provide clarifications about misunderstandings in minds of various publics ( cancellation of orders,financial viability)

Types of Newsletters

Internal Newsletter, External and Internal-External Newsletter & Market oriented House Journals

INTERNAL NEWSLETTER: Employees are

main target publics- published to Foster a sense of loyalty amongst employees towards the company and build a work culture that can help the organisation to grow & prosper (Reward scheme,Quiz,highlight family achievements

Flow of downward communication

Company uses the Newsletter as a tool of informing,educating,motivating and even entertaining the employees through human interest stories born out of employees lives (video magazine- starnite,Annual Day of Company;Hindi edition) Even Discipling function of Management is taken care of-Grievance Redressal System

Contents of Newsletter

Anything worthwhile that stimulates employees interest in reading the publication Employees would like to read about themselves,their friends, colleagues & families. Keeping this in view, NTPC has laiddown following guidelines: Brief News of Corporation,human interest stories,poems,short stories,cartoons,

Contents of Newsletter

Quiz for children and housewives, caricature from employees and their wards, social matters, interview with award winners & other
success stories of employees & families Tisco Newsletter: Provides lot of food for though and action ln one of the articles it carrried articles on Managing Hypertension, & other health
related stories like prevention of burns, eye donation.The Newsletter also addresses topics like team Building, human relations

Contents of Newsletter

If a story and picture which has relevance to role played by Top Boss/CEO touching employees lives should invariably be carried.(ACC MDs wife launched an ambuance service for employees)

External Newsletter

Published to reach External PublicsCustomers,dealers,vendors,investors,govern ment agencies, opinion leaders & mCedia.
Objective to project the corporate personality before this audience.Goes a long way in building Companys Image of Cross Section of Readers.News letter devotes lot of space for market development with customers and dealers (Marutis first owner honoured;Best Dealers awards)

External Newsletter

Government agencies, opinion leaders and even media.

These newsletters project corporate Corporate personality before target audience.

Newsletters devote lot of space to market development with customers,dealers through variety of articles,photos,news features

Dealers Profiles,customer satisfaction stories(Srisalem HEP,Outstanding product performance New Swift, Sales Conference coverage or DEALER WINNING AN AWARD) Inflight publications- to make flights more enjoyable Help airlines to meet their objectives?

Internal & External Combined House journals

Objective-seek employee support from within the organisation and cooperation of several external publics- ie
It represents organisation to all publics in a unified manner.Employees realize that their propserity hinges on understanding of external publics- and keep external publics happy, particularly customers by making quality products,economy of scale,meeting deadlines

Launching a House journal

Lot of Advance preparation required. Besides seeking management approval for expenditure involved contents-source of collecting information by nominating unit correspondents
Objectives:depending on nature of house journal-like an internal house journal-all stories should be employees related to boost their moral & efficiency.

Target publics

Once Target public is decided-editor will find out desires and hopes of such audience to meet their expectations Even in category of employee publication, it is essential to determine category of employees like shop floor workers,office clerks, middle level managers or Management members themselves.

Periodicity

Periodicity of publication is a matter of Management choice-based on need,objectives, budget earmked. Contents: is write up and photographs covering management achievements,employees and their families contributions, human interest stories

STYLE

Style of Publication means-the title,masthead/design, language, pages design,type face, frequency. Title: Unique, so as to stand out Crisp, relevance and easy to pronounce Should be borne out of organisations identity MASTHEAD:Dressing up in a particular design.

Masthead

Better to take services of a graphic designer or the PR agency to design it FORMAT :Appearance of a Newsletter depends on the format. A4 size, the magazine size publications like outlook,Business World is most popular. Is convenient,can be folded while reading and mailing.

Type faces & fonts

Different type faces give different feelings. Some denote serious and pensive moods,whereas other convey happy feelings. There are typefaces for conveying greetings And some to convey sad messages Generally Times Rorman Ariel, in their bold,italilic and normal versions

HOUSE JOURNAL

House Journal is a major medium of communication used by Corporates and NGOs in communicating with employees, shareholders,suppliers, dealers, customers As per ABCI, a House Journal is a medium of communication which projects the image of a company to one or more sections of public, within the organisation or outside organisation With the purpose of Improving empoloyees morale, b) creating favourable climate for the working of company c) promoting goodwill

Objectives of House Journal

Fostering a feeling of harmony and mututal trust between management and employee; Inculcate corporate culture among employees; Build the confidence of dealers, shareholders and suppliers in the company Say, if a communication emanates from Human Resource deptt on new promotion policy,revised medical rules, announcement of a wage revision All these issues are effectively publicised through Companys In house Journal which is often called Newsletter

House Journal

The House Journal may highlight the story of a group of marketing people in the company who exceeded the targets assigned to them and won lot of appreciation and cash rewards from the company. Why these are published in the Companys newsletter- to motivate employees and instil greater trust and confidence in the company.

House Journal

It is most popular channel for employee communication. Why do companies bring out House Journal The main objective is to provide employees With a communication forum through which they not only get informed and motivated; But also participate in it by way of contributing articles,achievements in their family.

Contents in House Journal

Many a newsletters, contain CEOs photogragph/related stories on all pages. This is often disliked by employees. But, on the other hand, if CEO interfaces with employees on issues that concern them, there is great appreciation by the employees for bringing out such a good newsletter and they always look forward to receiving it.

Size & Periodiocity of House Journals

A house journal can be registgered with Registrar of newspapers, if it some innovative title However if title is preceded with companys name, SAILNEWS, TATANEWS,Birla Newsletter,the registrars approval not reqd. Important to write at right hand top For Inernal Circulation If newsletter is registered with regulatory body, registation number must appear on the cover or inside the newsletter

Statutory Information

Statutory information must be published each year and copies of journal, as stipulated must be submitted. Topics covered in House journal are Organisations achievements, fulfilment of targets, human interest stories, social news, employees contribution Human interest should be focus of Corporate Communication in bringing out a newsletter.Readers may not like to go through technical details. House journals are quite popular amongst employees and has a shelf value as employees look forward to details of important circulars, achievements of their family members

Specimen of conents in House Journals

NTPC guidelines as to what should apppear in their Newsletter Major highlights of organisation,human interest stories,poems,short stories, cartoons,caricatures from employees,their wards, quiz for children and housewives,interview with award winners and other success stories of employees and their families TISCO-One of the issue carried storyManaging Hypertension, prevention of burns,eye donation.

Planning,Organising and Publishing a News Letter

CC with other departments will discuss and finalise about the concept, size,( tabloid or magazine),format and periodicity. A presentation of dummy(proto type) be made to management showing masthead, design layout, paper quality, expected expenditure

House Journal

After Managements approval,corporate PR Head will identify staff who will bring out the newsletter. The concerned officer will draw a schedule for collection of information, writing of stories, production & printing and will be responsible for timely publication Head of Corporate Communication, who is normally the Editor of the Magazine, will identify staff at project sites/units for incorporating information on units in the House Journal.

Publishing on Schedule
Plan several issues in advance Reach out to people and places DISTRIBUTION Timely distribution of House Journal at corporate office and units- like Distribution at work place, mailing at home address. Family members can also have access to House journal

Feedback

For popularity of Newsletter, feedback of employees is essential. A questionaire survey can be taken to gauge employees opinion and satisfaction level.

Mailing List

Mailing list covers employees,customers,distributors,opinion makers Large companies can have separate house journals for internal and external publics